RELIGION AND POLITICS ARE ONE
Niccolo Machiavelli, a fit grounded in thought political philosophers, brought a paradigm shift from what was being gossiped of and what was factual in the ground. He uncovered his intelligence by lettering to Lorenzo who was a prince in Italy, targeting at unifying the states. Well, I have to concede and avow categorically that what was articulated by Machiavelli is very much in practice today and in this case, I don’t dismiss Religions from politics. One of the famous statement from Machiavelli was that for a prince it was better to be feared than to be loved.[1] This in today’s world has been baptized as “I don’t care” mentality.
This is what is destroying our countries. A part from political arena, even in religious viewpoint you will be astonished to find leaders who as far as their tribal communities are not affected by any catastrophe, they remain soundless. Is this not what Machiavelli demonstrated when he said that in a state where country differ in languages, usages and laws, difficulties multiply and address serves as solution? The religious leaders like Machiavelli would say, want to maintain the old conditions. The more they remain silent, the more they obtain tokens from the politicians.
This is what is destroying our countries. A part from political arena, even in religious viewpoint you will be astonished to find leaders who as far as their tribal communities are not affected by any catastrophe, they remain soundless. Is this not what Machiavelli demonstrated when he said that in a state where country differ in languages, usages and laws, difficulties multiply and address serves as solution? The religious leaders like Machiavelli would say, want to maintain the old conditions. The more they remain silent, the more they obtain tokens from the politicians.
Politics will always be inclined to power. In the contemporary world, the biggest question is on how do people acquire and maintain power? Every single day we hear of death of some political leaders. All this happened so as to maintain the political advancement. Binary dealing is one of the root cause of death of some politicians if not all. These are some slave politicians who operate with both the ruling party and the opposition. Since they are unpredictable, the best solution is always to exterminate them. Today, it has almost become a common phenomenon where people are killed and after some days all is forgotten. However, it will be of importance to reflect on this; What should be the weight of punishment for those who undervalue the state? Partly I coincide with Machiavelli in his advice to the prince that, when one decide to hurt or inflict pain to a rebel, he should do it in a way that one will not think of revenging. In some cases, in politics dictatorship should be permitted for some period of time. As far as my knowledge is concerned, democracy sometimes is not based on reason and as a result, citizens end up responding to emotions and not reason during the electoral process. In other words, we can only dialogue of democracy if people are in a position to make informed decisions. Contrary to this it become an illusion or utopic.
One of the Solution to political crisis probably would be the ruling by the philosopher king. Here we are referring to a leader who is well formed both socially, morally and intellectually formed. The fate of any state is determined by the holistic formation of the rulers. In this regard, it is not enough to use rhetoric in politics but above all, formation plays a wide role. It sounds nonsensical to lament and complain when our leaders fail to perform on their duties after we have chosen them blindly especially in the name of democracy.
Thomas Hobbes in his philosophy of life realized that by nature man is essentially nasty, brutish and an uncivilised creature. This was after the experience of war in English civil war. As a result, his utmost concern was for security, peace and order towards a commodious living.[2] He was very categorical when he asserted that putting aside one’s rights and freedom and submit them to the government would be a solution to all the wrangles that happen as people fight for power. This would imply that the sovereign authority should cater for the well-being of all. For him absolute monarch was of great importance in balancing the selfish nature of man. This system of leadership in an African context if well implemented could lead to a paradigm shift. From my point of view, so far Democracy in African appears like a nightmare. The rich are becoming richer every day while the poor are becoming poorer.
[1] Machiavelli, The Prince
[2] Thomas Hobbes, Social Contract
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