One of the fatal flaws of the Bush approach/policy framework that I would love to see Barack Obama change…is this idea that it is America’s job to spread Democracy around the world. As a student of Democracy and child of the largest Democracy in the world (India), I do believe in and love Democracy. However, just like Capitalism….Democracy, too, is a flawed, chaotic, and imperfect system and I just don’t think it’s America’s job to tell other countries what political system is best for them.
In fact from a purely theoretical standpoint, I believe a ‘benevolent autocracy’ is likely the best political system to help efficiently/quickly advance a society economically and socially. The only issue is, those benevolent/enlightened autocrats are really difficult (virtually impossible) to come by….and power corrupts, so this too is a slippery slope.
In any event, to get back to the original point of this blog….I believe America needs to officially change this stated policy of spreading Democracy….and focus primarily on spreading/ensuring basic human rights for every human being. Even if you disagree with my point on Democracy….I think most should agree safety comes before politics…and the problems the people of the world face in so many countries (including the Middle East) are still about safety.
Let’s work on the basics, and get to politics later.
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