I claim to be no more than an average man with less than average ability. I am not a visionary. I claim to be a practical idealist. Nor can I claim any special merit for what I have been able to achieve with laborious research. I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith.
Gandhi
Last week’s column on `Ministerial accountability and the public interest’ created quite a stir from the bloggers some of whom sought to attack me personally instead of dealing with the issues I have raised. My message was, however, a simple one. Elected officials must uphold the highest standards of integrity, morality, ethics and discipline in public life since citizens look upon them as role models.
Accountability is not only about maintaining books of account and having a clean audit report. It also exists between the elected and the electorate, the former having the obligation to account to the latter for not only the way they manage the affairs of the State but also the way they carry themselves. Elected public officials must conduct themselves in a manner befitting of their high offices. They are the servants of the people. They must display humility, as opposed to arrogance, even in the face of severe criticisms for their actions. They must accept those criticisms in good faith instead of defending their actions and hurtling abuses against those who have offered genuine criticisms. And they must make appropriate amendments to bring their actions in conformity with acceptable norms. Covey asserts that great servant leaders display that humility which is the hallmark of inner religion.
There are occasions where elected public officials may fall short of expectation in their conduct. When this happens they must find ways of making amends to the satisfaction of those who have elected them. Many of us have made our fair share of mistakes, both in our personal and professional lives, and with each passing day we try to make amends. Gandhi himself admitted his own shortcomings when he stated in his autobiography that “There are some things which are known only to oneself and one’s Maker. These are clearly incommunicable”.
Life is a balance sheet where all the good things one thinks of, one says and one does are reflected on the positive side of his/her balance sheet. The less-than-honourable thoughts, speech and deeds are shown on the negative side. At the end of one’s life, the net balance (whether positive or negative) is carried forward into the next life and will determine the status and circumstances of his/her new life. This is of course if you believe in life after death.
I had referred to two of Gandhi’s statements as well as statements made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on the dismissal of two of her Ministers and on the death of A.N.R. Robinson. The first of the two statements from Gandhi is that a clean confession, combined with a promise never to commit the sin again, when offered before one who has the right to receive it, is the purest form of repentance. I related this to our situation and suggested that those elected public officials who have indulged in acts of indiscretion should reflect on Gandhi’s words and make appropriate amends.
The second of Gandhi’s statements to which I had referred is about politics without principles and I quoted from Arun Gandhi explaining what his grandfather meant. This is one of the seven principles that Gandhi expounded as having the potential to destroy society. Some of our elected officials need to undergo serious introspection and reset their moral compasses, indeed their true north. Mrs. Persad-Bissessar’s statement on the death of A.N.R. Robinson also has much relevance since there is a greater need for us to let go of the past and allow old wounds to heal if the country is move forward.
Few will deny that as a nation we have not progressed in the last two years, despite our boast of positive GDP growth over the last eight years and “the largest ever budget”. GDP growth alone is, however, not a true indicator of development. In a recent article, Guyanese-born Avinash Pulchan cited Michael Todaro (retired Professor of NYU and author of the foremost textbook on economic development) as having stated that “Economic development cannot be measured solely in terms of the level and growth of overall income or income per capita; one must look at how that income is distributed among the population – and who benefits from employment and why”.
Most of the developed countries have modest growth rates of between one and two per cent, yet they are rated among the highest in terms of human development. Pulchan referred to the growth rates of the United States and Germany of 2.2% and 0.7% in 2012, compared with 8.5% and 11.2% respectively for Ethiopia and Niger, two of the poorest countries. One must also bear in mind that our GDP growth rate is contaminated with foreign inflows from remittances from relatives overseas as well as proceeds for illicit activities such as drug trafficking and money laundering. Our GDP growth rate is artificially inflated and should therefore not be a source for rejoicing. The same could be said about “the largest ever budget” since every year that elapses a country’s budget in nominal terms will be larger due to inflation and other factors, assuming the same level of activity as that of the previous year.
Let us now look at three more of the seven principles that Gandhi expounded and explained by his grandson, Arun Gandhi. The writings of Stephen Covey on the subject in his book “The Seven habits of Effective People” are also relevant.
Knowledge without Character
Gandhi believed that obsession with materialism tends to make us more concerned about acquiring knowledge so that we can obtain a better job and make money. A lucrative career is preferred to an illustrious character. Educational institutions emphasise career-building and not character-building. Gandhi gave the example of a young man who was outstanding in his scholastic career as a result of which he obtained a lucrative job. However, he had no time to learn important aspects of life and ended up in misery. Gandhi concluded that education that ignores character building is incomplete education.
We are all familiar with the old saying: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Covey asserts that more dangerous is much knowledge without a strong principled character; and purely intellectual development without commensurate internal character development is like putting a high-powered sports car in the hands of a teenager who is on drugs. He advocated for character education to be taught in schools so as to achieve a better balance between the development of character and intellect.
Pleasure without Conscience
People find various ways of bringing excitement and pleasure to their lives. However, in so doing the cost to society can be very heavily. For example, taking drugs and playing dangerous games cause avoidable health problems that cost the world hundreds of billions of dollars in direct and indirect health care facilities. Many of these problems are self-induced or ailments caused by careless attitudes.
According to Covey, conscience is essentially the repository of timeless truths and principles – the internal monitor of natural law. Gandhi was of the view that irresponsible and unconscionable acts, such as sexual pleasure and indulgence, have a heavy cost to the people and the country. The emotional, financial, and moral price is heavy on everyone.
He emphasized that pleasure must come from within the soul and the excitement derived from serving the needy, and caring for the family, the children, and relatives.
Building sound human relationships can be an exciting and adventurous activity. Unfortunately, we tend to ignore the spiritual pleasures of life and indulge in the physical pleasures, Gandhi noted.
Wealth without Work
Gandhi did not believe in the operations of the stock market nor any form of gambling. He was also strongly against situations where officials receive emoluments that are not always commensurate with the work they do.
Some of them do not even pay taxes. In addition, with capitalism and materialism on the rise, there is an increasing grey area between an honest day’s hard work and sitting back and profiting from other people’s labour.
To conserve the resources of the world and share them equitably with all so that everyone can aspire to a good standard of living, people should therefore take only as much as they honestly need. Gandhi further asserted that there is enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.
To be continued –
