License Politicians?-Educate Citizens

The leader of the largest economy in the World has the attention span of a sparrow, the intellectual curiosity of a garter snake and the moral compass of a dung beetle. If there is any character trait that is evolved, it is malignant narcissism. And 63 million people voted for this snake oil salesman. We may win the prize for selecting the person least fit to govern but we are not alone. There is Bolsonaro in Brazil, Erdogan in Turkey, AMLO in Mexico, Duterte in Philippines, Salman in Saudi Arabia, Magufuli in Tanzania, Putin in Russia, Lukashenko in Belarus, possibly Modi in India, to mention the worst of them. What do they have in common? Narcissism, authoritarianism, a capacity for confabulation, contempt for reality, a predisposition to humbug, indifference to character- driven norms, corruption, and incompetence. That they all happen to be male, and that a couple of the best political leaders in the world happen to be women is a topic for another discussion.

Gnecdotally, we can see the pathology of the thuggish leaders. Perhaps the most bizarre and sensational example is Erdogan’s palace, 4x the size of Versailles, built with $615 million in public funds. Or the theft of billions from the Malaysia sovereign investment fund by the Prime Minister and his cohort. Authority is tantamount to ownership, the right to the assets of the state, the right to repress dissent with impunity. The variations are nuanced but universal. Putin’s cronies took over banks, imprisoned or killed dissenters and confiscated their wealth. Duterte and Bolsonaro, unleashed law enforcement with “kill the drug dealer” orders. Bolsonaro let the rain forest burn, ignoring the impact on climate and its capacity to sustain itself, asserting that it was good for the economy. Trump surrounded himself with crooks and liars and mediocre sycophants, dismantled the regulatory structure intended to benefit health and reduce the carbon footprint, under the guise of reducing the regulatory burden on business. AMLO destroyed the market for renewable energy to prop up the market for heavy oil produced by Pemex, Mexico’s corrupt incompetent and bankrupt national oil monopoly. What they have in common is contempt for the rule of law and indifference to the implications of their conduct and policies. This departure from responsible, ethical, rational governance is on a spectrum. Some approaches can be rationalized, if not justified, by an attempt to address societal issues. In China, for example, the implementation of a policy to preserve societal stability has led to suppression of dissent and mass incarceration of Muslims, extreme measures to deal with legitimate concerns. It is somewhat astonishing that these people have often as not seduced voters in what passes for democracy. They all seem to have the innate capacity to rhetorically touch their constituent’s visceral needs. Some have come to power by circumventing a balanced electoral process, but generally at some point the voters have enfranchised them and supported their articulated viewpoints. Another specious recurrent behavior pattern is sexual predation. It runs from internet flirtation to outright predation. It’s manifestations all seem to be sourced in the narcissistic omnipotence syndrome; whatever I do is OK and I can get away with it. The fact that there are so many bad leaders is surprising. But we must recognize that in a world of algorithms our capacity for rational thinking remains encumbered by our emotions and our predisposition to seek validation of our preconceptions. An open mind is an illusion for all but a few, if any. And the paradox of the information age is the flood of information that is simply pollution Philosophers conjuring a better world have speculated on the ideal characteristics of leaders. So far, Utopia and El Dorado are intellectual aspirations. Perhaps the closest we humans have come is the governance structure of Singapore. Bureaucracy is made up of a highly paid, well- educated and respected elite. Presumably, their capacity to formulate and implement public policy is at a higher level than most public agencies. But of course, it is a small homogenous community; 2/3 the population of New York City living on 227 square miles. The role played by cultural forces cannot be discounted and is perhaps the paramount variable. Some places are profoundly encumbered by pandemic corruption. For those societies, the burden of producing good government is more than challenging. The imposition of a specific ideology on governance has not proven to be a palliative. Whether fascism, untrammeled individualism and free enterprise, socialism, communism, or theocracy, the flaws seem to override the potential benefits. All seem to devolve into some form of plutocracy which favors the few at the expense of the many. What, if anything, can be concluded from this miasma? We could recognize that the political function is so critical to the well-being of the society, that it should not be entrusted to the unfit. Perhaps politicians should be licensed or at least certified. To qualify to run for office, they should pass a non-ideological yet rigorous examination which evaluates their emotional and psychic stability and balance, their critical thinking skills, their moral compass and character and their expertise. Making this a pre-condition would be condemned as anti-Democratic elitism, utopian. And it wouldn’t exclude the demogogue in a culture with sub-standard fragile electoral functions. And yet the role of elected officials is too critical to the well-being of a society to dismiss the concept out of hand. We license surgeons, drivers. And yet in a society such as ours, where it is harder to get a driver’s license than an assault rifle, the concept is probably beyond the horizon of our aspirations. Add a mistrust of intellectuals, scientists, education generally, deeply held predispositions of a plurality of our fellow citizens, and you have a body politic with a high tolerance, if not adulation, of the “bad boy” who gets away with it. What’s to be done? A long- term mitigation. Teach critical thinking skills and the responsibilities of citizenship to to all pre- schoolers. Keep reinforcing it until they graduate. It’s a long game but worth the effort.

Sheldon Greene

sheldon.greene7@gmail.com

Sheldon Greene is a novelist and an executive in a renewable energy company with a background in high impact public interest law.

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