Absolute
Power Corrupts Absolutely
Tran Binh
Note:
This is the English version of an article in Vietnamese posted in this home
page on
The French
have a saying: “Le pouvoir pourrit” and the Anglo-Saxon: “Absolute power
corrupts absolutely”. This is a phenomenon reflecting human nature. In other
words, no political regime, no human being, can elude this truth. If an
individual or a political party holds power for too long, this is the root
cause behind a corrupt society.
As a
consequence, the notion of democracy has been born on the fundamental concept
that the person(s) in power must seek the consent of the majority of the people
through periodic elections in order to prevent the monopoly of power by an
individual or political party. For ample caution, all democratic nations
operate on the basis of the rule of law with a Constitution as fundamental law,
in which the concept of separation of powers is enshrined: the Legislative
power reserved for the Congress, the Executive power reserved for the
Administration, and the Judiciary power reserved for the Courts in case of
breach of the laws.
Such
separation of powers provides for check and balance in order to prevent too
much concentration of power in one hand. On top of this separation of powers is
the freedom of expression of the people epitomized by a free press.
But, in
their history as the most perfect democracy on earth, even the
The
September 11 terrorist attack made George W Bush into a president with an
anti-terrorist mission to protect the American people. In a way this event has
delivered to him a mandate with the support of more than 80% of the people. He
did not have that mandate less than a year before when he was elected in a disputed
election, with the presidency finally delivered to him by a decision of the
Supreme Court, barring the vote recount in
the state of
There is no
question that President Bush had the support of both houses of Congress and the
media to invade Afghanistan in order to destroy Al Qaeda when the Taliban
regime refused to deliver Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda’s leader and mastermind of
the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Also, a
resolution of the United Nations Security Council authorized such an attack by
the
This plan
was followed by various maneuvers, some of them dubious, by these associates to
convince the international community that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, that the people of
Instead the
White House and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld made several errors of judgment such
as disbanding the entire Iraqi army, dismissing all Baath Party officials from
administrative positions, and not sending enough troops to pacify
Such
absolute power in the hands of the neo-cons has led to drastic consequences on
the battlefield resulting in half a million Iraqi casualties and more than 2800
American military casualties, while democracy in this nation remains an
illusion.
Meanwhile
absolute power also led to erroneous and extreme internal policies. The
Congress failed to listen to the people, failed to check the actions of the
administration and only paid attention to their own self interests. During
2006, Congress met 60 days while the average number of days at work for
Americans was 250. The Republicans pushed through their legislative agenda
regardless of the opinions of the Democratic minority. This has led to the
situation where an Alaskan Representative had been able to earmark $223 million
to build a bridge to link
Without the
“checks” by Congress, President George W Bush governed by instinct. He spent
$120 billion since 2006 to placate 40 million senior citizens and $236 billion
on the
Finally on
What are the
policies of the Democratic Party in relation to the
There is
hope that they would not insist on immediate withdrawal of troops but a gradual
one so as to avoid the bloodshed of a wide open civil war, and for the
government of
Allowing
The
Democratic Party should concern themselves more with the democratic movements
of the world in accordance with their own tradition, especially in developing
nations still reeling under dictatorial regimes, and express their support for
the democratic ideal. Above all the Party should uphold an anti-terrorist
policy that can assuage the concerns of Americans and of the world.
The Bush
policy of “striking at terrorism overseas” to protect
On the home
front, the Democrats will resort to the concept of check and balance to adjust
the various policies of the government. They may need to refrain from the
temptation to abuse their majority in both houses of Congress to “impeach”
President Bush.
The conduct
of both the Republicans (holding Executive power) and the Democrats (holding
Legislative power) will position them for the presidential election in 2008. If
the Democrats could assist in resolving the thorny problems of the country,
especially the problem of
Political
events in
During the
12 years of absolute power, the Republican Party has created an extremist
president and a corrupt Congress, sowing division within the people,
undermining the international reputation and prestige of the most powerful
nation on earth. This has happened in a country with a democratic tradition,
with democratic institutions, and with freedom of expression. This is enough
food for thought.
The
Vietnamese leaders should compare what happened to absolute power in the
The CPV
always speak of wisdom and patriotism. Why not resort to wisdom to select the
right path, and resort to patriotism to spur right action. A referendum to ask
the 60 million voters (over 18) whether they consent to Article 4 of the
Constitution, granting absolute
power to 3 million members of the CPV, would be a first step in the right
direction.
Tran
Binh
Trần Bình Nam
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