Replying to LO30124 --
Dear Organlearners,
Terje Tonsberg <tatonsberg@hotmail.com> writes:
>AM de Lange writes:
>
>>The model of western democracy has too little, if any, LO in
>> it.
>
>Indeed, it works much like the stockmarket doesn't it? Do
>anything of future significance with short term costs and watch
>your ratings plummet.
(snip)
>So bring in the elders? Or will they just say "screw'em" and
>ring up the pension payments they don't have to pay for? (;-)
Greetings dear Terje,
When i wrote this line, i was thinking of how African societies in
Southern Africa (distinct from Western Africa) were operating in the days
before colonialism. There were not such things as voting, a ruling party
or written laws.
A society was ruled by a chief, usually taking office by heritage. He
could not do as he wished or saw fit. He had to act according to the
advice of his elders. They also could not speak as they wished. Their
wisdom of old age had to be used to listen to the opinions of any member
of society and represent these diverse opinions in a coherent as possible
manner. The chief and the elders were thus the learners and articulators
of the will of the whole of society rather than a section of it or merely
their own. Of particular importance were the concerns of generations yet
to be born as well as generations of the past. It was the task of the
elders to present them and their concerns.
Then the colonialists came, took posession with their powerful weapons,
destroyed these procedures, kicked Africans out of all decision making
processes and set up typical western democracies for themselves to which
the Africans had to bow. Can you imagine what confusion it caused and
eventually the downfall of former orderly societies? When they left these
African countries after less than a century, as a result of "uhuru"
(awakening), the result was a gradual decling into poverty and anarchy.
We in South Africa have been much more fortunate. I myself are of the
thirteenth generation of European settlers. Thus i am an integral part of
Africa as the Africans themselves. For more than three centuries the
Africans of South Africa were exposed to Western democracy, although they
could not participate in it. As time went by, more an more of them wanted
to participate in Western democracy rather rather than the traditional
African way of ruling. Hence, with the fall of apartheid, South Africa
became one of the few countries in Southern Africa following the model of
Western democracy with great success.
I am now thinking of Iraq. The US bombarded it to get rid of the dictator
Hussein and his cronies. Now the US reminds me of a dog which chased a bus
and finally caught up with it. What to do with the bus? Imposing a Western
democracy on Iraq, in my opinion, would be a grave mistake and will lead
only to endless conflict like in most Southern African states.
Terje, you are a student of Arabic culture. You know better than any of us
how societies of Arabic civilisation functioned during its golden age some
seven centuries ago. Would it not be better to reorganise Iraq according
to the civil practices of that golden age rather than to the present model
Western democracy? Please tell us more how the Arabian authorities
functioned during to that golden era and whether it will still be possible
to operate today in the present Arabic world. I will not be surpised if it
is very much like in the African case before colonial times.
It was difficult for me to write this response because i deliberately
avoided phrases like "African democracy" and "Arabian democracy". As soon
as the word "democracy" appears, we are inclinded to think of a typical
Western democracy. But the etymology of the the word "demos"=people
"kratos"=strength points to something else -- make the people, but not the
rulers, strong! What better way is there than through LOs? I perceive in
the African ruling before colonialism a kind of organisational learning
which got lost. In fact, they even had a word for this organisational
learning -- "indaba"!
Is it not time for us to seek our own "indaba"? The circus which we are
calling parliament or congress is making me sick because of its gross
misuse and the little organisational learning happening in it.
With care and best wishes
--At de Lange <amdelange@postino.up.ac.za> Snailmail: A M de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre Faculty of Science - University of Pretoria Pretoria 0001 - Rep of South Africa
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