The deep flaws and existent contradictions in democracy are inherent to this political system and are an intrinsic part of its constitution. They did not come about just now, in the last decades, as it can seem at first glance. What we see today is an exacerbation of these mistakes, perfected to their acme by the contemporary practitioners that have gone to all lengths to transform the democratic countries into islands of hypocrisy, surrounded on all sides by the ocean of filth, corruption.
When the democratic ideal began to gain strength in Greece, about 508 B.C., a curious phenomenon was observed: the better gifted the politician was in the art of public speaking, the more public acclaim he would get and the quicker he stood out in the Citizens Assembly, which at that time was the equivalent of what we call congress today. If what was said had value or not was irrelevant, what mattered was that it was well said. This was the only way it was possible for the verbose democrats of the time, already sufficiently corrupt, to sentence to death the wise man Socrates, through incoherent arguments made with empty words. So this was the first crime of an important person that used the omnipresent democratic shield as a front.
A historian(1) at that time made the following observation, and quote: There does not seem to exist in Athens a party in which a man that didn't want to open hand to ethical principles could join. Sounds familiar, no? But this was not the only thing. It was almost impossible to decide anything in the Citizens Assembly, as members frequently did not attend the assembly… they were absent because they were taking care of personal matters…
Democracy is one of the excrescences produced by the continual and unstoppable human decadence that has already been going on for thousands and thousands of years. The fact that its origin goes so far back, just demonstrates that already at that time the majority humanity lived in a contrary manner to the specific laws that govern the world, or the laws of nature.
Whatever is built in opposition to these natural laws has no possibility whatever of surviving. It lasts for a certain period and then disintegrates, because of the automatic effect of these same laws. For those who know them it is not that difficult to make predictions that have to come true unfailingly, sooner or later.
In past ages, when humanity still lived integrated to these laws, the governmental regimes were also different. In Chaldea, in Sheba and even more recently during the Inca Empire the true art of governing existed. These regimes could have been called autocracies, however, with some fundamental differences in relation to the concept that we have today of this type of government.
In first place, the autocracy of those days was not the regime of the strongest, but it was the regime of wisest. The wisest was the person who best understood the laws of the life and was spiritually, the most developed. The leaders were people that were already born predestined to govern. They brought with them an incorruptible meaning of true justice and, with the most open mind in comparison to all the other members of the community and were capable of recognizing how they should stimulate the people, so that they could reach the acme of their spiritual and terrestrial development. A way of governing that the human being today cannot possibly imagine, preferring to call it as a fantasy
In fact, the reaction that we immediately get to these words is very natural, because we are far too convinced of the human capacity in solving the problems created by humanity itself. Only when all that is wrong has depleted itself, into a complete and unconcealable failure, will humility be rediscovered. It is only with humility as a torch will it be possible to find the way back to the correct manner of life, in its true sense.
To those that prefer to call this form of government utopian, I say that they are absolutely right. It is really a utopia when we compare it to the present age. In the parched soil of current politics it could never flourish as something beautiful and useful. Before all else this soil will have to be completely cleaned of the harmful weeds and the poisonous bramble that has been carefully planted and treated by the bad gardeners' of politics, so proud of their work.
The fore mentioned civilizations recognized with gratitude the wisdom of their rulers and, that is why they proceeded precisely and confidently, following the guidelines of the government. They were integrated naturally into social casts: not one above the other, but one beside the other. Evidently there was no oppression of any type, but all the casts, from the highest to the lowest, were considered of equal importance, because the well being of the country and the people depended on the group and harmonious work of all of them, according to the capacities of each one. The casts were formed according to the spiritual maturity of the people. The highest cast was made up of the wisest people.
We could make an analogy of this type of government with a ship that sails the ocean. The safety and tranquility of the trip depends on the synchronized performance of all the crewmembers. The captain of the ship has the duty of taking the vessel to a safe and nice destiny, because he is the one best qualified for this operation and from his position of observation he has the most ample view of all the events. He is also responsible to give the correct orders in the case of dangerous approaching storms that can put the final destiny of the trip at risk. The personnel that work on the ship deck, in the engine room and in ship maintenance do not have the commanders view, but they trust him integrally and work diligently so that the engines work well and the rudder holds its course. In the same way, without his important work, the trip would not be successful.
The ship is the nation; the trip is terrestrial life, that should be directed towards spiritual ascension and terrestrial progress; the storms are all the dangers that threaten the course of the trip, like the appearance of false ways of life, religious and philosophical doctrines impregnated with lies, self-indulgence, lack of spiritual and terrestrial alertness, etc.; the captain is the wise director who, outstanding the others spiritually, indicates with energy and justice the route to be taken; the other crewmembers that have different functions on board, constitute the casts that are formed automatically according to their capacities and the spiritual development of each one.
Now on Earth there is not even a trace of a governmental regime that is similar to one of those carried out in ancient times. In fact, today no nation at all deserves to be governed this way; to the contrary, we deserve to be governed by this disqualified class of professional politicians that have no other objective in mind other than their own interests.
But this too is also a reciprocal effect of the performance of the people themselves, much more interested in rights than in duties. It is literally quiet right when it is said that each nation has the government that it deserves, which, however, is not just a consequence of elections results. The true cause is much deeper, because today we reap the poisonous fruit that we once sowed.
Roberto C. P. Junior
1. Plato - Life and Work. Comment from the consultant José Américo Motta Pessanha. Return