The Management of Tyranny

The Management of Tyranny


Government by definition is tyrannical. Many forms of government use the presence of numerous individuals, and the process of elections, to deceive the citizens into believing that the government acts on their behalf, and in a relatively fair and just manner.
In the modern world, most individuals actually acknowledge the fact that most governments and government officials are at least minimally corrupt, and more apt to act on self-interest than for the public good. While it could be argued that governments have always done this, the advent of capitalism and the industrial revolution have made it somewhat more ubiquitous. Form however has little to do with corruption and greed; this is more of a human nature issue than that of structure. We have seen, and history has proven, that government tyranny is pervasive throughout every ideology, regardless of their otherwise altruistic or humanist precepts. However, with an ever-increasing global economic market, and increased globalization of media and pop culture, major governments have been able to manipulate information and trade to benefit themselves in the world power market. The system then in essence creates a very complicated and unhealthy trickle-down power structure. Major world players, both in and out of the United Nations, exert considerable power over poorer, less populated, less educated, less resource-rich, and less industrialized nations. This power has very detrimental effects on these nations by affecting the nations’ health, trade, international debt, defense, and ultimately the future of the unstable nation. In turn, government officials in these volatile countries are constantly fighting to retain both legitimacy and power, often using violence as their source of both; and because in our modern world, a new axiom tends to contend that the poorer the country the more corrupt the government. Therefore, the power struggle again trickles down from the economic elite, exploiting the already disenfranchised poor. Here, at the bottom level of the power structure comes domestic abuse, violence, and other crime. People in helpless and desperate situations are left with few alternatives but to react to the situation around them (often aggressively), or perish in the face of it.
The development of government was most likely caused by a large number of factors. Lack of communication over large land areas, the development of the city (city-state), and the need to make laws and create ways of assuring the city both protected and preserved its inhabitants. From its very inception however, the problem arises as to who is to make these rules and other decisions. Obviously there were those who considered themselves to be more worthy of the duty of “governing” (and possibly were), but then this leaves the rest of the population at the mercy of the beginning of what we would call today the “elite class”. This class is usually not only better educated, but has a greater leadership capacity, and think in more abstract ways. These qualities however, do not necessarily assure a public official with the good of society as their goal. Therefore, with the rise of the ruling class, we can see the beginning of the manipulation of power, and the precursor to the aristocracy that was created by the monarchy.
The “tyranny” of the monarchy was a difficult power to challenge, considering both the monarchs “divine right”, and the unwavering power kings used in presiding over their armies. Also, because of the divination of the king, power was passed between generations, and stayed in the royal family. These passing of power and wealth (and title) between generations created a new right as well, the monarchical tradition. The ruling class was now entitled by money, by might, by title, by tradition, and not least of all by God.