PEACE OR PROGRESS?

Ideally peace and progress are bedmates. Political upheavals, military disruptions, and social disenchantments are usually followed by peace and progress. However, in some cultures, peace and progress cannot coexist. Either you have peace and no progress or you have progress without peace. Africastallestman would prefer progress without peace to peace without progress.

Peace without progress is usually associated with Thievocracies (government of thieves by thieves for thieves). The thieves on the outside will condone any financial, administrative, and moral impunity being perpetrated by current office holders with a long-term view of committing the same impunity when they “pray” themselves into office. Their mantra is “Do not judge and you will not be judged.” They are oblivious of the fact that by labeling someone’s action as judgment means that you are judging that person. This is akin to a believer labeling somebody as an unbeliever and subsequently turning around to admonish the unbeliever for rendering judgment on actions of the believer that the unbeliever finds reprehensible.

In Thievocracies, there is no progress as public property are converted into private property and money that may be used to reduce the cost of capital, is spirited away into secret foreign bank accounts that are often forfeited to corrupt foreign bankers. A thievocratic leader is always asking, “What is my personal gain from this project?” The real question should be, “How will this project benefit my constituents and consequently the world?” Thievocrats surround themselves with sycophants or “yes people” and soon hubris will be knocking on their doorsteps. Once hubris sets in, there is a downward spiral into the abyss.

Rarely a leader emerges from a thievocratic culture that is determined to change the status quo, usually forcefully. An era of progress ensures and for the progress to be long-lasting, the leader has to wage a constant war on the thievocrats who melt away into the background, but will try subterfuge, sabotage, misinformation, and terrorism to revert to the status quo ante where rewards are earned through nepotism, favoritism, and outright robbery. Thievocracies never reach their true economic, political, social, and political potentials. Most Thievocracies are in Africa with South America and Asia following, not necessarily in that order.

Does the West or East care? No, if the stolen billions are held in Western banks. Also, the West’s and East’s primary interest is economic followed by political. If you are anti-communist or anti-socialist thievocrat that executes your subjects without trial; lives in a gold-glided mansion with helipads, owns a fleet of luxury German, Italian and British automobiles, with billions of stolen dollars rusting in vaults of the Bank of Launder Island and protected by secrecy laws, you are the West’s and Chinese favorite dictator and thievocrat.