Governments and ‘isms’ in 21st century
IN this modern era of the 21st century with new technology and social media, politics and ‘isms’ have been constantly changing everywhere.
There are three main isms’ countries that follow Capitalism, Socialism and Communism.
USA, Japan and many western countries follow capitalism while most countries follow socialism and there are several communist countries like China, Vietnam etc.
The world has changed a lot in the last 25 years. A major change in the application of technology in all areas makes the government more efficient in conducting public service.
Information technology and its various applications, interactive websites, cell phones, pads and various forms of data collection have changed the world resulting in fast communication processes and steady information on world events. All these have changed politics, economics, science, outlooks and policies.
Capitalism is survival of the fittest, taking risks and utilizing the opportunities available. Socialism is providing equal opportunity and distributing wealth equally while providing freedom and opportunity to make it yourself. Communism wants to share wealth equally and provide opportunities for individual growth.
All these isms that control political activity and government policies are changing drastically because of global economic activity and the cultural changes in the way people think. There are democratic governments that follow capitalism like the USA, and Japan, etc. socialism like India, France, etc. and communism like China, Vietnam etc. Then there are kingdoms and autocratic governments that follow a mixture of capitalism and socialism, socialism and communism and some with no isms.
With the dawn of the 21st century, the strict following of an ism by a government has been changing to a modern era of what is best for the country and the people.
International trade and commerce, technological advancements, changes in social culture, increased travel and migration looking for work changed every nation in the world. Life is no more limited to a village, state or country.
Education is not limited to local institutions. Online education and training have been replacing classroom education enabling distance education. The influence of religion on people’s life has been changing.
Capitalism, Socialism and Communism are no more defined structures anymore. We see that communist China in most cases follows capitalistic economic policies and allows individuals to grow independently.
We see in the USA even though capitalism is its main economic policy, other social changes are being implemented to have a more socialistic society promoting equality and equal rights.
We see a socialist country like India promoting capitalistic economic policies while trying to have a socialistic society.
In other words, in many cases, governments follow a mixed policy that is fit for the country’s economic policies and international trade and another fit for the social conditions of the people. The new generation in all countries is not happy with the existing policies and situations as they want to see changes and it is happening.
We expected a lot of changes in the 21st century. But, the Covid pandemic since March 2020 really changed the world. Economically inflation has squeezed all countries, health care costs have become a big burden for governments, more than five million people died in the world, online education has become popular, work from home has become a new phenomenon and social life has been impacted tremendously.
Capitalism, Socialism and Communism could not play any role in these changes, rather failed to play any role. Public Health has become a major concern of governments. What isms the governments follow is not important anymore, what the governments can do to provide economic independence and a healthy environment has become the role of governments.
India is supposed to follow democratic socialism. Political parties no more talk about socialism, they fight for power, some fight for a fairer government, some want a Hindu country, some want a rich country and some want to reduce poverty. Systemic corruption and nepotism have become part of government and political parties.
In Kerala, the ruling party is supposed to follow communist principles. The communist party has a communist structure, but the government neither follows socialism nor communism. It follows policies to sustain its power and promises progress without an actual plan or vision.
We need new non-corrupt leaders with a vision to abolish corruption in government, eliminate poverty and provide equal opportunity to all citizens. Isms are no more important. Government of the people, by the people and for the people, during elections politicians should declare their vision and what they could do as a leader, not communism, socialism or capitalism.
