We have got just the kind of government we deserve

NAIROBI: Nineteenth century American philosopher and essayist Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862) is largely remembered for his firm belief that bad government must be resisted. He is remarkable for his skepticism about the institution of government, and distaste for bad governments in particular. Governments, he said, are typically more harmful than helpful. Accordingly, they cannot be trusted. And because of this dubitable character, governments should not be justified. Unfortunately they can always buy apologists who justify them, especially when they are wrong.

Thoreau, in the end, saw government as a necessary evil. It was the duty of every citizen to contribute towards realisation of tolerable government. The best way to do this is to resist or disobey bad governments. Regrettably, even democracy was not a cure for the flaws of bad government. For being in the majority does not necessarily give you the virtues of wisdom and justice. It is no wonder that in Kenya, for example, we preach the gospel of tyranny of numbers when we should preach wisdom and justice. The notions of tyranny and democracy should never travel together. As pure numbers, African majorities have been no more than ignorant crowds. They are therefore dangerous crowds. Such majoritarian mobs should not be trusted with important issues like deciding who governs. The wisdom of a ballot paper in ignorant hands is questionable. Universal suffrage in an ignorant population is certainly one of the drivers of bad government. In situations such as ours ignoramuses who don’t know why governments are formed easily outnumber the few people who know better. Yet, provided that ignoramuses are the majority, they will install government anyway. In 1998, Ahmadou Kourouma of Ivory Coast wrote about the African electoral condition as a matter of waiting for the wild beasts to vote.