Governments, Not Mushrooms

Good, qualified governments do not pop up like mushrooms after continued rainfall. This seems to be the apparent belief of some people who think toppling an authoritarian regime by protests for democracy will automagically result in the formation of a new democratic government. In any country larger than a city, such an outcome is highly unlikely.

However, it must also be understood that the capacity of human endurance is incredible. In the absence of agents of change, a move towards more humane conditions for the citizens of a country can take centuries or even longer. History will attest to the propensity to the ability of humans to tolerate authoritarian regimes for hundreds or even thousands of years as long as their lives are afforded some modicum of peace and stability.

Still, it should be made clear that no amount of generalizing will help what goes on in the real world. This is not a matter of democratic, asian, western, authoritarian or any number of value systems and ideologies out there. In just about any modern government, the authorities hold significant power by virtue of their office, and it is as likely to be an "asian" value as it is a personal value.

I believe it is a personal value, given that claiming to represent christian or democratic or asian values is a gross oversimplification and is likely to be no more than subverting a categorical group's credibility as your own. An immense number of atrocities have been committed under the banner of higher morals or ideals.

So, when a situation emerges that requires a government to step up atop an existing one that is making the people in general suffer? It becomes a matter of whether the people feel they are suffering, which is not something that can be viewed under the lens of ideology. And when those people feel that they need a new leadership, it matters little how much pain and suffering will result. This will be a move for the future generations. Good governance simply does not pop up like a mushroom, allowing the current generation to enjoy its heady shade.