Politics & Current Affairs — May 6, 2009

The political system in India

The party system in India requires modifying if not changing altogether because it is the primary cause of everything that’s wrong in the governance of the country. In the U.K., Sir Paul Judge has founded an organization called The Jury Team that promotes independent candidates. Whether this could work in India or not is a moot point, given the vast difference in electorate size between India and the UK – but we certainly need to think out of the box if India is to realize its potential

Shanta Sinha Bhalla

The party system is behind the rot in the current political system in India.This will intensify in the coming years.

The root of the problem is the party system.

Parties need funding.In India this is far from transparent.

Much of the funding is through clientelism, with political parties leveraging their power to dispense favors for huge fees.

Force and coercion are also used to extract money.

This kind of ‘party fundraising’ that all party functionaries are required to do, corrupts those who may have joined politics with genuine ideals and aspirations.

Ultimately, these people end up serving the party and not the nation.

This system doesn’t only breed corruption, it degrades and devalues political office resulting in dangerous cynicism and contempt for those in power.This erosion of public trust can eventually lead to a breakdown of the political system, opening the doors to forces inimical to democracy.

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

▸

7 min

—

with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

Up Next

Surprising Science

New Cracks in the Frozen Egg Debate

There are a few ways to think about storing your gametes at -321 F for later use. On the one hand, cryopreservation could be one of the greatest tools would-be […]