Why is democracy failing in Afghanistan?
Author: Dr. Farid Yunus, Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology and Islamic Philosophy, Founder and Initiator of Islamic Democracy (California, USA), Member of the Advisory Board of Sangar
There are many reasons, but the most important one is the spirit of ethnocentrism and nationalism, which does not want to lose ethnic dominance. And this spirit keeps the people in the swamp of backwardness, because an ethnocentric society never thinks about the prerequisites of democracy. They can do business and trade, but with intellectual and ethnic limitations. Ethnocentrism is the antithesis of civilizationism. That is, until people come out of their ethnic and tribal state, democracy will not work, and uncivilized people will not succeed.
Better understand the prerequisites of democracy. The prerequisites of democracy are 1) industry and capital, and 2) freedom of thought, which are not present in Afghanistan. In today's free world, reason + capital = democracy.
Why capital?
Capital creates jobs, and when jobs are created, people move freely from one place to another in search of work. Labor and capital force a person to go where there is work, and this leads to the fact that his identity merges with labor and production, and he thinks more about his work and income, rather than his ethnicity. And when a person works and becomes an owner of capital, then he defends his rights with freedom of mind, and the democratic process gradually blossoms.
Let us ask, why is modern man so insistent on the issue of identity? Because he is unemployed and has no capital. When people are busy, working, and owning capital, they will start looking for national identity and justice, as in Germany or America.
Now in the US, it doesn't matter what nationality or religion you are, as long as you can earn a living and eat a piece of halal bread. People travel to work by car or train for two hours to earn a living. In this situation, it is not about his nationality or religion but his output. Yes, when he returns home, he can feel who he is, and identity will have some meaning for him, unless people form a large group based on their identity, which also advocates for civil rights. In the US, the presidents of the largest companies are Indians, especially in the digital media. Their identity is formed by their work, activities, and productive power.
For further understanding, refer to Francis Fukuyama's book "Identity".
