Mh! It was all over news yesterday. ODM supporters were so upset about the nominations that they stoned their National headquarters. When I say stoned I mean they threw stones in order to break something. And something they broke indeed! The ODM Rainbow house is currently without windows and I don't think officials shall be visiting the place soon and if they do, they will have to do so with high security detail.
Supporters are upset that despite the nominations and clear winners at the polls, majority of the losers have actually been put on a list that is to be handed to the Electoral Commission of Kenya. And this is the problem that I mentioned yesterday. When you work with the masses, the same masses who bear no loyalty to anyone can turn against you. A colleague mentioned that Kibaki will be re- elected, Kalonzo Musyoka will be official leader of opposition and ODM shall have a handfull of sitting MPs at the 10 th Parliament. The guy is ODM damu! At the onset of the French Revolution, Queen Catherine heard that people were dying of hunger as there was no bread. She reportedly retorted that if there was no bread then they should have cake. She didn't live very long after that. My point? You cannot promise the masses (mob) a "better" life, a "better" way of doing things and expect that they will be content with rhetoric.
A few words concerning the masses. Firstly, they are mainly composed of what Karl Marx and his students call peasants. The bourgeois do not throw stones, they could be throwing it at their own investment or a major partner's investment. The elite group made up of the academic and the anciently rich have no idea what a stone looks like...Peasants however, will throw stones; one therefore does not want to have a following of this specimen.
Secondly, peasants have no qualms throwing stones since they are a very frustrated lot. They hardly have enough to eat and they work harder than everyone else. However, they have much less than everyone else. Life to them is a bitch and they need to re- direct their anger and frustration to something visible, a figure deserving...those who have more than enough or fair share. There is great resentment between the classes; on one hand the elite figures that the poor really don't work hard enough or are not smart enough since hard work and brains get you to the top. They therefore deserve to be where they are. At the bottom.
The middle class wakes up every morning thanking God that they are not too poor; life is hard but they strive every day to ensure that they don't sink to the bottom. In Kenya, this is the group that for the longest time tried not to rock the boat. They were not socially or politically active since they could not "afford" the risk. The elite on the other hand, well...the elite enjoy the good things of life. Their fathers enjoyed these things, their fathers' fathers, and their fathers' fathers'... you get my point. They are not sure what the fuss is all about, I mean, let those capable of leading lead and the rest should appreciate that these leaders can spare time to lead them.
Thirdly, the masses cannot be trusted. It has been said so many times, over and over again- the masses cannot be trusted. They have no loyalties. Karl Marx, John Staurt Mill, DeTouqueville among others talked about the tyranny of the masses. This group is not rational; they are led by euphoria to do or not to do; they get angry very quickly (rememeber all that anger and frustration?); they cannot be controlled; and one should be very afraid if majority of their following is made up of this group. Demagogues have tried and failed.
DeTouqueville suggested that effort should be made to increase the number of the bourgeois population, decrease both the elite and the proletariat. Remember the bourgeois never throw stones, will finance your elections, will develop infrastructure for you and employ many on your behalf. This group is not frustrated and is driven by ideas. Ideas never run out, when one fails another one is adopted to make profit. And such is life...
Kenya will be alright but we need to change the way we do politics. I am excited about the possibilities. If there is an African country that can develop both its urban and rural areas at the same pace to the point that say Japan has, then this is the nation. God Bless Kenya!!! (Tears in my eyes...)
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3 comments:
I don't think I will want to add anything. What you put down reflects the exact scenario as is and we await to see more as days unfold towards the B-Day Dec' 27, 2007.
I am enjoying reading your analysis, so interesting. I have always held the opinion that the Kenyan society does not have a middle class, what with Kibera being divided between those with plenty and those without? But I am beginning to rethink that thought and I beginning to think there is a middle “something” in Kenyan society. And even in developed economies we all know the middle class is the ones who pay the taxes, fund the welfare system for the poor and absorb deficits created by the rich's "unwillingness" to contribute to the tax system, they are the ones who work to keep the economy running and the ones who suffer most when jobs get exported to other nations.
Nicely put.. its time the middle class got out of the shower and started to ix things.. thats where the power of change truly lies, as thats where the change is really felt. The rich will remain so, and the masses, well, they are called that for a good reason!
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