With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.

After World War II in 1945, the world was divided into two halves. One led by the USSR, and the other by the USA. The USA embraced the principle of a democratic nation-state and allowed the allies to follow capitalist and liberal policies. On the other hand, the USSR focused on communism and power centralization and gave little individual growth and liberty incentive. As the Cold War went on, the USA led the bloc in a responsible manner, but the USSR, with power hegemony lure, faced economic crisis and finally got disintegrated with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1992. With great power comes great responsibility, and it is the fulfillment of these responsibilities that will determine power sustainability.

Human beings are the most superior creatures on this world, and it is our responsibility that we must live sustainably. We must embrace our responsibility of biodiversity and natural resources conservation. But it is our fault to ignore these responsibilities that human future existence is in danger due to climate change.

History has ample examples to prove this saying. The Great Nanda Empire was the biggest Mahajanpada in ancient India. But its emperor Dhanand, rather than living up to people’s development expectation, got lured by power and lust. His own citizens rebelled against him, and his death paved the way for the Mauryan Empire.

The Varnasharma system in ancient India, in true principle, was based on the division of labor. It was originally the responsibility of Brahmans to educate the Shudras. But rather than living up to it, Brahmans focused on strengthening their social position. This subjugated lower classes attacked Brahmans, discarded religion, and created deep chaos in the transition time to Medieval India.

The British colonized India in the blanket of civilizational supremacy. They took the world that it is their responsibility to civilize the Indian race. But rather than paving the way for democracy, liberal education, and citizen empowerment, they focused on economic exploitation. Realizing this, freedom fighters overthrew the British Empire, and India made a tryst with destiny.

Mahatma Gandhi gained large mass support for his weapons of Ahimsa and Satyagraha. This put him in great powers of negotiation with the British and citizens. He never buckled under pressure from Moderates, extremists, revolutionaries, and stayed firm on his ideals and people’s expectations. He, by example, fulfilled all the responsibilities with leading by example. All anecdotes provide the Abraham Lincoln saying – “All men can stand in the face of adversity. If you want to test his character, give him power.”

Thus, it is a great responsibility on an individual’s part to maintain noble character traits while in power.

Lust for the line of power is always dangerous. That’s why power concentration was always considered dangerous in political systems. Periodic presidency rotation of INC and choosing a parliamentary form of governance rather than a presidential form shows the familiarity of constitutional makers to the old-age saying. In fact, the whole idea of democracy is based on power decentralization and preventing the tyranny of autocracy.

With the residing power in the hands of a few representatives, the public puts their faith in them. Then, it becomes the responsibility of the representatives to work their best for human development, empowerment, and well-being of all. They have the responsibility of doing away with poverty, hunger, social discrimination, and paving the way for a just and equal society.

Big MNCs work on the profit motive principle and garner huge wealth every year. But it is their responsibility to provide quality products and not adulterated. Also, the rising philanthropists like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Ratan Tata, etc., understand their responsibility for humanity. CSR norms are based on the same principle.

Brazil hosts the world’s largest tropical rainforest, Amazonia. They are the lungs of the earth and home to rich biodiversity. With this great economic and environmental wealth concentration, it becomes its supreme responsibility to save the ecosystem. But recent incidents of Amazon fires show its reluctance to its responsibilities. To this, it becomes the responsibility of all the citizens around the world to take a strong stand against this.

Access to nuclear weapons in irresponsible hands puts the entire world’s existence in danger. While on one hand, India, with a no-first-use policy and using it just for credible deterrence, embraces its responsibility. On the other hand, North Korea, just for the sake of economic bargains, threatens the entire humanity.

It is not just that great responsibilities come with great power. While one hardly appreciates the power of women and teachers in society, they play a great role in nation-building. It is with these great responsibilities that their simple position assumes great significance.

In the digitalizing world, data assumes great power. Data is the new oil in driving all aspects of the economy and decision-making. Concentration of data in the hands of the government and social networking giants puts great power in their hands. The government’s Aadhar scheme also puts the responsibility on its shoulders to use it wisely and respect individual privacy and dignity, while companies like Cambridge Analytica neglected these responsibilities and put in danger the entire fair election process of the world’s largest democracy.

As Nobel laureate Wilson once said, “Ignorance when coupled with power, is the biggest enemy to justice.” Thus, it becomes the supreme responsibility of leaders to empower the marginalized and facilitate participative governance to achieve a fast and equal society.

The difficult question remains, how one should conduct itself while in power to fulfill all responsibilities. Indian philosophy provides a wise solution to it. Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita embrace the principle of Dharma. It goes on to say that it is the first responsibility of the individual to work for humanity and social welfare. The principle of ‘Nishkam Karma’ can guide individuals away from the lure of power.

Utilitarian and Deontologist ethics dwell on the morality of actions. Doing a SWOT analysis of individual actions, leaders can achieve the great ends with wise means.

While in office, a leader, rather than focusing on strengthening his position and economic gains, should focus on building strong institutions for public participation in governance. This holds equally true for democracy and monarchy. Scandinavian countries with strong public institutions have reached high human development rankings. A participative and inclusive development is key to power sustainability, at the same time fulfilling public aspirations. The Indian government, with the principle of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas,’ once embraced the same principle.

Thus, strong democratic institutions with a push for power decentralization to grassroots levels, public participation in decision-making, and inclusive development will lead to a prosperous world.