Freddie misinterprets Zakaria’s theory

Mar 21, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I am responding to Mr. Freddie Kissoon’s column of March 5, 20010, questioning my “familiarity” with Fareed Zakaria’s theory on ill-liberalist governance (dictatorship as interpreted by Kissoon).
Not only am I very familiar with Fareed’s works, I am also knowledgeable about his life and his family as well. Fareed got his doctorate from Harvard in Political Science, a discipline Kissoon claims does not exist. Fareed was mentored by Sam Huntington whose works are required reading for those of us who studied politics (Dr. Randy Persaud can attest to that fact). That is why I can state with absolute confidence that Kissoon has misstated and misinterpreted Zakaria’s theory on ill-liberalist regimes in seeking to apply it to Guyana.
Zakaria would disagree with Kissoon that Guyana is a dictatorship. Far from it, Fareed would say Guyana is a democracy that needs a benevolent dictator to transform its economy because Fareed showed in his doctoral dissertation that dictatorships are better at promoting development (I don’t agree with him because Guyana grew negatively under Burnham’s dictatorship).
Fareed’s seminal essay on ill-liberalism is required reading for those who study political science which Kissoon did not study and is perhaps the reason why Kissoon cannot comprehend Fareed’s writings. I have become familiar with Fareed from his lectures in NY at Indian functions and from half a dozen weekly ethnic Indian American newspapers to which I subscribe. I have also written about Fareed having become impressed with his credentials.
I traveled to India to celebrate Fareed’s awarding of the prestigious Pravasi Prize (he is Mumbai born, my favourite city) but disappointingly he did not show up to receive it from the President. Just recently Fareed was featured in News India Times and India Abroad, both of which I wrote for years ago. I have been writing for publications for 32 years. The papers regularly feature Fareed discussing his theories and achievements. Fareed was a guest at the White House for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s state dinner.
I also read his works and am very familiar with his arguments on authoritarian rule which Kissoon does not comprehend, not surprisingly, because Kissoon admits he is not a political scientist like myself and Randy Persaud.
Unlike Kissoon, I have never misstated the positions of respected writers or theorist like Freud or Zakaria. If I am not familiar with a topic, theory or concept, I state so unambiguously. I am not a pretender. I don’t suffer from an inferiority complex. If it is pointed out that I err in my writings, I humbly apologise during the 32 years I have been writing for the public.
Kissoon has not shown any signs of humility even when repeatedly proven wrong.
Kissoon should read the interpretations of Drs. Prem Misir and Ravi Dev and one of the Peeping Toms all of whom show that they clearly understand the arguments posited by Dr. Zakaria. Contrary to what Kissoon claims, Guyana is not a dictatorship (elected or otherwise). Desmond Hoyte ended dictatorship in Guyana and ever since democracy has been consolidated – freedom of press is unchallenged.
The crux of Zakaria’s argument is too much democracy could be bad for a country and dictatorship may be necessary to promote development. Zakaria showed that democracy is responsible for a lot of the problems of some countries. He claims that dictatorships have been more successful than democracies in promoting economic growth and creating economic wealth.
I don’t agree with Fareed but his theory was proven for several countries. Guyana is a case in point where there is too much democracy but Guyanese prefer it unlike the 28-year dictatorship. Zakaria wrote an essay a few years ago criticising the US policy of pursuing democratic governance in Iraq and other nations in the Middle East although a few months ago in another essay, he seemed to be arguing for greater level of democratic governance that includes distribution of power among the diverse groups.
Zakaria also argued that a country may have to go through political stages before becoming a democracy with becoming a dictatorship a phase on the way to becoming a democracy. Thus, he was not critical of the oppressive dictatorships in Asia and Latin America (Guyana not included in his study), which form the basis of his theory, because he felt that without authoritarian rule, these countries would not have experienced development.
If Kissoon truly understands and supports Fareed’s theory, then Kissoon should urge President Jagdeo to transform Guyana into a dictatorship and hopefully the country can move forward and become like one of the Asian giants. Zakaria may support Kissoon’s call to make Guyana a (benign) dictatorship to clean up the destructive remnants of the Burnham dictatorship.
My humble advice to Mr. Kissoon is to stop misinterpreting social science theories and to re-read Zakaria slowly if he wants to master the theory of ill-liberalism.
Vishnu Bisram

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