Isn’t This True? Life Under The Sun, Facts To Consider!
Ecclesiastes 7:15
NIV
In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
Have you ever asked why corruption is untamable? Every political party promises to uproot corruption, only to leave office without taming this monster!
Most workers have seen their predecessors go home penniless; these were men/women who devoted themselves to doing the right things!
At the end of their active /working lives, they went home penniless! They were given a Kente cloth a pair of sandals, and a token pen to remind them of the many years they spent writing! Wow!
What is most harrowing and horrifying is that they died not long after they left office. Yes!
As a result, succeeding generations took lessons; they said to themselves “ rightness “ does not pay! They saw the wicked and corrupt living luxuriously while the honest languished in poverty. And due earjy.
This was what Solomon saw; read it again
Ecclesiastes 7:15
NIV
In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
If you were in his shoes, you’d also feel the same! We see it daily; the corrupt in society are hailed, admired, etc.
So the question many including strangely believers, are asking is ; “Does it pay to be honest?” And can we tame this monster called “ corruption ?”
Yes, simply put it pays to be honest; after all the same writer says “ a good name is to be preferred “!
Proverbs 22:1
NIV
A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
What has made this verse difficult to believe is the imbalance in our lives; the socio-economic setting we have created for ourselves negates the truth contained in the verse.
The reward systems we have in place are not helpful; adding to this is the social system which rewards /recognises greed!
The systems in place say “ integrity “ does not pay; it can not feed you so you better act contrarily! Else!
Again succeeding generations saw how those before them lived; they received nothing for their honesty. They saw how they died ; much earlier than their corrupt colleagues!
So, to tame corruption there is a need to overhaul the reward systems!
Many years ago when I was a young student of politics ( Ruskin College, Oxford ‘83) I learnt this reward philosophy from my tutors “ from each according to his **ability** to each according to his “**needs**!
This I was taught is the “ socialist “ way of designing reward systems!
In practice, this is what it means. An unmarried medical officer is given a single room, whereas a train driver with wife /children is given accommodation larger than that of the unmarried doctor!
This is what is meant “ from each according to his ability to each according to his needs !”
The opposite is what we see in capitalist societies. From each according to his ability to each according to his desire!
So you have an unmarried doctor living in a four-bedroom house. Whereas a train driver with family lives in a single room!
So, it is the reward systems we have in place that sow the seed and promote corruption. They are systems without a human face. It’s what the Twi calls “ Wiasè mu nià wabrè na odiè” philosophy!
The every man “according to his desire” philosophy has no place for the vulnerable in society who unfortunately are in the majority.
To create a just society, political leadership must therefore pursue what Jeremy Bentham ( British philosopher) stated ; to seek “ the greatest happiness of the greatest number “! Not the greatest happiness of the smart few; this requires a conscious and deliberate policy framework
If you care to know this was the philosophy that undergirded the post-independence policies Kwame Nkrumah pursued. That of seeking to promote “the greatest happiness of the greatest number!” A philosophy I share !
Part 2