Photo by Julius Drost on Unsplash
Course: Building a New System of Global Governance (2024)
Faculty Mentor: Sovaida Ma’ani Ewing
Anis Pakrou (see “Students Discuss Bringing Principles of the New World Order to the Wider Community“) also made observations on power and media in another weekly post:
This week’s theme was both fitting and thought-provoking. It shed light on the flaws in our current attitudes toward elections and the wrong qualities that we often value in our leaders. This particular quote is one that always stands out in exploring the idea of power in our Faith:
“If the web of relationships alluded to above [relationships that bind the individual, the community, and the institutions of society] is to take shape and give rise to a pattern of life distinguished by adherence to the principle of the oneness of humankind, certain foundational concepts must be carefully examined. Most notable among them is the conception of power. Clearly the concept of power as a means of domination, with the accompanying notions of contest, contention, division and superiority, must be left behind. This is not to deny the operation of power; after all, even in cases where institutions of society have received their mandates through the consent of the people, power is involved in the exercise of authority. But political processes, like other processes of life, should not remain unaffected by the powers of the human spirit that the Bahá’í Faith—for that matter, every great religious tradition that has appeared throughout the ages—hopes to tap: the power of unity, of love, of humble service, of pure deeds. Associated with power in this sense are words such as “release”, “encourage”, “channel”, “guide” and “enable.” Power is not a finite entity which is to be “seized” and “jealously guarded”; it constitutes a limitless capacity to transform that resides in the human race as a body.” (Universal House of Justice, letter of 2 March 2013 to the Bahá’í s of Iran)
This concept of power aligns more closely with the idea of energy being shared and flowing between sources, in contrast to the current view of power as something to be seized and controlled by individuals or groups.
Regarding the “On Tyranny” extract by Timothy Snyder, I found its arguments not only outdated but fundamentally untrue. It reflects a surface-level understanding of the modern media landscape, rooted in ignorance of the lies perpetuated by print media and the transformative role of the internet today. Print media has become a major proponent of disinformation and truth concealment. Instead of fostering independent investigation and reporting, many journalists within these institutions now serve the interests of their owners, transforming these outlets into institutions of disinformation, polarization, and suppression of free speech. Additionally, the incentive structure in legacy media is skewed against truth. Advertising undermines journalists’ ability to share the truth, as their reporting often ends up serving advertisers instead of the public. Many truth-seeking journalists have left these institutions to build their own audiences on the internet.
In light of this, the internet has emerged as a platform for citizen journalism, enabling the dissemination of primary sources. It serves as a modern public square where individuals can speak freely and investigate reality without the restrictive incentive structures of legacy media. While the internet is not immune to disinformation, propaganda, or dishonest reporting, it has shifted the responsibility of truth-seeking to the individual. It would be unfair to not point out some of the ways independent journalism is biased as well; they rely on ads, sponsorships, or audience funding, which can bring new challenges and dependencies. That said, being directly connected to their audience can create more room for transparency and accountability, giving independent journalists a better chance to pursue the truth than they might have had within the rigid structures of legacy media. I thought I’d share some pertinent quotations on the topic of media and journalism to further assist in this exploration.
In this Day the secrets of the earth are laid bare before the eyes of men. The pages of swiftly-appearing newspapers are indeed the mirror of the world. They reflect the deeds and the pursuits of divers peoples and kindreds. They both reflect them and make them known. They are a mirror endowed with hearing, sight and speech. This is an amazing and potent phenomenon. However, it behooveth the writers thereof to be purged from the promptings of evil passions and desires and to be attired with the raiment of justice and equity. They should enquire into situations as much as possible and ascertain the facts, then set them down in writing. Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 39-40
…[T]he code of conduct of the press must embrace the principles of consultation as revealed by Bahá’u’lláh. Only in this way will the press be able to make its full contribution to the preservation of the rights of the people and become a powerful instrument in the consultative processes of society, and hence the unity of the human race.
A statement issued by the Universal House of Justice to the Followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the United States of America, 29 December 1988.
O newspapers published throughout the cities and countries of the world! Have ye heard the groan of the downtrodden, and have their cries of anguish reached your ears? Or have these remained concealed? It is hoped that ye will investigate the truth of what hath occurred and vindicate it.
From a Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh, translated from Arabic – passage #2 in the compilation “Proclaiming the Faith Through the Mass Media,” distributed by the Universal House of Justice, 23 October 1991
In conclusion, I found that this extract from Sovaida Ma’ani Ewing’s The Alchemy of Peace captures the deeply flawed incentive structures within our political systems today:
“A blunt quotation attributed to Jean-Claude Juncker when he was Prime Minister of Luxembourg (later President of the European Union) states the problem: “We all know what to do, we just don’t know how to get re-elected after we’ve done it.” This statement represents so much of what is wrong with the attitude of our leaders, starting with the fact that they have come to believe that their primary role as leaders is to ensure that they can maintain their positions and powers. Instead of thinking how they can best serve the people who have entrusted them with the sacred responsibility of ensuring their well-being, they are thinking of what they can do or avoid doing to ensure that they are re-elected. They are willing to barter away the interests of their people for their own personal interest.”
