PoCG # 2: For Mayors, Not MPs

In the previous post, the introduction to “civil government,” it was seen that the roots of such government lie in independent cities and towns, which run their own affairs. In Europe, such institutions of urban self-government go back over 1000 years. Their greatest flowering was the Hanseatic League of pan-Europe free trading and self-governing cities – which Toynbee, with regret, called an “aborted civilization.”

While at the German embassy to renew my visa, I was happy to see a EU poster on the wall recalling the lost glories of the Hanseatic League. One of the leading German Hansa cities was Hamburg – which remains a free city till today: it is a separate state of the German federation, and Europe’s greatest port city.

Note that civil government has nothing to do with village republics – the Gandhian vision of panchayati raj. Civil government is about wealthy urban societies who trade in markets and desire to see that their cities, and their markets, always flourish. Cities and towns are where the roots of civil government lie.

Note how the “politics” in our cities and towns today has nothing to do with the “citizenry.” Whenever a “political rally” is held in a city, hordes of villagers are brought in from the surrounds. The citizen stays at home. He hates the traffic jams this “politics” causes.

Therefore, the first “political” task before the India’s urbanites is to set up honest institutions of local self-government in every city and town. There are many alternatives available. Perhaps the easiest is to elect one good man into office and ask him to “contract out” all the tasks expected of the city administration. Thus, he awards garbage contracts, roads contracts and so on, without any big bureaucracy to bother about. Indeed, I was told of a city in New Zealand where this was tried, with great success, and the news was that they have now sold their grand old Mayoral building – which is now a casino. The city managers meet in a café and sort out their affairs over coffee. No permanent office space.

So have Hope: It can be done. And done well. Millions are doing it.

But the idea must come first: That it is all about our own cities and towns. These are the roots of civilization and civil society, of markets and progress.

I was once lecturing in the district of Chikmagalur, Karnataka, a prosperous coffee growing and hilly district on the western ghats. This district once elected Indira Gandhi. At a local school, in a town that had no footpaths, and where the main street was full of holes, I asked the little boys and girls whether they would prefer to elect someone to take care of their own town or send someone off to far-away Delhi. I am happy to report that the entire class unanimously said that they would prefer to elect a Mayor than an MP.

So Think!

Don’t vote.

And stay tuned: The series continues tomorrow.