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GOVERNANCE: GHANA MUST HAVE AN IDEOLOGY (2)

It is deducible from the tenor of our discussion that I am inclined towards the formulation or adoption of an ideology that would shape the course of events in Ghana and give us a definite personality. Whatever ideology we adopt or evolve must, among other things, satisfy the following conditions:

  1. it must fulfill Ghana’s goal of freedom and justice, and define the relationships amongst the arms of Government, and between the Government and the people;
  2. it must economically promote and reward individual initiative and industry, while at the same time serve the corporate needs of the nation;
  3. it must uphold the sanctity of the family, and foster ethnic and social integration;
  4. it must seek the highest moral elevation of Ghanaians through a monotheistic religion;
  5. it must preserve the cultural legacy of the nation, while protecting it from cultural decadence;
  6. it must determine the technological and scientific path to Ghana’s ultimate industrialization;
  7. it must be holistic to affect the creative nurturing and flowering of Ghanaian genius.

The above points require elaboration, but I shall not do so now. My concern here is to think aloud and agitate the minds of other thinkers about the future of our country. The nation has to settle for an ideology soon, because like a ship without a compass, our journey on this oceanic  life could lead us further from our destination, further, further into unknown waters, into unknown dangers.

The current ideologies of the world as practiced in most countries are:

  • Western capitalist democracy, where the principal means of production and distribution are in private hands.
  • Communism, with its collective ownership and a planned economy.
  • Socialism, a specie of Communism, with its central planning system, where the principal means of production, distribution and exchange are in common ownership. Welfare state and regulation of market forces are also features of it.
  • Islamism, with its central planning, and limited scope for private initiative.
  • Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy and governance.

With the advent of the 1992 Constitution, under which Ghana has successfully and admirably changed Governments at the polls, we can say with certainty that parliamentary democratic ideals are in place in Ghana. We must go on now to appraise the existing ideologies in relation to what appears most feasible for Ghana.

Ghana has not, in my opinion, yet attained the industrial and business finesse and clout to qualify for Western capitalist democracy.

Communism and socialism have no roots in Ghana for us to consider those. Perhaps, under Kwame Nkrumah, we might have been socialist through and through.

In Ghana, with a Christian majority, we cannot be described as an Islamic state, as pertains in Malasia or Morocco. so Islamism is not applicable to us.

The last is the Christian democracy.  It allows freedom of the individual for the fullest expression of thought and creativity, along with a balanced relationship between statal and private economic interests.

Let’s take a closer look at Christian democracy. In European Politics Today, authors Geoffrey K. Roberts and Patricia Hogwood have noted that “Christian democracy has incorporated many of the views held by liberals, conservatives and socialists within a wider framework of moral and Christian principles.” And what they meant are as follows:

  • In common with conservatism, Christian democracy upholds traditional moral values (on marriage, abortion, etc.), and is opposed to secularization. It supports a view of the evolutionary (as opposed to revolutionary) development of society, with emphasis on law and order, and a rejection of communism.
  • In contrast to conservatism, it is open to change and not necessarily supportive of the social status quo, where gross inequalities prevail.
  • In common with liberalism, it emphasizes human rights and individual initiative.
  • In contrast to liberalism, it rejects secularism, but rather emphasize that the individual is part of a community and has duties towards it.
  • In common with socialism, it propagates community, social solidarity, support for a welfare state, and support for some regulation of market forces.
  • In contrast to socialism, it supports a market economy.

Christian democracy could be described as a syncretic ideology, as it has the good features of the other ideologies, without their extremist inclinations. The spiritual and religious basis for adoption of Christian democracy has been stated in 2nd Timothy 3: 16-17:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”.

I have no intention of elaborating on the composites of doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction that make the body of Christian democracy; that would be another work.

In conclusion, I shall say that Ghana has what it takes to formulate and adopt a national ideology that would provide the mechanism to instigate, guide, and focus our energies in the collective effort of building our nation. And that ideology is Christian democracy.

by

Ahumah Ocansey

Email: akwesihu@yahoo.com

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