Education before power
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Dr Debapriya Mukherjee
Contd from previous issue
Environmental degradation, climate instability, technological disruption, public health emergencies, and widening economic inequality require policies grounded in careful reasoning and scientific understanding. Leaders entrusted with public responsibility must be capable of evaluating data, interpreting research, and balancing competing priorities with intellectual clarity. Without such competence, policies risk becoming superficial responses to problems that require far deeper understanding.
Yet politics is often perceived, in many contexts, less as a field of service and more as a pathway to prestige and material comfort. When power becomes associated primarily with privilege rather than responsibility, it inevitably attracts individuals motivated by personal advancement. Such a perception weakens the moral foundation of public life.
(To be contd)
Contd from previous issue
Environmental degradation, climate instability, technological disruption, public health emergencies, and widening economic inequality require policies grounded in careful reasoning and scientific understanding. Leaders entrusted with public responsibility must be capable of evaluating data, interpreting research, and balancing competing priorities with intellectual clarity. Without such competence, policies risk becoming superficial responses to problems that require far deeper understanding.
Yet politics is often perceived, in many contexts, less as a field of service and more as a pathway to prestige and material comfort. When power becomes associated primarily with privilege rather than responsibility, it inevitably attracts individuals motivated by personal advancement. Such a perception weakens the moral foundation of public life.
(To be contd)