Why electricity has become a security issue

Even as the most “developed” sections of the human world approach another century of “development”, “security” apparently remains the number one preoccupation of every government.

Even in societies that claim to be “highly developed”, “security” remains the leading concern and the top expenditure of the individuals and groups who wield political power.

Yet it poses at least one extremely important question that never seems to catch the attention of any member of humanity’s most powerful governments.

Indeed, security would not be a badly placed governmental preoccupation if those concerned with governance were able to define “security” in a manner that favours the most ordinary human beings and satisfies equitably all members of each human society.

Yet, in a world like humanity’s, which is increasingly desperately endangered by humanity itself, that would be an excellent preoccupation only if, by the concept of “security”, the human world’s leadership meant something other than the personal or group safety of the individuals who wield political, police and military power over each nation.

RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP

Where — I ask you — is the otherwise highly vocal religious leadership whenever the question of security passes from the needs of the ruling groups to the needs of every Tom, Dick and Harriet?

In other words, to the mind of the keen observer, the security problem poses an ineluctable question: Exactly whose security? Moreover, what security? Bodily or mental or both? Individual or collective or both? As we know from practically every one of our world’s governments — especially from the great powers — “security” is always nothing but a military or police question.

Security never seems to have anything to do with the bodily and mental safety and wellbeing of ordinary human beings. As an idea, the question of security is never posed in terms of the general bodily, mental and collective safety of human beings. Indeed, security is never anything more than the collective safety of those who wield power.

Yet it should be self-evident to anybody with a sprinkle brain that, objectively speaking, any ruling group would be a hundred times more secure if most of the biological and mental needs of the mass over which the group rules were continually satisfied.

MENTAL NEEDS

It is only by satisfying the bodily and mental needs of all members of a species as restless as humanity that you can appease such a species.

But because of the human world’s deliberate and self-serving limitation of the definition of security as a concept, it never occurs to those in power and other levels of human leadership that, whenever the concept of security is so circumscribed, it might help only the cause of those in power.

That is why, as a rule, the human leadership the whole world over invokes “security” without ever attempting to define it comprehensively.

Yet, especially concerning the Third World states, “security” cannot conceptually be confined to the interests of those who wield political power. The spate of political coups d’eat in the Third World makes that clear enough.

ELECTRIC POWER

Electric power is becoming increasingly a sector in which the government of an underdeveloped country must pay the keenest attention.

Why? Because, after the human hand, electricity is today the most important factor in the maintenance and improvement of all of the bodily and social needs of every human society.

In other words, the problems raised by electricity shortages can always be politicised. Most probably, our Government is keenly aware of the importance of electric power to a country’s governance and security. The question is: Why does our Government seem increasingly unmindful of security in the production and supply of electricity throughout this good republic of ours?

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