Every political regime is an oligarchy, says Raymond Aron. With the exception of the Greek city of Athen, where a few hundred free citizens could participate in a direct democracy, every other democracy, and, for that matter, every other political regime, is, by physical necessity, an oligarchy. It is, says the great French thinker, the quality of the elite that makes the difference between different political regimes.
Every revolution brings, with it, a new elite to power, be it political, economic, artistic, or intellectual. Take the least obvious example, that of artists. Prior to the revolution, a sincere and centralized effort, that span decades of hard work, came to fruition in endowing Iran with museums, art festivals (notably Shiraz art festival), cinema and music industries ... One of these artists is Sonia Balassanian. Purged from the post-revolutionary "art" circles, by those who brought us the islamic equivalent of the Chinese "cultural revolution", Sonia was forced to leave her homeland. Established in New York, she frequently travels to Armenia where her knowledge and experience are appreciated at their true value. Her seminal work however was, later, copied, others would justifiably talk of plagiarism, by "artists" catapulted to stardom by western galleries and media during the Rafsanjani and Khatami era. A new "artistic elite" had gained power thanks to the islamic Guidance Ministry and the approval stamp of the islamic Dr. Goebbels!
Take another instance. Iran's Contemporary Art Museum and Iran's Environmental Protection Organization were founded, like every other solid institution, in pre-revolutionary years. Both of these organizations, islamized and impotent as the shadow of their previous self, are now headed by two ex-hostage takers, who, through their decision and deed during the US Embassy hostage taking event in Tehran, in 1979, brought billions of dollars of direct damage to our country while ruining its name and causing the shame, and sometimes revengeful persecution to Iranians worldwide.
Every political regime is an oligarchy and every revolution brings its own "elite". The difference in is the turnover of that elite, the frequency of its renewal, the quality of its members, and the meritocratic rules that preside over the accession to the restricted circles of the elite by potential candidates. In post-revolutionary islamic Iran, curriculum vitae speak for themselves.
The recent electoral masquerade in Iran is an absolute waste in every sense of the world. However, it has had an immense and historic achievement: by prompting an important number of Iranian "artists", "journalists", "scholars" and "intellectuals" to rally behind Rafsanjani, this latest masquerade staged by the rulers of "islamic Iran" has cleared the way for a renewal of the elite in Iran. The next move in Iran will bring its own elite.
As Akbar Atri (1) reminds us, in the latest issue of The American Spectator, the mullahs and their allies have amassed an immense fortune since the revolution and they are not ready to loose it. Just have in mind this one official number that "invisible" and "unregistered" customs and jetties in "islamic Iran" generate a annual revenue of 11 to 15 billion dollars in smuggled consumer goods! and ask yourself: who runs these "invisible" jetties!?
Ali Mirfetroos, a renowned Iranian writer living in exile, while expressing sorrow at the sight of such mediocrity, there is no other word, on the part of "artists" and "intellectuals" petitioning to bring the "red eminence" of murder to power, shows us what might become the end of the tenebrous tunnel of "islamic Iran". "Iran's national movement, in consultation with renowned and credible figures, is preparing for a National Leadership Council in charge of representing the country's democratic movement on the international arena as well as leading the people to free and fair elections" on Iran's political future, says Mirfetroos in his latest writing.
Nothing short of renewal would do.
(1) Akbar Atri is a member of the Committee on the Present Danger International and of the executive committee of Tahkim Vahdat, the largest student democratic organization in Iran.
From Iran-Shahr (feed)
See also links to this feed and more from this feed
