WHY CHANGE AND CHANGE WHAT?
(by ‘I. Futa. Helu)

1. “Everything flows” said old Heraclitus by which he meant that everything, every situation, anything at all, changes and is fluid. Nothing stands still or stays the same for one instant, but everything is incessantly being transformed into something different. But Heraclitus was thinking primarily of “natural” change. For there is another type of change…. The artificially planned change. Although there is a real sense in which we can say that the second type of change is also natural they differ in this: ‘natural’ changes are not consciously planned. In fact we cannot apply the concept of “planning” to natural changes. This paper focuses on the planned variety of changes.

The first propostition we enunciate here is that man-induced, artificially planned changes should be the rule in the sociopolitical domain. Human society should never leave things to work out their own course but should always guide them as to impact and direction. If they are left to take their own course, there may be long periods where there are only a few insignificant changes taking place, but when real change does come, it will do so, more often than not, with violent and explosive fury, and even if desired goals are achieved, it will certainly effect extensive destruction to property and lives and such social damage that would cost immense resources to redress. Both the French Revolution and the Bolshevik Revolution are examples of the lack of foresight and the absence of the will to dialogue and plan sociopolitical change.

2. No society is indivisible, but every society is plural i.e. made up of social groupings … institutions, social classes, movements etc. All these specific interests (define & explain). Specific interests are usually different … infact, usually clash with each other most of the time, though it is also common to find them cooperate on certain issues e.g. to fight a common enemy, though this cooperation is only possible when the specific interests are akin in certain respects. Though this paterning of society on the basis of forms of activity affords a more accurate view of the structure of any society whatsoever, in the case of Tonga, a traditional division of society into hou’eiki (chiefly classes) and tu’a or me’avale (commoner classes) is still useful as an analytical tool.

Because of great changes coming over Tonga now … in the economy (subsistance being consistently undermined, and cash economy expanding in leaps and bounds), introduction of high technology, fastly growing educated elite which finds its way into Parliament, the emergence of a middle-class, etc … the old social alignments (hou’eiki and tu’a) are being undermined and have become quite confrontational. The commoner classes are quickened by a new consciousness of their indentity vis-a vis the chiefly classes and the high authorities who, in turn, react by digging in. In Parliament and in the press representatives of these two “moeties” point at each other e.g. People’s Representatives accuse Government officials of large-scale corruption, malpractices in high places, misuse of office etc. whilst at the same time nobles and Ministers charge PRs with libel, defamation and general disregard for the traditional values of Tongan and Christian culture, like respect of chiefs, humility, etc. In such a situation law becomes ineffective (cite examples), and a forceful contest would seem inevitable … one that could get uncontrollable and destructive. Therefore the only solution is earnest dialogue and planning, a serious use of reason and prudence.

I declare this Convention is the best idea that has emerged from this whole ferment, for it offers the opportunity for the serious consultation I am talking about. I therefore very much regret the fact that the Government decided against participating. It could have been the conference of History (comment). For it is unique in the sense that it is an attempt to bring about a non-violent resolution of the problem of change … just in case.

3. Now … for the kind of changes that are called for. I am one of those students of society who advocate the so-called piecemeal social technology rather than the Utopian approach. I have no blueprint for society … and any way blueprints are invariably impossible to implement. We should, like Socrates, recognise how little we know, but must be prepared to learn from our mistakes.

I am not going to explain what democracy is … many other papers will do this. But I want to emphasise the following:

a) We should work for only the most important the most badly needed changes, those proposals which if shelved will return … soon … with a vengeance.

b) Reforms which are too complex, I emphasise, must not be touched now, for they need much more analysis and thought. There is certainly no need to hurry on these issue.

4. I consider two principal issues …. They are really one but for discussion purposes, they would be better distinguished … to be the proper focus of our deliberation and should be the main concern of the Pro-Democracy Movement. These are:

a) The form of government (comment)
b) Accountability and checks and balances (comment)

I expound these issues by referring to two views of how Justice comes about. Plato’s position can be described as the “natural” view viz. that the best, the wisest should rule (the answer to the Platonic question, “Why shall rule men?) But the law of corruption makes us wary of every wise man and history tends to prove that the law works in actual societies. The other view, I call the aritificial view (stated by Mill, and again in our time by Propper) viz. how can we so organise political institutions that bad or imcompetent rulers can be prevented from doing too much harm? In the case of Tonga, a remodeling of the form of government along democratic lines emphasising general elections, truly representative government rather that majority rule or party politics and instituting accountability measures will make for a more civil and enlightened society.

The above remarks distill in a very bare fashion the general findings of my study of the present sociopolitical situation in Tonga.