Are the winners always right?

COMMENT Niccolo Machiavelli was one of the greatest philosophers of politics in the past few centuries.

His greatest achievement was to state the obvious, that is: "You are always right, if you win," in the affairs of mankind. 

"Let a prince then concern himself with the acquisition or the maintenance of the state; the means employed will always be considered honourable and praised by all, for the mass of mankind is always swayed by appearances, and by the outcome of an enterprise," he advised.

It is true enough that many people through the centuries have tried to argue against Machiavelli. But among the practitioners of politics, the followers of Machiavelli form the absolute majority. Most active politicians are resolutely and unalterably Machiavellian. 

Instinctively though, all of us know something is wrong with the thoughts of Machiavelli. 

He is, in essence, affirming Thrasymachus's assertion in the Republic that “might is right”, and that winners have a monopoly on the truth in any conflict.

But we know this is not true in the real affairs of the world. For instance, Hitler conquered the whole of Europe, and won many of the battles that he fought, but even those living at the time knew that Hitler was one of the greatest failures of mankind.

Men of conscience instinctively knew, at the time of his ascendancy as well as today, that Hitler was wrong, even if he could conquer the world.

History’s lessons not learnt

At the end of many world wars, we still have to insist that Machiavelli was wrong, and that might does not constitute right.

The standard of rightness or wrongness of historical acts has to be examined in retrospect, often at the end of an era, after many centuries have lapsed. 

As the philosopher of history, Friedrich Hegel remarked: "The Owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of dusk."

We can be judges of history only at the end of the event, as an afterthought. While history is evolving, is very hard for us to pass judgment on developing events of the day.

But in our daily lives, we still have to make tentative judgments about current affairs. 

For instance, we can conclude that it is unlikely that Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide, because it was against human nature for him to commit suicide.

No matter what any committee of inquiry tells us, the death of Teoh Beng Hock will always remain as a giant question mark, over the way he was detained and questioned. 

Likewise, the Bersih 2.0 rally was a significant day in the history of Malaysia. That whole history has not been lived through, nor written yet. We shall have to wait for events to unfold in the future for us to pass definitive judgment on the virtues and impact of the rally. 

May 13 laid to rest?

While it remains difficult for us to pass historical judgment on current affairs, we also have to remember that history is a cumulative process. 

The Bersih 2.0 rally alone may not alter the course of our nation's history. But the rally, together with the death of Teoh Beng Hock, and with the gamut of pain we have endured in recent months, may coalesce into a series of events that may change the government of the day.

There is much wisdom after the event, that we can accumulate through the passage of time.

For instance, we can now see it is unlikely that the May 13,1969 incident will be repeated in Malaysia. The conditions that gave rise to May 13 have ceased to exist.

Even so, history is not a science, and it is beyond us to predict the future. All we can do is make educated guesses about future events, by taking into consideration all the information at our fingertips. 

As Hegel knows well, the Owl of Minerva, the symbol of wisdom and understanding, is an elusive creature indeed. 

As I sit here contemplating the future of Malaysia, I am compelled to revert to the ancient value of hope, in human affairs. 

We human beings are not very good at managing our affairs. But by and large, the optimism of Hegel and other great thinkers have given mankind the only hope that we have. 

It is in that hope that we pray Teoh Beng Hock will not have died in vain, and that the Bersih 2.0 rally will herald a new age to come. 

Hope springs eternal in the human breast - or else life is not worth living.