some thoughts
We don't need saints to run the country, nor do we need billionaires. In Medieval times, the separation of church and powers came into being, which was used in the establishment of America. China prescribes to the model that neither the billionaires nor the spiritual leaders of their region should have power, they have modelled their entire governance like they are a spiritual power. Much of the countries in West Asia, though are the proponents of their spiritual ideology as the ultimate power, those countries are run by modern kings. In India, to convince public that leaders are against the forces of corruption, sainthood is used to win trust.
Once could argue that the western world was built on the bedrock of Christian values, but economists would argue that it was built on the concepts of free economy and capitalism.
What I am trying to say is that, to perform public governance means the disbursal of enormous capital towards investments that are for the public good. This accumulation of capital and the authority of allocating that capital on one or few people is where the evils of corruption takes root.
Many have said that a free press and an informed populous is the way to ensure that the seats of power are kept accountable. But recently it has been seen that the press can be imprisoned by the means of disbursing the news reports.
When the printing press was invented, and any one could print pamphlets for or against the king or the colonialist, the powers of that time quickly realised that having a control on printing presses is necessary to hold onto their power.
Today, the printing press has evolved into computers and mobile phones, where every individual can generate news in the form of articles, videos and podcasts. And incidentally, the mechanism to distribute this news content has become a point of contention. All the modern news media, is distributed via the internet, but the internet isnt as abstract as it sounds. The platforms that host the written articles, videos and audio happen to be the means of distribution. And control of these distribution centers (platforms such as websites, mobile applications, podcast markets) is the way the modern kings are keeping control of their power.
Further, foreign kings have also discovered that if they attack these distribution centers then they can modify the loyalties of a king's subjects. Therefore now the war for countries and kingdoms has moved away from the physical battle field and has a virtual or cyberwar where these platforms are constantly attacked or injected with counterbalance ideas.
The biggest evidence of this war is the great firewall of China. We only need to ask why has China blocked all foreign access to their national internet? Its because, they dont want their populous to be manipulated by foreign intentions and they want to ensure that they can control the narrative of their own populous. Although people say that this goes against the concept of freedom of speech of the individual, many Chinese would argue that this is a small price to pay for the safety of national integrity.
But, what I ask is, is there another way? Where the internet distribution mechanisms are kept open to the global community to encourage the free market effects but are controlled to prevent foreign interference. In parallel, can those who discharge their duties for the benefit of the populous be held accountable in a foolproof manner?