Kurt Godel and Anna Hazare: Logic of checks and balances

The connection looks so distant and incomprehensible that I begin by fixing some background to it.
Godel was the one of greatest logician who made immense impact upon scientific and philosophical thinking in 20th century. His incompleteness theorems in mathematics helped us understand the foundations of mathematics (logic in particular) and paved way in early twentieth century for development of computing machines that have nearly a century later taken over every aspect of human life. The finer nuances of Godels work are best left to mathematicians but its wider implications can be subject of great interest to us today. The implications for politics are topical considering the developments we see today led by Anna Hazare against corruption.
Constitutional democracies are product of deep political understanding evolving from logic of power and legitimacy in ordering of societies. Their architecture draws sustenance and stability from concept of ‘checks and balances’ necessary for exercise of modern statecraft. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupt absolutely. If so is the wisdom of man concerning the political power then answer lies in distributing it among agents of state in a way that their functions act as a checks on each other’s behavior and the resultant outcome is a balance of power that seeks to further larger public good. Though such arrangements seems to function and democratic societies always swear by their faith in them. However their logical foundations have been rarely questioned. Implicitly constitutional democracies abhor the idea of empowering individuals and build institutions that honour the maxim of ‘checks and balances’. Therefore restoring balance of institutional power becomes a logical remedy against malfunctions.
Then what explains the crisis in our polity today raised by Anna Hazare? And how is Godel, a mathematician with little association and interest in politics relevant to the crisis at hand? The answer lies at understanding of the logical structure of our political institutions that are comprehensible to common citizen merely as a dogma rather that an instrument designed with intelligence to serve his needs. The dogma which Godel demolished in realm of logic and forever altered man’s intellectual and philosophical landscape. What did Godel say? Godel said for mathematical systems that rules of a system can not be understood with the available resources in that system alone. One must transit to higher set to understand the lower set of rules. Though hard and difficult to map this for a political process, a rough effort should interpret its consequences this way: the logic of ‘checks and balances’ in designing systems of governance will appear as dogma to elements in that system whose credibility has been consistently eroded . Hence the desire to over through it even swearing by the same rules will appear as face of resistance to it. That’s the most covert and seditious enemy of rule based systems.
Anna’s movement is a consequence of this political dogma that preached ‘checks and balances’ as the necessary cornerstone of a constitutional democracy. Partly because the beneficiaries of that system perpetuated that dogma and prevented efforts to probe its infirm logical foundation. Which translated else way would mean they never demonstrated the logical honesty in playing by those rules. The result was a vast segment of that society, that we see lined up behind Anna today, lost all faith in even limited efficacy of logic and hence this putsch. An anti-constitutional putsch that seeks to bring revolution through legislation and ,paradoxically, swears by those very axioms of ‘checks and balances’.
We now know that Jan Lok pal bill doesn’t supplement Indian constitution but seeks to supplant it. And Ann’a people are least to blame for it. It stands against an entirely compromised political establishment. That also explains the uncertainty of outcome associated with any dialogue. The positions are deeply fundamental and profoundly ideological, now arbitrated by lack of reason on both sides. UPAs fall now seems to be the easiest way out of this illogical impasse unless it manages an inspirational jump to summon a higher level of political imagination to restore sanity in polity.
In detailed biography of Kurt Gödel, it is mentioned that he had found a loophole in the American Constitution which could allow a Fascist type government to legally take power in some special set of circumstances. During his U.S. citizenship examination, sponsored by Einstein as a witness, the judge inquired about his German passport (given to him after Austria was taken over by Nazi Germany), and said that by coming to the U.S. he would be safe from the likes of Hitler. Gödel replied that such was not entirely the case, and that he could explain how a fascist dictator could come to power in the U.S.
Has anyone an idea of what Gödel had found in the U.S. constitution that would make him think in this manner ? Before proceeding for his citizenship oath, he is said to have discussed this possibility with Einstein who dissuaded him from discussing that with the judge if ever discussions came to that. Einstien feared that judge may reject Kurt Godel’s citizenship application.
Logical systems like constitutional democracies will continue to face assault from elements of those systems that continually test her limits. That’s what gives it an organic and evolutionary character. Those moments also test the leadership and imagination of the actors in that theatre. Anna’s movement can be regarded one such moment, bizarre , unsuspecting and spontaneous it may look today, it will test the deeper strands of our faith in constitutional democracy. Where it will end is today anybody’s guess. But by politicizing the vast middle class of India which has till date willingly or otherwise remained a dormant and withdrawn actor in Indian polity, it may have restored the sapping spirit of constitutionalism and thereby , paradoxically once again, saved it from its shaking logical foundations.