Just a small (but important) point: you're mixing up Carlyle's conception of the Four Estates [1] with the concept of the three branches of government [2].
These are not inter-related, though often confused. My worry is that it happens so often in the Goa assembly (specially with politicians like Luizinho Faleiro), that our politicos often then justify the media acting almost as a mouthpiece for government! It shouldn't, and should be an arm's length from the people who rule us, if not having a critical and adversorial position. To quote Wikipedia: "The term Fourth Estate refers to the press, both in its explicit capacity of advocacy and in its implicit ability to frame political issues. The term goes back at least to Thomas Carlyle in the first half of the 19th century.... In this context, the other three estates are those of the French States-General; the church, the nobility and the commoners, although in practice the latter were usually represented by the middle class bourgeoisie." And again, about "branches of government": "Under modern political theory, government is understood as having three main powers: legislative (the power to make laws), executive (the power to implement laws) and judiciary (the power to judge and apply punishment when laws are broken)." These two concepts are not related whatsoever. The confusion maybe because the idea of "Estates" (church, nobility and commoners as power lobbies!) is fairly alien to our part of the globe and our day. Please do not mix up the two concepts, or else it would justify the political class treating the media as their adjunct. (The famous joke is about Luizinho Faleiro calling journalists to his cabin, offering them snacks, and telling them "take down". Journalists sneered about this being "dictation", even if few, if any, dared challenge the minister on it. Some did, though.) FN [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_estate [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government#Branches_of_government On 19/07/06, Elisabeth Carvalho <elisabeth_car at yahoo.com> wrote: > The four estates of democracy maybe the legislative, > judiciary, executive and a free and unfretted press, > but I feel the pillars of democracy are its education > system, an equitable per capita income and to a large > extent an ideology of secularism. -- ---------------------------------------------------------- PHOTOSFORALL: http://www.flickr.com/groups/pfdindia/ Inviting anyone with a camera to share photos focussing on development issues and images.... and those otherwise excluded. We can fight poverty, and illiteracy. It shouldn't exist in the 21st century. * FN * http://fn.goa-india.org ---------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
