shiv sastry wrote: [ on 06:40 AM 9/10/2007 ]
"The Mumbai police, like all police in India, consists of underpaid people
given excessive powers over others, with little accountability. So how do you
expect them to behave?
Unless a policemanâs self-interest is perfectly aligned with the public
interest, which is not the case in our system of government, it is inevitable
that he will feel tempted to use his power for personal gain."
What a naive and child like statement to make. There is an implicit faith in
the system in which the writer assumes that the (poor poor) Mumbai cop be
"led into temptation" while all those credit card company employees who have
access to your details will not be similarly tempted.
I believe there is a social lesson here. Educated, well paid, computer savvy
individuals are generally seen as honest and upright. The fact that you trust
your personal and financial details, including credit card numbers with bank
employees who fit this description suggests that they are not considered a
problem.
I disagree.
Credit card company employees are also going to
be tempted. However, I have some kind of
recourse, in their case. I can take them to
court, if I suspect that they are misusing my
details. I can create bad PR in the press for the company.
Most of all, I can vote with my feet and use
another company. (see the "accountability" bit in
the quote above, which you've - doubtless for
excellent reasons - not addressed in your rant)
I do not believe I have this choice with the
police. (Or with any government representative.)
Which is precisely why they need to be held to a
higher standard of accountability.
I certainly do not believe this is a "naive
bias". Perhaps you'd like to educate me further?
Udhay
--
((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
