The Selfish Dynasty

A handful of political dynasties are becoming entrenched in Mauritius, uncannily mirroring

the families of the Franco-Fascist economic elite. Should we not ask ourselves: is this a
healthy state of affairs for a fledgeling democracy?

Dynasties have existed since the dawn of human history. In Egypt, successive families
appropriated the Pharaonic crown and became God-Kings to their compliant populations.
The last, the Ptolemaic Dynasty, was established by one of Alexander the Great’s generals
and ended with Cleopatra’s famous suicide by snake-bite following the Roman conquest.
North India has known virtually uninterrupted dynastic rule for nearly 5000 years from the
end of the Vedic period until Independence, with even the British declaring Queen Victoria
the Empress of India. The success of the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty can be interpreted as a
collective psychological longing for the restoration of family rule, inconveniently interrupted
by the results of democratic elections. Why is this?

In "The Selfish Gene", Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins argues that individual lives are
secondary to genes’ quest for eternity. From this gene-centric view, it follows that the more
two individuals are genetically related, the more sense it makes for them to behave selflessly
with each other. This can be used to explain why mothers are willing to die for their offspring,
why business owners eschew meritocracy and appoint their sons as directors and why a
Prime Minister would abdicate, before the end of his term, to ensure the crown is passed on
to his unproven child. In other words, it is a justification for dynasties. Perhaps “The Selfish
Dynasty” would have been a more appropriate title for Dawkins’ book.

Indeed, genes are self-evidently not "selfish"; they are simply inert information. It is the
epigenetic machinery within cells that selectively switches genes on and off and uses the
genetic information to assemble molecules and proteins. This permits the cells to
differentiate, specialise and self-organise to create the diversity of structures and organs that
make up a human body. When this epigenetic machinery is corrupted, cells become
cancerous, forget that they are part of a whole and regress to a state of being individual
"selfish" bacteria.

There is some justification in saying that a community of people is analogous to cells in a

body. For example, through meiosis, skin cells divide to form skin cells, never nerve cells;
likewise in traditional societies, children would normally take up their parents’ trades. Indian
and Egyptian history teaches us that dynasties can be highly successful; but only if the
“head” ensures that the rest of the body is nourished and healthy. It also requires the “cells”
in the feet to remain content with being a part of a foot and not to aspire to be part of the
head. In other words, a successful dynastic system is dependent on a rigid caste system.

However, our modern civilisation has rejected such systems. As our capacity to
communicate and educate have transcended the constraints of locality, we have thrown off
the concept of dynasty and caste in favour of equal opportunity and meritocracy. This
requires "unselfish" mentors to recognise and nurture the talents of non-genetically related
youth. This leap forward created the conditions for the industrial revolution and the rise of a
new and fluid "aristocracy" based on performance rather than lineage.
The next step is for humanity to realise that the earth is its body and as the earth's head, if
we do not nourish and ensure that it is healthy then we commit slow suicide. India is finally
becoming a global leader, where the son of a tea seller has risen to become the head of
government and sought out the intellectual elite to recommend sound environmental policies
like switching to all electric vehicles by 2030. Our own rags-to-riches Prime Minister
despised dynasty and encouraged social mobility by introducing universal free schooling.
However, this is being undermined by the increasingly necessary expense of private tuition
in order for families to ensure that their children get a place at university, something those at
the bottom simply cannot afford.

Clearly Mauritius is regressing. The Jugnauth dynasty is securing its position and replicating
a caste-like system by elevating incompetent members of its clan to positions of political
power. Political agents are being appointed as advisors and the heads of parastatal bodies
without any prior experience. The children of families that have supported the MSM are far
more likely to gain over-paid positions in the civil service, thus encouraging trans-
generational allegiance. Again this mirrors the Franco-Fascists’ tendency to preferentially
employ Christians and promote a bourgeoisie that largely supports the economic status quo.

It is not sustainable. In the context of global competition, a nation that sleepwalks into
establishing and reinforcing a dynastic-caste system will always be beaten by one that has
embraced meritocracy and social mobility. The question is: how far must we slip down the
world rankings before we wake up? When the population is no longer satisfied with being fed
the unwholesome cake of false hope and puerile propaganda, a revolutionary movement will
arise and behead the political and economic aristocracy. Where are the intellectuals to lead
The Mauritian Transition?