In general one can say that modern democracies have been
established as the outcome of attempts to limit the power of absolute monarchy,
of dictatorships, or of certain dominant classes. This may have come about
gradually through the centuries, or tumultuously by a series of revolutions.
Thus, even when democratic constitutions and structures have been established,
there remains a suspicion of authority as such, and a tension between the
degree of freedom accorded to individual citizens and the imposition of
sufficient public discipline to protect the weak against the selfish pursuits
of the strong among the citizenry. The operation of transparency,
accountability, freedom of the press and critical dialogue is thus imbued with
a spirit of partisanship that easily descends into the merciless invasion of
personal privacy, the dissemination of calumny, the exaggeration of mistrust,
and the misuse of the news media at the hands of vested interests. The reaction
of those who attempt to protect themselves against such distortions of the
system produces secretiveness, concealment of uncomfortable facts, and
reciprocal misuse of the media—in all, a perpetuation of disharmony in the
social fabric.
In contrast to these patterns bred by traditional
antagonisms, the Bahá’í system is based upon the ideals of unity, harmony,
justice, diversity and forbearance in the building of a divinely conceived
administrative structure through a process of mutual learning and discovery. As
already noted, the element of power-seeking is entirely absent. All members of
a Bahá’í community, no matter what position they may temporarily occupy in the
administrative structure, are expected to regard themselves as involved in a
learning process, as they strive to understand and implement the laws and
principles of the Faith. As part of this process, the Assemblies are encouraged
to continually share their hopes and cares and the news of developments with
the members of the community and to seek their views and support. There are, of
course, matters such as the personal problems of a believer which he (or she)
brings to his Assembly for advice, the amounts of the contributions of
individual believers to the Fund, and so forth, in relation to which the
Assembly must observe strict confidentiality. As in any just system of
government the proper balance has to be sought and found between extremes.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 18 July 2000 written on behalf of the Universal House of
Justice to an individual believer; compilation: ‘The National Spiritual
Assembly’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of
Justice, revised October 2023; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i
World Centre)
