No one did it, it happens: War to exam scandals, pollution to crumbling cities, Pg11

Key Highlights:

• Contemporary politics often exhibits a phenomenon of "malfeasance without agents," where significant problems are discussed without identifying responsible actors.
• This trend is exemplified by Sonam Wangchuk's demand for accountability and the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan following exam fiascos.
• Philosopher Raymond Geuss highlights this through Hillary Clinton's statements on Gaza, where conditions are described without naming those responsible for the outcomes.
• The article argues that this "sentences without subjects" approach is a deliberate technique to evade accountability, both in international diplomacy and domestic policy.

Detailed Insights:

• Internationally, leaders may use diplomatic language, such as stating "this is not an era of war," without identifying aggressors, thereby avoiding the need to condemn aggression or uphold international law.
• Domestically, issues like exam leaks, urban flooding, and pollution are frequently presented as natural occurrences, which absolves decision-makers of specific responsibility.
• The use of the passive voice in political discourse allows governments to appear to share citizens' concerns while sidestepping direct blame for policy failures.
• Policymakers often discuss broad goals or problems without specifying who made particular decisions, such as relaxing pollution norms or granting clearances in ecologically sensitive areas.
• Abstractions like "The Bureaucracy" or "The System" are frequently invoked to anonymize policy decisions, further obscuring individual accountability.
• The cult of personality, while seemingly attributing all issues to top leaders, can paradoxically diffuse accountability by making responsibility too broad to be actionable.
• Sonam Wangchuk's insistence on a minister's resignation is presented as a crucial act to re-establish the "grammatical subject" in democratic politics, demanding specific accountability.
• The article concludes that losing the habit of asking "Who did this?" ultimately leads to losing the capacity to demand "Who should answer for it?", undermining democratic principles.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Accountability: The obligation of an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and disclose the results transparently.
• Passive Voice in Politics: A rhetorical strategy where actions are described without specifying the actor, thereby obscuring responsibility and agency.
• Cult of Personality: The elevation of a political leader to an almost revered status, often used to centralize power and deflect specific blame from policy outcomes.