Acharya Prashant responds to a question about the paradox of needing high qualifications for even a minor job, while leaders who run the country often have none, leading to corruption. He explains that the choice of a leader depends entirely on who the voter is. Just as you are, so will you vote. An educated person will choose an educated representative. The questioner's suggestion to make educational qualifications mandatory for leaders is countered by asking who would enact such a law. The very people who lack these qualifications would have to pass it. Acharya Prashant elaborates on the nature of democracy, stating it means that the will of the majority prevails. He points out that in India, only 4.5% of the population is graduate or above, while a majority has not even completed primary education. This creates an educational pyramid where the least educated form the largest base. In a democracy, this majority will elect leaders who reflect their own state. The less-educated person often feels inferior to the qualified and thus prefers to vote for someone like themselves, or even less qualified, as it feels like a victory for their own kind. This is the psychology at play. He argues that people vote for the least qualified candidate because it feels like they themselves have won, that their own shortcomings and baseness have triumphed. He further explains that even dictatorships run on public support. Many dictators are adored by a large segment of their population. A leader follows the public; they do not lead from the front. He gives the example of the Paris Climate Accord, where world leaders agreed on certain goals but could not implement them in their own countries because the public would not support such measures. Similarly, in China, there is no other party besides the CCP, and in Russia, Putin wins with 90% of the vote, indicating that the public has no issue with the system. Everything is happening because we, the public, are the way we are. The problem is not the leader, but the voter. Acharya Prashant concludes that the only solution is public awakening. When the public itself starts seeking its own welfare, then the leader of the public will also work for the public good. As long as the public is the cause of its own detriment, its leader will also do what the public wants, which is to cause its own detriment. The mind is the primary cause of both bondage and liberation for all human beings. A mind attached to sense objects is the cause of bondage, and a mind free from desires and resolutions is said to be the cause of liberation. Therefore, instead of hoping for a law or a miracle, the focus must be on awakening the public. When the public is awakened, it will naturally produce leaders of a higher caliber.
