Investing a few moments in thinking pays good dividends
The Foreign Policy Magazine recently published its list of Top 100 Global Thinkers. It is a smorgasbord of individuals and their respective ideas that recommend them as world-renowned thinkers. The list makes for a fascinating read that can both challenge and inspire one’s reality.
It includes a number of people whom one would expect to find. For instance, at joint first place are Bill Gates, former Microsoft chief and now Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Warren Buffet, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. US President Barack Obama comes in at third position for his ability to chart a course through overwhelming criticism. Then there are Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton (13th); as well as the CEO’s of Amazon and Apple, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs who share seventeenth place.
Women make up for approximately 20% of the list. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor appears as somewhat of an obvious choice at number ten and Aung San Suu Kyi, activist for democracy in Burma earned herself seventy-fifth position. She was rightfully lauded for being levelheaded on her release, not raging against her captors but calling for reforms and never giving up on democracy.
A woman I was glad to see appearing on the list is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Being Africa’s first elected female head of state and 85th on The FP list, Liberia’s president has lived up to the promises she made in 2006 when she came into power. The country is steadily rebuilding itself after decades of bloody civil war and boasts one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies. All this, is a testament to Sirleaf’s determination to create an empowered people who can hold those in power accountable without fear.
Unity Dow, a judge from Botswana is another African woman who appears on the top thinkers rankings. Although she is a lesser-known individual, her accomplishments are inspiring and deserving of recognition. She has led a legal and moral crusade for the equality of women, African democracy and the cause of HIV/AIDS. In February, she was sworn in as one of three international judges in a Kenyan Court. Dow’s accomplishments demonstrate that the law is only as just as those who practice it.
Of the men on the list, number forty-one, Mehdi Karroubi, Iranian cleric and activist for the Green Movement, is the most interesting to me. He has been subjected to investigations on charges of sedition, a crime that carries the death penalty in his country; assault; and plainclothes militia attacked his home. Karroubi was also the first Green Movement leader to blast the regime for mistreating imprisoned opponents, and he continues to criticise the government’s mismanagement of the economy. Karroubi’s courage in the face of real danger is something close to home and truly remarkable.
Mario Vargas Llosa has similar, credible attributes. As an author in Peru, he has advocated against tyranny and his distaste for dictators has set him decisively against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, with whom he has an ongoing feud. Llosa’s bravery in depicting the realities of tyranny so as to end it, earned him number sixty-four on the FP List.
Besides having an interesting job title of Sanitation expert, Indian Kamal Kar dedication to his work justifies why he was selected for inclusion on the list. He seeks to improve sanitation, viewing this as a way to overcome waterborne diseases and, less obviously, a poverty-reduction method. Kar has been so successful in his endeavours that after Bangladesh adopted his ideas; latrine coverage grew dramatically from 33 percent in 2003 to more than 70% currently. Kar’s achievements show that any cause pursued with passion can be achieved.
Other great thinkers that drew my attention were George Soros (number 15), a philanthropist from New York whose work and life reinforce the idea that “it’s not what you make that counts — it’s who you give it to.” And at position 52, Sudanese-born mobile phone mogul, Mo Ibrahim, has issued leadership prizes and has a continent-wide governance index to his name. His efforts are in the hope that Africa and its leaders can be held to high standards of good governance.
I trust that in reading through the snippets of these great thinkers, our minds can be opened so that we see what can be achieved when we are willing and able to think for ourselves.