Isn't one indicator of development both people and parts of society learning from their past mistakes and not repeating them?

One tangible manifestation of this is ideologies that created and caused chaos in developed countries are confined to the museum in the light of history and facts. However, these ideologies still have some political influence in developed countries.

Communist China transformed into a market economy but there are still Maoist guerillas in some countries terrorizing people. In Germany, racism and Nazism are banned, but aren't there countries where racism is a political force with which to reckon? Another example of learning from past mistakes can be seen in the attempt to manage distorted perception seen in the very recent past.

A true fiasco

In this period, print, broadcast and social media were used to tamper with the public's political disposition through distorted perceptions. The result was a total fiasco.

The main actors in this process were members of the Gülen Movement, whose true color was revealed. Through cursing, trying to double the number of tweets by exploiting people's religious beliefs, pineapples and rosary beads, they became the laughing stock of all. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, allying with the movement on the one hand and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) candidates on the other while playing the tapes served by the managers of the perception distorters at his group meetings, pushed his party towards defeat. The CHP, which has been around since the founding of the Republic, received almost no votes in some regions and practically became a provincial party.

Continuing With Mistakes

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AK Party emerged victorious in the local elections. Those who pushed distorted perception management toward treason now face its judicial consequences.

Political professionals and amateurs should learn their lesson from this fiasco and put an end to attempting to distort public perception. However, when one looks at their statements, one realizes they failed to heed the lesson and are trying to attempt a similar foolish scheme aimed at the presidential elections.

At this point, we need to become aware of the political manifestation of the matter of underdevelopment.

Set changes

In developed countries, democracy is also a means for change. The leader of a party that is defeated in an election quits to make way for an alternative. In developing countries, parties lose elections, but party leaders do not. Only those around him or her are replaced. That's why the country's agenda is somewhat frozen in time. The leader uses the mentality of 40 years ago to address today's problems.

Meanwhile, the country and the world change. Even borders change. But the political matters debated in a developing country never change for weak and defeated politicians. Those who support such leaders don't care about the veracity of statements made. They only care about who says them.

Presidential elections

In developing countries, opposition politicians once in power do exactly the opposite of what they said in the past. They obviously cannot go against what is truly going on around the world. Once in power, reality hits opposition politicians.

For example, in the upcoming presidential elections, the CHP's aim will not be to elect a president but to prevent the election of the AK Party's candidate. Rather than trying to garner public support for a presidential candidate, they believe transforming the CHP into a party that can only react is politics. They did everything in their power to prevent the election of Abdullah Gül as president in the past. Isn't hoping now that the same Gül will cooperate with them against Erdoğan just a sign of inconsistency and weakness?