We have a working Class and a capitalist Class and there is always Warfare going on between the two

BTG: But in the Western world we have a working class and a capitalist class, and there is always warfare going on between the two.

BTG: But one of the premises of the American system of government is that if a leader has too much power, he will inevitably become corrupt.

Srila Prabhupada: You have to train him in such a way that he cannot become corrupt!

BTG: What is that training process?

Srila Prabhupada: That training is the varnasrama-dharma.The system of dividing society into four social orders. Divide the society according to quality and train people in the principle that everything belongs to God and should be used in the service of God. Then there really can be “one nation under God.”

BTG: But if society is divided into different groups, won’t there be envy?

Srila Prabhupada: No, no. Just as in my body there are different parts that work together, so the society can have different parts working for the same goal. My hand is different from my leg. But when I tell the hand, “Bring a glass of water,” the leg will help. The leg is required, and the hand is required.

BTG: But in the Western world we have a working class and a capitalist class, and there is always warfare going on between the two.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. The capitalist class is required, and the working class is also required.

BTG: But they are fighting.

Srila Prabhupada: Because they are not trained up; they have no common cause. The hand and the leg work differently, but the common cause is to maintain the body. So if you find out the common cause for both the capitalists and the workers, then there will be no fighting. But if you do not know the common cause, then there will always be fighting.

BTG: Revolution?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes.

BTG: Then the most important thing is to find the common cause that people can unite on?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, just like in our Krishna conscious society you come to consult me about every activity, because I can give you the common cause. Otherwise, there will be fighting. The government should be very expert to know the aim of life–the common cause–and they should train the people to work for the common cause. Then they will be happy and peaceful. But if people simply elect rascals like Nixon, they will never find a common cause.

Any rascal can secure votes by some arrangement, and then he becomes the head of the government. The candidates are bribing, they are cheating, they are making propaganda to win votes. Somehow or other they get votes and capture the prime post. This system is bad.

BTG: So if we don’t choose our leaders by popular election, how will society be governed?

Srila Prabhupada: You require brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras. Just as when you want to construct a building, you require engineers. You don’t want sweepers. Isn’t that so?

What will the sweeper do? No, there must be engineers. So if you follow the division of varnasrama, only ksatriyas are allowed to govern. And for the legislative assembly–the senators–only qualified brahmanas. Now the butcher is in the legislative assembly.

What does he know about making laws? He is a butcher, but by winning votes he becomes a senator. At the present moment, by the principle of vox populi, a butcher goes to the legislature. So everything depends on training. In our Krishna conscious society, we’re actually doing that, but in the case of politics, they forget it. There cannot be just one class. That is foolishness, because we have to engage different classes of men in different activities.

If we do not know the art, then we will fail, because unless there is a division of work, there will be havoc. We have discussed all the responsibilities of the king in the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

The different classes in society should cooperate exactly as the different parts of the body do. Although each part is meant for a different purpose, they all work for one cause: to maintain the body properly.” Full Conversation