Discussion on Institutional Reform

"Perhaps that is indeed the case, but have you considered this? The current Chieftain has committed no wrongdoing. By what means would you restrain him, let alone remove him outright?"

No sooner had he finished than the worried Head Witch Doctor pressed on without waiting for an answer.

"Furthermore, Blade Tusk, from what you are saying, it seems you intend to gather all the tribe's power into the hands of the witch doctors. Is that correct?"

Blade Tusk nodded without hesitation. He believed that was only proper. Decisions should arise from wisdom—what could possibly be wrong with that?

"But have you considered the feelings of the other tribespeople? Right now, as the de facto ruler, the 'Chieftain' at least serves as the representative of all tribespeople who are not spellcasters. Though he may not hold that title in name, by tradition, the 'Chieftain' indeed has that qualification."

"But once you explicitly gather power under the witch doctors and turn the 'Chieftain' into an 'executor' beneath us, will the tribespeople feel divided? Will they believe that the 'warriors' have become a marginalized group in decision-making, and thus become alienated and disunited?"

"If we continue to preserve tradition, we can still retain enormous influence, while the warriors remain devoted to the tribe."

"For example, when have the Chieftains ever unreasonably rejected the advice you and I have given? And when have the warriors ever been slack in carrying it out?"

"So why can't we maintain the status quo?"

Just as Blade Tusk fell into thought at those words, and most of the other Trolls likewise became pensive, the Middle Witch Doctor spoke up.

"Rough Tusk, I think you are being too conservative. Every other word out of your mouth is 'tradition.' Did we decide this 'tradition'? Are others truly willing to preserve this so-called 'tradition' with you? Blade Tusk just said that 'power is a hotbed for ambition and blindness,' and I think that makes perfect sense. What if one day the 'Chieftain' no longer wishes to follow tradition with us?"

"That is merely a hypothetical. The Chieftain has always been wise."

"Heh. Why pretend to be confused? You know perfectly well that we have never been speaking of any particular Chieftain. We mean the countless Chieftains who may arise in the future—we mean that position itself."

"The current Chieftain is wise? Indeed, I do not deny it. But so what? Does that prove future 'Chieftains' will all be wise? Could there come a day when some Chieftain finally grows sick of us witch doctors' endless nagging and seeks to seize all power, both in fact and in name?"

"And what would we do then? Become his spellcaster guards and advisers, or take up arms and resist?"

"The chance to eradicate that possibility completely lies right before us. Must we wait until disaster is upon us, until both sides possess the strength to destroy the entire tribe, before you are willing to change that damned 'tradition'?"

"Therefore, I support Blade Tusk's proposal: clearly define and restrict the Chieftain's powers and responsibilities, and draw the source of power entirely into the hands of us witch doctors."

"And all of you should think carefully about it. Once the moment truly arrives, making changes will not be so easy."

"Sharp Tusk! You cannot use something that has never happened as proof for your argument! Besides, is it impossible that we witch doctors might be the ones whose eyes are blinded by power?"

"Oh, spare me. Even wisdom when blinded is far better than blind 'barbarism.' This is weakness on your part. If we do not establish the source of power and responsibility now, before the warriors' 'unified will' has begun to sprout, then when will we do it? When spears are pressed against our throats?"

"Enough. How did the two of you end up arguing yourselves into such a temper?"

Seeing the exchange growing ever more needle-sharp, Blade Tusk hurried to mediate between them.

"The more truth is debated, the clearer it becomes. But if discussion turns into mutual accusation, then it loses all meaning."

Only after seeing that neither side spoke again did Blade Tusk rise to his feet and speak once more.

"After hearing the two witch doctors, I have been able to better organize my own views. First, I want to make one thing clear: any change we make to the tribe should stem from our pursuit of 'civilization.'"

"Then, regarding the position of 'Chieftain,' we should consider whether the current system runs contrary to 'civilization.'"

"I believe that it does."

"Um... what should we call the current system? The 'Bloody Duel System'? The 'Infinite Responsibility System'?"

"No matter how outstanding a Chieftain may be, the moment a warrior surpasses him in martial strength, he faces a challenge. Death and beheading seem to become every Chieftain's achievement or tombstone."

"It is laughable and barbaric, and it must be changed. The standard for a Chieftain should not be martial strength, but wisdom and ability."

"That is the first point."

"Second, the Chieftain's scope of powers and responsibilities is vague and overly broad. This position seems able to govern everything, yet also seems as though it should govern nothing."

"As stated before, this is a hidden danger. The entire tribe must reach a broad and unified understanding of its scope of powers and responsibilities, and fix it in place in some form."

"Third, I have emphasized the relationship between power, ambition, and blindness several times already. The position of 'Chieftain' is precisely the best point at which they can become intertwined."

"Therefore, the position of 'Chieftain' must have mobility. It cannot be allowed to mutually reinforce ambition with any one Troll."

"But at the same time, in order to preserve continuity in the tribe's governance and ensure that ongoing matters do not passively grind to a halt every so often—"

"—the stability of the position of 'Chieftain' must also be considered."

"Therefore, I believe we can introduce a 'term system.' For example, a Troll may only serve as Chieftain for one Prime Cycle. Furthermore, restrictions must be placed on consecutive terms, total number of terms served, and so on."

"What do you all think?"

The moment Blade Tusk finished, the Middle Witch Doctor raised a question.

"I think replacing martial strength with wisdom is feasible. But how would it be done? In the past, if one wanted to become Chieftain, one merely had to win a duel. But how would this 'wisdom' be demonstrated? How would a 'wise' Chieftain take office? And how would we ensure the witch doctors' decision-making power?"

"I only have preliminary ideas on that front. We will need everyone to advise on it together."

"First, the tribe's people must be made to understand this: 'Wisdom is the greatest force for leading the tribe forward.'"

"And for that, we must begin with education. Through comparisons of past and present, and education in values, we must change the understanding of the people—especially the young Trolls."

"We must transform their hopes for the future from 'I want to become a valiant warrior' into 'I want to become a wise witch doctor.' This will not only change the people's expectations of the 'Chieftain,' but also provide us with a certain foundation of popular support."

"Once the people have such expectations for the 'Chieftain,' it will naturally become a matter of course to impose firm requirements of 'wisdom' upon the position and establish them in the form of 'rules.'"

"And once 'wisdom' gains a similar foundation of popular support, it becomes possible to establish a permanent deliberative body capable of deciding the tribe's direction of development."

"In my vision, this body would be formed and controlled by witch doctors. As for its name... it could be called the 'Rune Council,' the 'Wisdom Council,' or something else. Its primary responsibility would be to guide the broad direction of the tribe's future development."

"The Chieftain, meanwhile, would be the executor of specific affairs."

"Old Witch Doctor, Witch Doctor Sharp Tusk, Witch Doctor Rough Tusk, and everyone else—what do you think of this idea?"

"Mm, I think it's pretty good. A Chieftain Council."

Middle Witch Doctor pondered for a moment, then added, "In your conception, this so-called 'chieftain' and 'council' are ultimately separate, right?"

"Uh... yes."

"Then how about this—why not merge the two into one? Change 'chieftain' to 'council speaker,' define the position's powers and responsibilities as 'the leader and representative of the council,' have the speaker arise from among the 'council members,' and have ruling authority indirectly granted by the council. Um, wouldn't that be more secure?"