I have come to an uncomfortable conclusion. Democracy works a bit too well these days and we are receiving the government we deserve. For me this is linked to the parallel yet related phenomenon of why quality journalism at least in the form of broadsheet newspapers and broadcast news has been drowned in a murky sea of tabloid celebrity worship and “reality” television. Amid Dancing with the Stars Celebrity Apprentice and The Bachelor is it any wonder that democracies are being starved of the intellectual oxygen needed to create an informed electorate. It is not that serious journalism including I would argue that produced at Reuters News (but also at other organizations and by individual bloggers) does not exist but that these are being narrowcast to a small elite. We get the government we deserve in part because we get the media we deserve.
In The Politics Aristotle wrote that he did not fear for the State because the great and the good would always come forward to govern since they could not abide to be led by lesser men In our more selfish contemporary civilization I don’t believe we can count on this noble elitism nor should we. However we are then faced with the responsibility as citizens to inform ourselves sufficiently on the serious and complex matters of public policy so that we can exercise the vote effectively. Thus we have a choice: Revel in our couch potato ignorance and allow an educated elite directly or indirectly to govern. Or educate ourselves sufficiently to make wise political choices — principally by electing the right candidates for the right reasons.
Why does it appear that things have gotten suddenly worse? Why has the political paralysis gotten so bad of late in established democracies that serious liberal commentators sound downright wistful about the ability of the Chinese State to turn policy into action? I think there are two main reasons. First the longer we have allowed problems to build up the longer-term the solutions must be. This is always a challenge in a democracy as we must rely on our elected representatives to adopt policies which are likely to only yield returns beyond the next election. This is even more the case when as today current term sacrifices are required only to restore reasonable fiscal balance in the future. Second the amazing advances in technology over the past two decades (principally the internet) have further shortened the feedback loop and encouraged politicians to respond to shorter and shorter term influences. Finally while populism is hardly a new phenomenon among politicians the political elite (think UK civil service “mandarins”; US Senators and Cabinet officials: etc) is losing its ability to influence policy out of the glare of the “always on” You Tube digital media.
Returning to the role of the media it is fashionable to blame the mogul-owners for pandering to the lowest common denominator and thereby intentionally leading a downward spiral in public discourse. There may well be some truth to this and scandals such as phone-hacking in the UK add support to this argument. However I believe this unduly absolves us all of a collective and individual responsibilty we should have as citizens of the modern democracy. By and large media companies are pursuing a profit motive (especially when publicly owned) and thus are publishing and broadcasting the material they believe will sell to the broadest audience. This is particularly true in an advertising supported model. As such these companies are really holding a giant mirror up to the public at large. If we don’t like what we see in the mirror we should each do something about it; arguing that the person holding the mirror is aiming it downwards is an abdication of personal responsibility.
There is only one solution for better government: Demand the information needed to evaluate complex policy decisions and vote the pandering demagogues who only play sound bite politics out of office. We deserve no less.
You raise good points. The challenge is finding candidates to stand. You need a lot of free cash especially in the States to become a candidate. In the UK you need major party backing which means you have to “toe-the-party-line”. Both are practical barriers to getting the politicians we deserve. Decent people who I see in public life simply don
This is an interesting multifaceted post which points out a number of macro issues. One reaction I had while reading it is that we
Be proud!
Is there really only one solution to better government? A hybrid solution it seems to me would be to both voice our demands and diminish the competing voices. Even Aristotle’s “great and good” (humans) would find it impossible to compete against corporate influences in politics. An educated informed and responsible public would increase public spending on education instead of cutting it; and would insist on more regulation of corporations instead of more secrecy and political clout. As you’ve said yourself the goal of a corporation is to sustain itself; it has no concern for quality of life or preservation of ideals or even for any human beings outside its jurisdiction. It should have less not more power than a single person has to speak and influence government of non-corporate persons. I realize this is part of your personal quandary: how to make your corporate interests more socially responsible (or less socially irresponsible) while pleasing the stockholders and improving your own future. Still it seems particularly ironic that you conclude the sole solution to better government lies with individual human demanding better — especially when OWS is criticized and demeaned for this very thing.
Why does it seem so difficult to formulate sound corporate policy and then turn it into action? Do you spend as much time thinking about this issue? On balance I suppose you do. Are the non-elected pandering corporate demagogues any better than the elected demagogues? Would you consider making something of a personal sacrifice by joining the ranks of those brave enough to put their heads on the block in the name of public service? If not why not? I wonder how you would answer these questions. And just what is your reasoned issue with “Dancing with the Stars”? My educated 90 year-old grandmother is an avid viewer of this benign light entertainment. Please leave her to enjoy it.
I believe the fact that campaigns are so expensive therefore forcing candidates to prostitute themselves to big business severely pervert our government’s ability to legislate authentically. We need publicly funded political campaigns to remove business from parts of our government that should be most influenced by private citizens.
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Essentially Tom I came across your blog and this piece by accident and have to say I agree with your argument entirely. However I would add another to your list of reasons for us getting the governments we all deserve. There is a strong tendency at least in the West to expect our political elite to be super humans in every aspect of their lives. Certainly we have a right to expect near perfection in all the capabilities these people specifically require to represent us in securing and protecting our interests but surely not in all other aspects. Such perfect humans are extremely rare and in reality unlikely to go into politics or make a good politicians. Were the great politicians of the past such as Disraeli Churchill Gandhi Washington or Roosevelt super humans perfect in all ways? We know they were not. Were the people of their time more interested in content and actions of their politicians rather than their unrelated behaviour traits? Not sure. Was the media at the time less inclined or unable to publish stories about private behaviour of these people? Whatever the reason the current expectation for the super human politician free of weakness of any kind further supports your observation that so many pander for demagogues who only play bites to get in and stay in office.
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Very very nice article Author.
wonder how you would answer these questions. And just what is your reasoned issue with “Dancing with the Stars”? My educated 90 year-old grandmother is an avid viewer of this benign light entertainment. Please leave her to enjoy it.
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