Posted on 16-7-2002

Political Pressure
by Alan Marston

Politicians are rightly suspected of obfuscation, confusion, mendacity,
contradiction, opportunism, suppression by word and violence, divisiveness,
greed. That is the case now, it has been the case for thousands of years
and almost certainly will be for quite a few more years to come, because,
politics is the driving force behind the institutional machines that run
human social systems, and keep them running according to an age-old logos.
What politicians are like now is in no significant way different to what
they were like in Dynastic Egypt or even the Cro-Magnon hunting party. And
by the way, the litany of criticism of politicians by citizens has also not
changed in many thousands of years.

Very little has changed in politics, nevertheless we must play the game if
we want the institutions that underpin our society to work and keep
working. The one siginificant change is the communication arena in which
political battles are fought. For the Athenians of 2,500 years ago - if
they could be warped into the 21st Century - what is going on in the
political arena would be unsurprising, I suspect it would bore them.
However a good crowd then would have been 6 thousand, whereas today, via
electronic media it can be 6 billion. This has certain implications which I
think are useful to reflect on if one is to play the political game well,
and even win.

First, the ancients would have never placed money above drama, for them,
nothing was more important than social interplay, the bringing down of
those whose ego made them act as if they were part of the pantheon of gods
- who were also not immune from destruction. Now money is first and last.
Political debate is interrupted without hesitation or protest by
advertising for tooth brushes et al. The future of the political and social
life can wait when there is a buck to be made.

Second, the politicians of yore were given more than 10 seconds to make
their point and it was not a decision of the local arena manager who got on
stage and how long they stayed there. Today anyone placed in position of
producer (and anyone who has the money to influence them) on a media
channel wields absolute power over what is seen and heard by `the masses'.

Third, Socrates jury was more than the mere 100 allowed to manipulate the
`worm', he got over 250, and that was a small number compared to many
trials of the day. But then, Socrates had principles and was prepared to
die for them, quite unlike any politician of our era.

Fourth, it was recognised by the ancients and never forgotten by people of
Asia that the main role of politicians is to maintain stable institutions.
Unstable politics resulted in rapid and deadly retribution by the populace,
who can and do rise up in armed revolt (viz 1997). With the industrial
revolution in the West came the production of a middle-class, a social
grouping which gazes up at wealth with desire and adoration and down at the
worker and workless with fear and loathing. Entrepreneurs exploit this fact
to the hilt and get away with disasterous economic and political turmoil
that would in ancient times and in the East today have seen their violent
overthrow. Politicians, as always, are beholden to the centres of power,
which in the West is the vortexes of finance, whereas we are expected to
believe it is still with us.

Fifth, less and less people in the West are buying the PR dominated
political package, its assumptions and promises and a head of steam is
building up which if not vented in political change, will cause a social
explosion fit for a Greek Tragedy.

Politics doesn't end in two ticks.