Human actions can broadly be understood in the context of
three forces which act to offset each other in order to produce balanced
outcomes. On the one hand, we are motivated by self-interest which is the
driving force propelling individuals forward and helps societies to develop.
But this is constrained by the loyalty to the tribe to which we
belong, and by the responsibility to the wider society. So it is
with politicians in a democratic society: Self-interest is tempered both by
party loyalty and a responsibility to represent the people which put them in
office.
The actions of someone like President Trump are a bit harder to fathom, particularly since he appears to owe no fealty to the Republican Party. I would venture to suggest, however, that he was motivated to run for the presidency out of ambition but his actions will be constrained by what the American people – or more properly, Congress – allow him to get away with. Trump’s attempt to repeal Obamacare should be seen as a policy of self-interest, designed to ensure that he is seen to be fulfilling his election promises. Equally, Congressional action to block this attempt should be celebrated as an example of how this self-interest can be held in check. (For anyone interested in a more detailed analysis of the difficulties the Trump Administration will face in trying to push through its legislative programme, this article from the New York Times is well worth a read).
On this side of the Atlantic the British political scene offers a number of fascinating insights into the motivations of politicians. The news over the weekend that UKIP’s only sitting MP is to leave the party is a case in point. Douglas Carswell is a former Conservative MP, and a well-known Eurosceptic, who defected to UKIP in 2014. Carswell’s reasons for leaving UKIP are unclear. He obviously did not see eye-to-eye with former leader Nigel Farage (who has never managed to be elected as an MP) but Carswell posted on his blog that “I switched to UKIP because I desperately wanted us to leave the EU. Now we can be certain that that is going to happen, I have decided that I will be leaving UKIP.” A cynic might say that a cause he believed in so strongly has been achieved that, for the second time in three years, he has decided to leave a party which no longer suits his purpose. Or, as the Huffington Post put it, “He’s just another hypocritical politician. Just another MP motivated by self-interest, who picks and chooses his principles to match whatever he has already decided to do.”
There again, the same could be said of Winston Churchill who was elected as a Conservative MP in 1900, before defecting to the Liberal Party in 1904 only to rejoin the Conservatives in the 1920s. As the great man put it, “anyone can rat, but it takes a certain ingenuity to re-rat.” With political tribal loyalty these days much stronger than in Churchill’s day, Carswell may not be welcomed back quite so warmly if he were to rejoin his former Conservative colleagues, as has long been rumoured. But whilst one can question Carswell’s personal motivation, he was tapping into a groundswell of anger felt by a large part of the electorate. Like Trump, he was prepared to put other factors ahead of party loyalty and perhaps Carswell really believed that he was acting in the interests of a wider society.
Theresa May, on the other hand, appears to have put the party above all else. She did vote “remain” in the EU referendum (albeit reluctantly, apparently) but has clearly decided that it is more important to keep the party together than allow her personal view on Brexit to determine her course of action. As a result, we appear set for the hard Brexit that many members of the party have long called for. As for her opposite number in parliament, it is hard to know where Jeremy Corbyn stands. It seems that he is not acting in the interests of his party, after his parliamentary colleagues virtually disowned him last year (although he can at least claim that the party’s rank-and-file membership backs him – for now). Most of the polling evidence suggests he is unelectable and as a result he would do his party a favour by stepping aside for someone who is. Arguably, Corbyn is putting personal ambition and his apparently genuine belief in some of the causes he espouses, ahead of party loyalty.
In a world where many of us express irritation at the actions of politicians, it is important to be aware of the forces which drive them. On the one hand, doing so might help to narrow the chasm which has emerged between politicians and the electorate, which is an important factor driving the populist movement and is driving us towards a resurgence of economic nationalism. In addition, it may help counter the more extreme positions adopted by some of the populists. The prejudice of the Brexiteers, for example, could have been fought far more effectively if their opponents had tried to engage with the electorate’s fears rather than dismiss them. Sun Tzu’s The Art of War recommends that we know our enemy. What was true in the 5th century BC still holds today: Good ideas never die – they just get recycled.
The actions of someone like President Trump are a bit harder to fathom, particularly since he appears to owe no fealty to the Republican Party. I would venture to suggest, however, that he was motivated to run for the presidency out of ambition but his actions will be constrained by what the American people – or more properly, Congress – allow him to get away with. Trump’s attempt to repeal Obamacare should be seen as a policy of self-interest, designed to ensure that he is seen to be fulfilling his election promises. Equally, Congressional action to block this attempt should be celebrated as an example of how this self-interest can be held in check. (For anyone interested in a more detailed analysis of the difficulties the Trump Administration will face in trying to push through its legislative programme, this article from the New York Times is well worth a read).
On this side of the Atlantic the British political scene offers a number of fascinating insights into the motivations of politicians. The news over the weekend that UKIP’s only sitting MP is to leave the party is a case in point. Douglas Carswell is a former Conservative MP, and a well-known Eurosceptic, who defected to UKIP in 2014. Carswell’s reasons for leaving UKIP are unclear. He obviously did not see eye-to-eye with former leader Nigel Farage (who has never managed to be elected as an MP) but Carswell posted on his blog that “I switched to UKIP because I desperately wanted us to leave the EU. Now we can be certain that that is going to happen, I have decided that I will be leaving UKIP.” A cynic might say that a cause he believed in so strongly has been achieved that, for the second time in three years, he has decided to leave a party which no longer suits his purpose. Or, as the Huffington Post put it, “He’s just another hypocritical politician. Just another MP motivated by self-interest, who picks and chooses his principles to match whatever he has already decided to do.”
There again, the same could be said of Winston Churchill who was elected as a Conservative MP in 1900, before defecting to the Liberal Party in 1904 only to rejoin the Conservatives in the 1920s. As the great man put it, “anyone can rat, but it takes a certain ingenuity to re-rat.” With political tribal loyalty these days much stronger than in Churchill’s day, Carswell may not be welcomed back quite so warmly if he were to rejoin his former Conservative colleagues, as has long been rumoured. But whilst one can question Carswell’s personal motivation, he was tapping into a groundswell of anger felt by a large part of the electorate. Like Trump, he was prepared to put other factors ahead of party loyalty and perhaps Carswell really believed that he was acting in the interests of a wider society.
Theresa May, on the other hand, appears to have put the party above all else. She did vote “remain” in the EU referendum (albeit reluctantly, apparently) but has clearly decided that it is more important to keep the party together than allow her personal view on Brexit to determine her course of action. As a result, we appear set for the hard Brexit that many members of the party have long called for. As for her opposite number in parliament, it is hard to know where Jeremy Corbyn stands. It seems that he is not acting in the interests of his party, after his parliamentary colleagues virtually disowned him last year (although he can at least claim that the party’s rank-and-file membership backs him – for now). Most of the polling evidence suggests he is unelectable and as a result he would do his party a favour by stepping aside for someone who is. Arguably, Corbyn is putting personal ambition and his apparently genuine belief in some of the causes he espouses, ahead of party loyalty.
In a world where many of us express irritation at the actions of politicians, it is important to be aware of the forces which drive them. On the one hand, doing so might help to narrow the chasm which has emerged between politicians and the electorate, which is an important factor driving the populist movement and is driving us towards a resurgence of economic nationalism. In addition, it may help counter the more extreme positions adopted by some of the populists. The prejudice of the Brexiteers, for example, could have been fought far more effectively if their opponents had tried to engage with the electorate’s fears rather than dismiss them. Sun Tzu’s The Art of War recommends that we know our enemy. What was true in the 5th century BC still holds today: Good ideas never die – they just get recycled.
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