In Max Atkinson’s latest article in the Tasmanian Times ( HERE: Is a plebiscite more democratic? ) he questions democracy and its process in respect to the proposed plebiscite on the issue of same sex marriage, planned by the Turnbull government at the next federal election.
Max Atkinson further explores the duty of the politician to his/her electorate and quotes the conservative political philosopher Edmund Burke’s view on this matter (Edmund Burke 1729-1797).
Edmund Burke would have been aware of the philosophies which led up to the turbulent and bloody French revolution shaking the established ruling class in Europe.
Philosophers were many around the era of Edmund Burke – to name a few, David Ricardo (1772-1823), Hegel 1770-1831), Jeremy Bentham (1747-1832) and one in particular often quoted by the proponents of a Laissez -faire economy, Adam Smith (1723-1790) .
It was the view of those philosophers which inspired the politicians of the day.
In turn it was the politician’s convictions which stirred the electorate to follow them (males and the propertied only).
Several opposing economic and social theories and philosophies have resulted in worldwide massacres and war crimes against humanity by many nations.
The implementation failure of some social and economic theories, in many cases, was not that the theory may have been faulty or its aims unattainable but because of human failure and inadequacies.
Many of us celebrated the destruction and removal of the Berlin wall and could identify with the relief of the pain of a divided city, but never considered what the victory we achieved was about and what it meant.
We had swapped our fight against Communism for Corporatism and Crony Capitalism and have tolerated it for years since.
As the Berlin wall came down, in Australia the Labor Party had become a misnomer as Labor adopted the economy as the source of the trickle-down process. The labour force and unions were expected to participate in the fine tuning of the economy.
Some in the Labor Party may believe in the trickle-down process whilst the Liberal Party only pretends to believe in it.
Our celebrated victory at the Berlin Wall left us without a cause to fight for and no longer did we need politicians brought up through the rank and file with conviction and a cause. What was required were economists and lawyers with a market philosophy to manage the economy and legislate.
Political meetings are no longer held in Hyde Park’s Speaker’s Corner but now public gatherings need police permission and are closely observed by security agencies.
Political meetings are replaced by expensive media campaigns financed by the corporate world to sway public opinion and to persuade the electorate to vote for the party of their choice.
The new politician needs no conviction or cause to inspire the electorate – what is required is a degree in economics or law with media skills to influence the polls on behalf of the corporations who pay for their election.
No longer is there an requirement for politicians to lead or have a cause other than to follow a market philosophy which is not their own – they are a servant of their corporate masters .
Edmund Burke’s philosophy, as quoted below in Max Atkinson article, therefore no longer applies.
It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfactions, to theirs; and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiassed opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living….Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.’
Politics in the Western world has been totally hijacked by the corporation and ironically the philosopher Adam Smith, a contemporary of Edmund Burke and so often quoted to argue the case for a Laisez-faire economy, warned us in his book The Wealth of Nations’ (pp.246-7), in reference to the protective duties of government states,
“the mean rapacity, the monopolizing spirit of merchants and manufacturers, who neither are, nor ought to be the rulers of mankind… their interest is….directly opposite to that of the great body of the people”.
Whilst celebrating at the Berlin Wall unfortunately we didn’t heed his warning.
*Bob Lubout is a ‘climate refugee’ from Perth WA. He has been living in Penguin on the NW coast of Tasmania with his artist partner Sandra and their two dogs, Tessie and Winston since 2013. Bob’s work history includes owning his own TV/Electronic repair and maintenance business for many years and travelling all over the world servicing and installing analytical mining and industrial X-ray equipment. He went to Curtin University as a ‘mature age student’ where he gained a Bachelor of Education majoring in Sociology and Politics and then onto Murdoch University where he gained a Graduate Diploma of Science and Technology Policy. This led him to a career as a TAFE lecturer, teaching electronics, maths, science and aviation. Bob now enjoys spending his time researching and writing and flying around this beautiful part of the world in a small aircraft.
