The politics we deserve
July 3rd 2010 03:02
As we reflect on the wreckage of democracy revealed by the political murder of Rudd and the subservience to the mining lobby of new PM Gillard, we recall the old dictum that people get the politics they deserve.
There is a great movie from the 70s called the 'Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer' in which a clever spiv manipulates the media to become virtual dictator of the UK. His main ploy is to introduce direct rule by the people, which they initially love. There is a great scene where the Brit equivalent of six-pack Joe says to his wife after voting on a foreign affairs bill: "You don't think I was too hard on China, love?"
Of course the people then get sick of all the minutiae of government, like dealing with the funding of sewerage. Eventually they give away all their rights just so they will be left in peace, and Rimmer accepts that power.
And there's the rub. Our political system relies on that tenuous balance between public apathy and the at least appearance of popular sovereignty.
What the events of the last few months - Turnbull's demise and the Liberals' caving in to the climate change skeptics, and Rudd's demise and Labor's caving in to big business - should tell us is that we are well along the road to rule by the strongest vested interests because most voters still don't care enough to find out what the hell is really going on and vote accordingly.
There is a great movie from the 70s called the 'Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer' in which a clever spiv manipulates the media to become virtual dictator of the UK. His main ploy is to introduce direct rule by the people, which they initially love. There is a great scene where the Brit equivalent of six-pack Joe says to his wife after voting on a foreign affairs bill: "You don't think I was too hard on China, love?"
And there's the rub. Our political system relies on that tenuous balance between public apathy and the at least appearance of popular sovereignty.
What the events of the last few months - Turnbull's demise and the Liberals' caving in to the climate change skeptics, and Rudd's demise and Labor's caving in to big business - should tell us is that we are well along the road to rule by the strongest vested interests because most voters still don't care enough to find out what the hell is really going on and vote accordingly.
| 91 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
