Professionalizing Politics

Confront the Inevitable

The Conventionalist ethos is about the public making choices precisely where it is reasonable and requisite that they should do so. These choices are about the quality of political life in their society.

See common abuses.

The elites of Plutocratic Pluralism-II cannot conceive that the general public should exert any control over them or could sensibly do so. They will exclaim: “It just won’t work!” and offer more self-regulation.

This transition is a re-run of the dilemma facing elites in Privileged Pluralism-I who cannot get their minds around how it can be good for the country to give masses of uneducated peasants the right to determine who rules.

The flaw in the elites' thinking is their assumption that government works sensibly now, that self-regulation inhibits power-players, and that abuses of power are either rare, normal or unavoidable.
cf. Sallust: Roman Historian and Politician living over 2000 years ago

“When I was a callow young man, I plunged enthusiastically into public life. Instead of modesty, brazenness flourished; instead of self-restraint, bribery; instead of merit, avarice (…)my youthful weakness was corrupted and gripped by ambition. Although I refrained from the wicked ways of the rest, still the same craving for advancement that plagued them with ill-repute and jealousy plagued me too.”(Bell. Cat., III.3)

If abuse or the urge to abuse power is inevitable, then a better future requires the public to take the responsibility to press for standards of acceptability in political activity.

The public can and should expect of politicians the self-discipline and concern for others that it expects from professionals like doctors, lawyers, priests or even company directors.

So the big change is not about controlling choices on controversial issues, removing responsibility from those in charge and handing complex social problems over to the man-in-the-street.

While political disagreement, debates, compromises and all the other paraphernalia will continue as usual, it is essential to throw a spanner into the perversion and sociopathy characteristic of end-stage plutocratic pluralism.

Use of Referenda

Convention-L2 is perhaps the most powerful of the 7 types of ethical rule-PH"6. The goal here is for the public to identify and express unequivocal support for new conventions for political activity. This can be done by regular referenda: possibly repeating the same issue to show a growing demand.

These must be organized by the public for the public and without any formal involvement of the governmental system. Individual politicians could participate as members of the public.

If issues are well chosen and more than 50% of the population vote, referenda will send powerful messages to elites.

Types of referenda:

A. Express a view that demands some action: but how to do this is wholly left to the politicians/bureaucrats.

e.g. no one (or everyone) should be allowed to lend money that they do not have; prohibit lending money to someone (including government) who cannot be reasonably expected to pay back the full value.

B. Propose new norms or conventions without going into details.

e.g. private sector accounting standards in government; auditors must sign off on government accounts at a due time.

C. Propose ideas for legislation or executive orders which politicians are expected to implement (but without full details prescribed).

e.g. prohibition (or repeal) of any laws that enable totalitarian control of the public; require zero inflation or less (i.e. maintain or increase the value of the currency).

D. Create new forms of civic regulatory authority (without any government input)

e.g. Political Standards Authority outside government to judge the veracity of communications (cf. Advertising); General Politicians Council (similar to Medical Councils) with power to propose a ban on a person from formal political positions for a period of time for unprofessional activity.

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But how can this happen?

Having identified choices that might be made, practical questions remain:

• How are issues to be chosen?
• How are referenda to be conducted?
• How is government to be altered?

• See a possible strategy and suggested tactics.

• with further discussion of referenda issues.

  OR

• Continue to generation of the next (5th) political transition.

Originally posted: July 2009; Last updated: 11-Apr-2014