The politics of pessimism
Newspaper headlines and TV or radio news bulletins would have us believe erroneously that a new age has come upon us, the Age of Cassandra. People are being assailed not just with contemporary doom, or past gloom, but with prophecies of disasters about to befall. The dawn of the new millennium has now passed; the earth is still intact, and the fin de siecle Jeremiahs have now gone off to configure a new date for the apocalypse.
It can, I believe, be said with some certainty that the doom-mongers will never run out of business. Human nature has an inclination for pessimism and anxiety, with each age having its demagogues, foretelling doom or dragging it in their wake. But what makes the modern age so different is that the catastrophes are more 'in your face'. Their assault on our senses is relentless. Whether it be sub-conscious or not, this is a situation not lost on politicians. They play upon people's propensity for unease, turning it into a very effective political tool.
Deluding the general public
All too often, when politicians want to change the status quo, they take advantage of people's fears of the unknown and their uncertainties about the future. For example, details about a new policy may be leaked to the press. Of course, the worst case scenario is presented in all its depressing detail. When the general public reacts in horror, the government appears to cave in. And then accepting some of the suggestions from their critics, ministers water down their proposals. This allows the government to get what it wants, while at the same time, fooling the public into believing that they have got one over on the government. Or even that they have some say in the making of policy.
đang được dịch, vui lòng đợi..
