In all
cases, this was not what most drew my attention in the blog; after all, the diversity
in the ideological background of MPs in some parliaments and the wide spectrum
of political orientations of its representatives may have added coal to the
fiery politician. At some point, and according to the political scholar Khaleel
Al Hajjaj, differences between Jordanian partisans led to exchange of fire,
inside and outside the parliament. Extreme right populist parties must not
tolerate any of the ideals presented by far left socialist parties; a communist
party member may never see eye to eye with an Islamic party; and a neo-liberal
may never understand a Marxist. Policies drawn in such parliaments need to
follow the rule of compromise and disappointing consensus. Even when
dealing with majority systems (such as the UK), policies drawn by governments
do not tend to greatly differ from what the opposition bloc would be willing to
accept. Policies have to pay the price of conciliation.
What does
however draw my attention is the question of “the autotelic nature” of
politics. Politics is not considered autonomously valuable or an end in itself.
It is considered as a mere mean in deliberation to reach an end. As Guido
Parietti explains, many reject the idea that politics could be an end in itself;
defence of democracy and political participation stop just short of recognising
politics as ends in themselves. What is the root of rejecting the autotelic nature
of politics? Is it the fault of those who defend democracy heatedly? Is it a
result of considering that any decision taken that does not take into account
the opinions of others should be considered void of any meaning or purpose? Do
politics and political activity always need a result to justify their use?
Personally,
I believe that politics is a need; expressing one’s opinions, fighting for
ideals, lobbying for selfish purposes, compromising for the good of all are all
aspects of our modern intellectual selves. Even if the result is not convenient
to some sometimes, even if there are no results at all, political
deliberations are a must in any civilized society. To teach our children how to
argue, how to debate and how to manoeuvre is building up political consciousness
whose importance goes way beyond democratic achievement of results. However, focusing
on moderation and compromise in any political activity confirms the notion of “useless
politics if not agreement is reached”. As Berber said: !It is the
self-governing people who most need moderation, for they have nothing but
moderation to remind them of the weakness and infirmities on which their self- government
relies, and by which it is justified”. Moderation is indeed a necessity in
drawing polices and making decisions, but it is not what defines a political
activity or its purpose. Difference of opinion, strong commitment to ideals,
ability to explain one’s political beliefs also do count, even if they do not
yield the aspire results. Should our politicians remind themselves that
politics is autotelic, and is praised as a procedure in itself, more
civilization in the chambers of political deliberations would be achieved.
To conclude,
Winston Churchill famously testified in the House of Commons in 1947: ‘Indeed,
it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all
those other forms that have been tried from time to time.’ Democracy has its
faults, compromise has its faults, but politics – in itself - does not.
References
·
Barber, B. (1984) Storng Democracy
http://books.google.es/books?id=2YbevnCXAhgC&pg=PA311&lpg=PA311&dq=It+is+the+self-governing+people+who+most+need+moderation,+for+they+have+nothing+but+moderation+to+remind+them+of+the+weakness+and+in%EF%AC%81rmities+on+which+their+self-+government+relies,+and+by+which+it+is+justi%EF%AC%81ed&source=bl&ots=kNnuojDgSq&sig=EGu9dhOuWeJz8OjAXVBx2zqRefs&hl=es&sa=X&ei=9TJuU8mmCIWd0AW9l4DIBQ&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=It%20is%20the%20self-governing%20people%20who%20most%20need%20moderation%2C%20for%20they%20have%20nothing%20but%20moderation%20to%20remind%20them%20of%20the%20weakness%20and%20in%EF%AC%81rmities%20on%20which%20their%20self-%20government%20relies%2C%20and%20by%20which%20it%20is%20justi%EF%AC%81ed&f=false
·
Al Hajjaj, K. (2001) The History
of Political Parties in Jordan, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
·
Parietti, G. (2011) On the
autotelic character of politics, Journal of Political Theory
URL: http://ept.sagepub.com/content/11/1/59
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