The Real Enemies of Democracy
The Lure of the Sociopath
It was Harold Macmillan - interviewed on TV long after his premiership was over - who made the point that Hitler could not take sole blame for the Holocaust, since the greater dilemma was not one man's 'evil' but his power to persuade millions of people to actually carry it out his wishes.
It seems to me that here is the central dilemma: that not only dictatorships, but also democracies, can throw up leaders who are of a psycho-sociopathic character, but who manage to attract the blind support of the people around them who surrender their moral compass - if they ever had one - to follow 'the man on the white horse'.
We are closer to Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men than we might like to believe.
Claire Short's comments to the Chilcot Inquiry highlighted the tribal nature of the Blair Government, Blair's intolerance of dissent, and the coterie of ministers around him who - with the honourable exception of Robin Cook - blindly supported that intolerance.
(The case of Gordon Brown is of special interest in this context.)
We should not delude ourselves that this was a one-off, since the party system - especially in the UK - encourages and rewards such attachment to the leader, it being one of the curiosities of the British Constitution that the Prime Minister inherited the full powers of patronage from royalty in 1689.
It is this relationship between the sociopathic leader and his/her adoring cronies which seems to me to be the pivotal issue in the need for more rigourous checks and balances in the UK's constitution.
However, no formal structures can ultimately prevent the apparent disposition of many to surrender their moral compass, and their powers of judgement, to 'the leader'. (We are back with men of the Einsatzgruppen.)
Wrapped around this theme is the problem of the atavistic behaviour lurking beneath apparently civilised processes, such as cabinet government, and parliament.
The sociopath's 'Resource Holding Power' would seem to be one of the reasons for the Prime Minister's ascent to, and grip on power, and the submission of others, which is integral both to the attainment, and retention, of that power.
The News International phone hacking saga has added a further dimension: the pull which a propagandist - like Rupert Murdoch - can exercise on politicians of most persuasions, once the aura of electoral success had confirmed his status as maker - and breaker - of political ambitions.
Murdoch became the vetter of a party's programmes, before the voters got a chance to see it.
It's worth underlining the fact that the constitution of the USA - with it's separation of powers - is no guarantee that a sociopath can be prevented from getting into the White House. [GB]
Nevertheless, the defeat of Rupert Murdoch's bid to increase his power base within the British media seems to me to be due to a combination of 'lucky' circumstances - such as no one party in government - than to any new checks and balances.
One 'lucky' factor was the surge of anger when poeple realised Murdoch's minions were attacking victims of crime - like Milly Dowler's parents - and worse, were at one and the same time in a corrupt relationship with the Metropolitan Police, who, for the same reasons as politicians, found Murdoch's favours to be of greater importance than the job they were supposedly paid for. (The expenses saga continues to form a 'feeder' to add to the rage.)
A second 'lucky' factor is the weakness of character of the current Prime Minister, who, allegedly against his better judgment, appointed Andy Coulson as his spin doctor despite warnings not to do so. [Gdn]
(The phrase - said, I think, of John Major - "Like a cushion, he bore the imprint of the last person who sat on him" - seems appropriate.)
Finding himself at the centre of the maelstrom created during Coulson's tenure as editor of the NotW, Cameron seems to have been only too anxious to join the chorus of anger against News International, faced with a shift of power away from his former power-broker.
(The extraordinary plea in mitigation - that he was giving Coulson a 'second chance' - merely added to the sense that Cameron was flotsam on the stream of events.)
Murdoch's malign influence did not break down because of any formal checks and balances, the continuing absence of which leaves open the possibility that we may not be so lucky next time.
For the elderly residents in what were once Southern Cross care homes, 'next time' is already here.
Thanks to the obfuscations of the markets, their quality of care is now at the mercy of shadowy owners allegedly based in tax havens. [Ind]
No checks and balances seem to be protecting them.Strengthening the Legislature
Two final thoughts occur: democracy would be considerably strengthened by ensuring that Parliamentary committees have the power to summon both persons and papers, on pain of prison for failure to respond.
In that context, that long-dormant parliamentary weapon - impeachment - is long overdue a return to the arsenal of the legislature.
About Me
- Born Sutton Coldfield, 1936
- Bishop Vesey Grammar School, 1947-53
- National Service, RAF, 1954-56
- Clerical jobs, 1956-62
- Coventry College of Education, 1962-65
- Primary Teaching, 1965-69
- Special Education, 1969-72
- Edge Hill College, 1972-73
- Adult Literacy - Teacher Training, 1973-80
- Special Needs in mainstream schools 1979-90
Obsessions
- Birmingham City 0
- Blogging
- Classical Music
- History
- Photography & Digital Imagery
- Politics
