Submitted by Terence Blackett
“If religion is the opiate of the masses – then politics is the “crack-cocaine” of fools”
Western Anglo-Saxon style democracy prides itself on being a representative democracy subscribing to Duverger’s Law as a foundational principle which asserts that a plurality vote will eventually foster the creation of a two-tier party system set in place to offset checks and balances in the proper functioning and running of a modern society.
But is this really the case?
After decades of careful systematic study of political science, like many others, I believe the system is fundamentally flawed; dysfunctionally capacious; and the majority of us are sadly wearing blinders and have been fooled into our current ideological positions – taking one side or another forgetting that the system is rigged for social control and for “suckers” who are willing to sell out.
Let me make it clear – politics is the domain where angels refuse to trod (at least at this time) yet mortal men believe that they can tame this wild BEAST* which roams our planet polarizing mankind into determinant camps creating a “HERD” mentality – a sort of cognitive bias in which people automatically agree and support (LESS* enlightened) individuals whom they have determined are a part of their “group”.
This conclusion was not arrived at simplistically – although after reading the “nationalistic” rancour and banter on BARBADOS UNDERGROUND for almost [2] years (to name one of many such websites), it is easy to see why the level of subliminal political indoctrination, partisanship, and creature worship has resulted in so-called intelligent men and women (many with college degrees and taught to think for themselves) are now found “blindfolded” by a scarlet ribbon of supposed light – choosing to cower in dystopia and denial – locking themselves away in a dungeon of ideological despotism choosing to genuflect around in the darkness rather than to embrace “true” light.
As a son of the soil, I believe I share the opinion of many who feel that Barbados (though a “tiny” island state) suffers from a form of blind, irrational nationalism for which its leaders have not the political capital or political will to break. Such political polarization has created such a bandwagon in which cognitive behaviour fuels decision-making, and there is this tendency to jump on to the most popular option when most hold very little information regarding the process. This has led to a [2] party system of Parliamentary democracy “borrowed” from Westminster with few even really understanding what are the real underpinnings and even the social science behind what they claim to believe in and why they do.
But let us widen the debate as I know for some Bajans this is not comfortable analysis, (as it is for other nationalistic nations), who refuse to see themselves as part of an increasingly smaller and smaller global village. So for the sake of the presupposed argument being presented let’s take “good ‘ole England” from which we (those in Barbados & the Caribbean) and for that matter, the United States of America who have evolved their classical political economy from this once mighty (now fallen) empire.
Western parliamentary democracies, like what we have here in Britain are the “MODEL” from which all others flow. [1688] was the year recognized as the period when parliamentary democratic dominance took place when James 11 was forced to flee the shores of England as parliament held sway. Constitutional reforms also came in the 18th century through William Pitt and in 1830; the House of Commons forced Wellington to resign because of his refusal to accept reforms. So for the last [323] years, Britain’s parliamentary democracy has been undergoing structural, political, ethical and ideological change with not much changing in real terms, other than the political elites who run the bureaucratic machinery and the evolution of “statutes”, laws and conventions sitting on archaic rolls of parchment housed under lock and key.
But though “jolly” ‘ole England set the political benchmark, emerging out of its “feudalism” past, unlike American federalism or presidentialism, Western parliamentary democracy was the product of deliberate institutional takeover, design and initiation. Political sociologists like Bryce sees the American model of governance as having both merits as well as demerits and would argue his preference for presidentialism as against parliamentarism for a number of reasons for which this article is unfortunately bereft of brevity to accommodate at this time. However, the major plank of the argument is really quite simple to quote one of America’s great presidents –
“[Political parties] serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction… they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government…The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension… is itself a frightful despotism…The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction… the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it… It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions…
This is the power of which we assert so forcefully – evidenced in a small country call Barbados; rife in a land where some once thought the “sun” would never set upon its empire and even now, a dwindling super-power shackled to its own ideological, historic and prophetic destiny doomed to go the way of ALL* other great empires before it.
Any honest, careful analysis of 18th century European history, but especially within the context of its current ideological lenience MUST* see that the [2] PARTY SYSTEM of democratic governance makes “clowns out of most – and jokers out of the rest”. Let me explain what I mean: the Leftist Progressive Movement,” which began in Europe in the 1870’s reached the shores of America by the 1880’s. The political and ideological planks of government in a post-Civil War Era were to most sociologists and other commentators Fascist in nature. This was a “politico-economic system denoted by extreme nationalism, and direct societal regulation of all privately held personal and corporate assets for the purposes of perceived societal benefit. These perceived benefits, often included: Centralized Planning of Infrastructural Assets, Efficiency of Standardization, Environmental Protection, Societal Safety, Public Health, National Defense, and even International Economic Advantage.” In such a system, “with only two dominant political parties, the electorate was inevitably forced or led to choose the “Lesser of Two Evils;” and the logic is inescapable! If we abandon the party on the Right, the Leftists will invariably win; and our highly manipulative leaders will expend a great deal of time, energy, and money reminding us” of the foolhardy nature of our choices.
To conclude – in an age of [3] millions + BRITS* unemployed (if you believe the stats from government that is SPUN* it seems a lot less); [30] million + Americans jobless, homes foreclosed on and life chances down the toilet; notwithstanding that in a small, developing nation-state as Barbados, with a population of some 270,000 + individuals (not counting economic & political migrants) are seeing in a working population of about 150,000 (not counting black-marketers, drug-dealers, flesh-merchants & other dubious scoundrels) a 10% unemployment rate amongst its working age with a further tightening and constriction to follow given cutbacks and lauded “austerity” measures being imposed on the working classes in a country that will be on its knees sooner than later. Yet, political wrangling, obtuse partisan vacillations and an almost “demagoguery” form of nuanced nationalistic fervor grips a so-called mass of educated, privileged, affluent individuals content to allow the chilled winds of polarization to blow – seeing that as democratic progress!
Barbados Underground et al and all its other proponents around the world can continue to bury their heads in the sand, living in abject denial of the facts – that whoever we chose amongst the TWO MAJOR PARTIES, which is sadly called “our government” – we are basically “SCREWED”!
Time has come for the system to be open to the multiplicity of views that makes society what it really ought to be in the first place…
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.