Mendacious Colours of Democracy

Alex Rubner

Description

Politics is a noble, but also a dirty, business. To gain election - and retain office - in a democratic system, politicians are frequently compelled to be dishonest. They engage in benevolent lying because obstruction by stupid voters will otherwise stop them advancing the national interest as they see it.'So claims the author of this eye-opening book, which straddles politics, philosophy, morality and economics. Alex Rubner's own background as an economist advising policy-makers gives authority to his words and a personal dimension to his illustrations.

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 18 juin 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781845404994
• Langue: English

Extrait

Title page
The Mendacious Colours of Democracy
The Anatomy of Benevolent Lying
Alex Rubner



Copyright page
Copyright © Alex Rubner, 2006
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
No part of any contribution may be reproduced in any form without permission, except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism and discussion.
Published in the UK by Imprint Academic
PO Box 200, Exeter EX5 5YX, UK
Published in the USA by Imprint Academic
Philosophy Documentation Center
PO Box 7147, Charlottesville, VA 22906-7147, USA
2013 digital version by Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
www.imprint-academic.com



Dedication
Dedicated to Judith in loving memory.
Without her this book and other publications of mine would not have seen the light of day.
Also by Alex Rubner
Fringe Benefits
The Ensnared Shareholder
The Economics of Gambling
The Price of a Free Lunch
Three Sacred Cows of Economics
The Export Cult
The Might of the Multinationals



Acronyms and Abbreviations
BoE
Bank of England
CEO
Chief Executive Officer
CBI
Confederation of British Industry
DDR
Deutsche Demokratische Republik (Communist East Germany)
DM
Deutsche Mark
ECGD
Export Credits Guarantee Department
ERM
Exchange Rate Mechanism
ERNIE
Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment
EU
European Union
FSA
Financial Services Authority
FT
Financial Times
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GNP
Gross National Product
GESTAPO
Geheime Staatspolizei (Nazi domestic secret service)
HoC
House of Commons
IMF
International Monetary Fund
KGB
Russian Secret Service
LBC
Left Book Club
LDC
Less Developed Country
LSE
London School of Economics
MP
Member of Parliament
NCB
National Coal Board
Multi
Multinational Corporation
NHS
National Health Service
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
PC
Politically Correct
PFI
Private Finance Initiative
PR
Public Relations
PSBR
Public Sector Borrowing Requirement (deficit of state budget)
RPI
Retail Prices Index
SS
Schutzstaffel (Hitler’s bodyguard)
UN
United Nations
VAT
Value Added Tax
WHO
World Health Organisation
WWI
1914-18 World War
WWII
1939-45 World War



Preface
Part A (chapters I to III) defines, elucidates and exemplifies mendacity. [1] Part B (chapters IV to VII) dwells on the blemishes of democracy and discusses why many well-meaning politicians in democratic countries deceive the electorate. I am arguing that the nature of representative democracy impels altruistically-motivated elected parliamentarians to feel entitled to lie to their voters. My compilation passes over the perfectionists (among whom are John Wesley, George Washington, St Augustine) who oppose lying in all circumstances - even ‘to save the souls of the whole world’.
While telling-the-truth is generally deemed to be praiseworthy, it can sometimes have disagreeable consequences. The Book of Judges conveys a salubrious warning to the devotees of truth who ignore the possibility of perilous consequences. Samson, a judge in Israel for twenty years, entered upon a sexual liaison with Delilah. Conspiring with the Philistines, the temptress urged him to tell her the source of his strength. At first he gave a false clue and this lie saved his life. Twice more she begged him to disclose the truth and again he deceived her. Delilah pestered him until he wearily divulged that the secret lay in his unshorn locks of hair. This enabled the Philistines to capture and torture him. They gouged out his eyes and he became ‘Eyeless in Gaza’.
People lie actively by writing, shouting, winking and in several other ways. I have debunked the notion that passive lying is always less depraved. Lloyd George’s estranged wife was a passive liar when she sat next to him in a court, where her husband lied on oath about his adultery. Her mendacity consisted of not uttering a single word in public. Chancellor of the Exchequer Denis Healey was a passive liar when he juggled with figures to give the false impression that inflation was lower than it actually was. The authorities (justifiably) lied in 1942 when they told the relatives of British prisoners-of-war that their dear ones had died in captivity while they were in fact killed inadvertently by a submarine of the Royal Navy. The Ministry of Defence was guilty of (unjustifiable) passive lying when, between 1946 and 1996, it suppressed the true facts. A wealthy fellow-traveller, the publisher Victor Gollancz, remained an avid liar in defence of Stalinism even after he was convinced that the accused in the staged Moscow trials had been framed. Gollancz chose not to disseminate the truth but provided the (British) Communist Party with facilities to lie actively by promulgating the supposed guilt of the accused and acclaiming their death sentences.
This book does not accentuate the lies which serve to enrich liars materially but highlights non-pecuniary motives. While many of these are related to benevolent lying, readers are invited to be wary of altruistic declarations as these often furnish alibis for undeserving liars. Moralists focus mainly on the intent of liars while I also lay stress on the ensuing consequences. Accolades are therefore only bestowed on benevolent liars when both the intent and the sequels are commendable.
The performance of the Biblical Jonah, concerning his role in the Nineveh affair, is scrutinized. He is emulated today by a host of secular, putatively scientific, predictors who seek to mislead the public. Writing in academic journals, they boast proudly of their ‘clever’ mendacity. Simultaneously, they plead that, as their motive in spreading false forecasts is laudable, they should be given recognition as meritorious liars. Numerous actual, allegorical and hypothetical illustrations have been gathered to elucidate diverse aspects of mendacity. Although my thesis has a global drift, and I have cited examples from many parts of the world, most of the events which I describe occurred in the UK in the 1951-2005 period. Economics is the provenance of many of these incidents. This is so, in part, because of my professional background. Moreover, economic and related political endeavours lend themselves more readily to lying than other themes. Sanitary engineers, pilots and professors of Italian literature are no less prone to lie but have fewer openings to become proficient liars.
Those who fought in the nineteenth century for universal suffrage did not envisage that, having been achieved, it would bestow one day upon largely uninformed and capricious voters the right to participate directly in the actual process of political decision-making. Their intended function was merely to select the parliamentary representatives. But today’s electorate is much more demanding. The voters insist that they are entitled to instruct MPs on what to say and how to cast their votes in the HoC. In Marquand’s superb depiction: ‘the spectators in the stands have begun to descend on to the field’. As a result, politicians in the Western world are no longer in a position to respond to legislative proposals in accordance with their considered views. Politicians must decisively test the opinions of the electorate even though the majority of the public are ill-suited to arrive, on many issues, at logical conclusions. As the electorate’s attitudes cannot be ignored, prudent members of parliament frequently omit to tell the truth. In order to do good, politicians are often even compelled to be dishonest. They eng