---------- Forwarded message ---------- Subject: Fwd: Political reality To:
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:41:30 +0800 > From: Rene Azurin <[email protected]> > > BusinessWorld <http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=2155> > http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=2155 > > Thursday, November 26, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES > <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=wwwbworldonlinecom>| > > > > Opinion > > > > > > > > > Strategic Perspective -- by René B. Azurin > > > > > > > > > Political reality > > > > > > His decision, announced last Tuesday, not to run for any elective office in > 2010 is itself proof of the faulty reasoning that underlay the reasons Sen. > Francis Escudero gave when he bolted -- a month ago -- the political party > he belonged to and served for 11 years. Disregarding any rumors that he made > that decision to quit in a fit over not getting the funding support he > needed for a run at the presidency, it is interesting that he chose to turn > his special rationale into a polemic about political parties in general. > > The remarks Mr. Escudero made were probably more revealing of the state of > his political maturity than he might have wanted it to be. These could be > ignored -- since he is no longer a candidate for any elective position in > the upcoming elections -- but the paid ad publicizing his statement in major > newspapers invites comment because it appears to reflect a rather common > misconception about democracy and democratic processes among the young and > politically naïve. > > The essential thrust of what can be given better-than-passing marks for > political rhetoric is that -- paraphrasing Mr. Escudero’s remarks -- any > aspirant for the presidency of this republic should not be a member of any > political party because his party should be the one to which all Filipinos > belong. The explicit basis of this position is the accusation that all > candidates who are members of a political party have their hands tied > ("nakakadena ang kamay") and their mouths muzzled ("nakabusal ang bibig") by > those who represent their party’s specific vested interests. Also expressly > stated by Mr. Escudero is the notion that only by being free of membership > in any political party can one truly perceive what one must do and what role > one must play to advance the best interests of the nation as a whole. > > It is hard to believe that an experienced politician of Mr. Escudero’s > education and training actually believes that one can dispense with the > existence of political parties in a democratic system. His published remarks > reflect such a fundamental misunderstanding of democratic processes that one > can imagine hearing them in some high school debate but not in the > rough-and-tumble world of real politics. > > The reality of life in a democratic setting is that it is the special > interests represented by political parties (and other social groupings) who > compete in democratic elections for the power to promote their particular > agenda. Individual citizens can entertain the illusion that they wield power > during the periodic democracy-characterizing exercises called elections, but > their solitary votes are, to be realistic, insignificant. It is only when > these single votes are consolidated into blocs by political operators or > vote aggregators do these acquire a measure of importance. This is why the > ability to aggregate votes into blocs is a highly valued function in a > working democracy. This is what political parties do (or, at least, what > they are designed to do). > > To elaborate somewhat, creating a voting bloc means getting a group of > voters to vote together. This, almost by definition, requires uniting these > voters in the pursuit of a common goal or special interest. Since the > citizens in a democratic country invariably have various goals and different > interests, elections therefore are effectively competitions among various > voting blocs -- each representing some shared goals or special interests -- > for the privilege of wielding government power in order to realize those > shared goals or to advance those special interests. Rousseau’s famous notion > of "the general will" being the supreme arbiter in representative government > is a theoretical concept that is impossible to actualize. The truth of the > matter is that organized voting blocs -- in other words, political parties > (however one might label them) -- dictate the agenda of government in a > democratic society. > > It must be emphasized that there is nothing inherently wrong in that (as > Mr. Escudero seems to believe). In fact, the competition of organized > minorities -- again, these voting blocs are political parties however they > might call themselves (civic groups, advocacy movements, religious > organizations, etc.) -- for political power is part and parcel of the whole > idea of representative democracy. When a special interest minority gains > power because it is successful in selling its special agenda to the majority > of the voting public, it is expected to promote this particular agenda. > Other special interest minorities, depending on the extent that that agenda > conflicts with their own or competes for the same desired resources, are > expected to oppose the bloc in power and seek to limit its power. This is > what causes power to swing, from one election to the next, from one bloc to > the next. As long as power is sufficiently dispersed so that power can > conceivably swing from one voting bloc to another, competing minorities are > often forced to make concessions to each other and to seek a modus vivendi > that ultimately diminishes each group’s ability to push its particular > special interest forward too much. This is the reality of how it is. > > The point is, as long as citizens are free to organize themselves into > voting blocs that represent their special interests and there is working > competition (as in economic markets) among the various minorities that make > up a society, the general welfare has a chance of being realized. > > The problem, perhaps, of Mr. Escudero is that he, strangely, did not appear > to realize that his problem was specific to him and the political party to > which he belonged. One surmises from his tirade against it that he no longer > shared the goals of the Nationalist Peoples’ Coalition and no longer > subscribed to the aspirations of the voting blocs that constitute that > party. Obviously then, he could also no longer exert any sort of a claim on > that party’s funds (or its fund-raising ability). > > What Mr. Escudero’s announcement that he is abandoning his political > ambitions for 2010 -- "hindi natin panahon ngayon" -- might indicate is a > newly acquired realization that his political ambitions require him to, > heavens, organize a political party. He will have to build voting blocs that > will share his goals and special interests (whatever those are) if he wants > to be president someday since none of the main political parties or > groupings now share his goals or interests. Necessarily, his new political > party must also acquire the means to raise funds to pursue its objectives. > The challenge for Mr. Escudero is to build this new party around a > distinctive political philosophy instead of merely around his ambitions to > become president. Nothing he has said or accomplished so far in his > political career -- and it has been a successful one -- indicates that he is > capable of this. One actually does not know what philosophical principles he > stands for or what programs of government he espouses. One actually does not > know what his "Ako bilang ako" ("Me as myself") really means or implies. > Still, one always hopes to be surprised. Otherwise, his organization of a > new political party for the 2016 elections will only serve to add to the > problem of person-centered political parties in a patronage-based Philippine > political system. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gimik" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/gimik?hl=en.
