Opinion: "What is Politics?" - Michael Densham
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Why bother with politics? It's a question I've been asked many times before, and a question I believe needs answering. Generally, the word politics elicits two responses. The first is that of heated debate which soon leads to fury and red-faced argument. The second is the opposite: boredom, disinterest and a general disregard for what happens in the lavish buildings of the state governments. The latter response is the one generally upheld by most people in society - at least the youth. Throughout my year as FRP I have tried to answer this question as best I could, but still, many people remain confused with the approach to politics I have tried to espouse and the general idea of politics itself. The answer to 'why bother with politics' is something I believe should affect all of us - especially because we belong to an ideological movement with a vision of society. Therefore, if we are to engage with the notion of 'politics' we need to step beyond the superficial aspect of politics which send people cowering, and look instead at the roots of politics and why we have a vested interest in its formulation and application. We need to wipe aside images of bickering parties and complex governing systems. We need to gaze through the rhetoric of theatrical politicians and their jargon of confusion. We need to look beyond the elitist perspectives of politics and bring the word back to the people, thus restoring politics to its place in society and the hearts and minds of people.
Politics is concerned with the 'governing of a country or area'. The word has its origins in the Greek word Polis, meaning city, state or town. Thus, put in a slightly more elaborate way, politics is concerned with all that is to do with governing - organising and administrating - the lives of people and society. Yet this does not tell the whole story, for how is one to 'govern' the lives of people? The extended answer to this question is complicated and has troubled philosophers and political scientist for some time. However the short and simply answer - to which we are interested in elucidating for the time being - is grounded in something of which those very same philosophers and political scientist built their elaborate answers upon; that being values. Values are the grounds upon which all political systems are built and applied. Beyond the complex facades of capitalist theories, communist manifestos and democratic theories are the values of people like you and I. The word politics is also linked to the Greek word polites, meaning townsman. Therefore, at least in the Greek and the democratic sense, politics is the organisation of society based upon the values of those it aims to govern. In this light, politics is the manifestation of the values of people. In many cases however, politics has merely been the manifestation of the values of very few people. Consequently, history has witnessed the establishment of feudalism and totalitarianism. But the point being made is that politics and everything included under its jurisdiction - economics, education, development, and health care - are governed by values. The majority of what surround us in our day to day is political in one way or another. Politics is merely a world of values organised and labelled.
Not one of us takes our values lightly. For many of us, we strive to live our lives by the values we hold dearly. And as a collective, we work together to build communities based upon the values we believe to be just. In this way, we have a responsibility to take an interest in the politics of the world. For the politics of the world - be it Australia or Israel - are the manifestations of values. Reality has it that much of the world is governed by values which stand in contrast to those we grasp strongly. Values of materialism and 'winner-takes-all' have fashioned the dominant economic system of the world. Values of academic success and competition have moulded the face of our education systems. Yet the opposite exists as well. Values of equality and free-speech have enabled the expression of individuals and minorities. The supremacy of liberty has thankfully banished totalitarianism from many parts of world. We therefore return to the contention. The politics of Australia, be it Liberal or the ALP, and the politics of Israel, be it Likud or HaAvodah, are concerned with the fight over values. In our democratic system, it is us and our values which shape society, and it is our responsibility to defend those values we hold dearly and question those we deem otherwise. For if not us, who?
So next time a political issue is discussed or a complex political system spoken of, don't shy away from its apparent complexity, but instead seek out the values which lie at its core. Confront political topics via a practical and value-based prism. Remember this the next time the ballot box stands in front of you and a list of politicians and party names stare back. Wield the pen with your values, not conformity, confusion or apathy. Too often I meet people who speak passionately about values yet let their vote and their social actions speak otherwise.
It's time to mesh our value-based vision of the world with our engagement and understanding of politics, because in reality, they are one and the same.