What is Politics anyway? One definition
I have seen politics described simply as the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behaviour within civil governments, but politics has been observed as a phenomenon in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions.
When I worked as a Head of a Biochemistry Department in the NHS, I was very aware of this thing called politics. Heads of Departments seemed more concerned with building up their empires (often called Ivory Towers) and doing as much back-stabbing as possible to ensure that it was they and not another department that got the extra member of staff or the extra piece of equipment. The fact that one piece of equipment might make a real difference to patient care and another piece wouldn’t have anything like the same impact, did not seem to matter – it had to be their department that got the funds.
So it is possible to see this thing called politics happening everywhere but that does not mean that it has to be the only way that groups can work together – it’s just one way. If we have a system (whether in a Ladies Institute, a business, workplace or Government) where we select for the characteristics we feel we need in leader (macho, aggressive, manipulative, bonus-incentivised, fire-fighter, hero etc?) and what we finish up with is a conniving, untrustworthy political infighter – then surely we have the wrong model and we are choosing the wrong characteristics for good leaders. (and if we wish to select Innerpreneurial-Spirited and High-Emotionally-Intelligent personnel for Leadership positions then for starters we need to get rid of our obsession with paper qualifications and interview checklists).
Get Back
So getting back to the idea that Politics is simply the process by which groups of people make decisions. I would quibble with this as a definition and reframe as ‘politics is simply one process, one model by which groups of people make decisions. There are other ways and some of these ways will be explored over time in this blog.
Whether some of these ‘better ways’ of working could be effective in a Government or a Parliament situation is untested. But surely we couldn’t do any worse than what we have seen in the last few decades? The farcical scenes we see on the television as the cream of political life engage in the thing they call debate.
Come together right now. Speak up!
So the movers-and-shakers in our Society need to come together, to speak up and speak out and to provide impetus to explore ways that groups of people make decisions in a different way. And perhaps to help conceive something akin to a ‘Non-Political Party’.
From Where does Government take its Lead?
In the past it seems that Government has often taken its lead from the darkside of business (lets just call it the macho, competitive side) and they take advice from those very same people they harangue when they receive their obscene financial bonuses. We all know that the Country’s most effective leaders are just getting on quietly and effectively with running a business. Government needs to look really deep below the surface to find these guys and girls because you won’t see them on programmes like The Apprentice (and by the way, would you hire Alan Sugar?) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1192694/So-hire-Alan-Sugan-Mr-Brown-But-special-investigation-reveals-Mr-Sugars-chequered-career-raises-questions-suitability-role-model-businessmen.html
In yesterday’s blog there was this quote: “A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.” ~ James Freeman Clarke.
We need the Statesman Mentallity
We need the Statesman mentality now in our Parliament. We need independently minded thinkers. We need something different, tinkering is no longer the medium term option. So how do we ensure we fill our parliaments with statesman not politicians? Can the real Leader’s in this country (those who build a business for the long-term benefits not the short-term gains) and other movers-and-shakers in society stand up, help to guide, design and agree a way that we can fill our Parliaments with Good Leaders and Statesmen not the ‘claim-as-much-on-expenses-as-we-can-and-blow-the-taxpayer’ career politicians. One thing to note is that we might be seeing the first signs of is the demise of the career politician. So expect a fight-back – they won’t go quietly.
As a voter, do you want to be represented by a system that is political by its very nature?
Coming up next:
All political parties are the same – no real choice
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