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Elections and bribery

by Simon Longstaff

If you've ever found yourself standing in a public place with a screaming, purple-tinged toddler wrapped around your ankles, then you will have known the almost overwhelming urge to offer a bribe.

Indeed, it requires a near super-human strength of character to resist the temptation to secure silence, stop the stares and slip back into peaceful anonymity with the promise of a “treat for being good”.

Experiences, such as these, force us to examine how we balance the tensions between principle and pragmatism. But beyond this, they also offer object lessons in how the pursuit and use of power can be negotiated. For example, some children soon learn that even the threat of a REALLY BIG TANTRUM can be enough to wrest concessions from a parent. These children develop an early taste for power and the rewards that come to those who understand its use and restraint.

Some might argue that inducing children not to exercise their power of disruption sows the seeds of corruption. Others will reply that this is nonsense as parents who succumb do nothing more than offer the prospect of reward for good behaviour. After all, offering the carrot (instead of the stick) can be a perfectly innocent approach when seeking to socialise children into patterns of good behaviour.

But what about the type of 'carrot' being offered? It's easy to assume that the promised benefit will involve something tangible: a toy, a lolly, the prospect of an outing and so on. Yet, this may not be so. It all depends on what we believe the child to value most highly. This is, of course, perfectly rational. If you want somebody to surrender something of value (like their use of power) then you will offer them something you believe they will readily accept in exchange. The more important your need, the greater your incentive to meet the other person's requirements.

It is for this reason that we can tell a lot about what others really think of us by looking at what they offer when we have something that they need. Put simply, each item offered is an indirect reflection of what others assume to be our values and priorities. For example, there is no point in offering chocolate to a child that would prefer or needs a cuddle.

What then are we to make of the way in which political parties tend to approach us when seeking our vote during an election? What does the nature of their promises, policies and campaign strategies tell us about their opinion of us as citizens?

The tactics employed in recent elections would suggest that a majority of politicians have a pretty low opinion of us. As far as I can see, most campaigns now target the electorate's 'hip pocket nerve'. The message is simple: “we believe that you'll exchange your vote for a fist full of dollars”.

Another popular approach is to feed off the community's fear of violent crime. Paradoxically, the more we can be made to feel afraid, the more we are likely to swap our vote for the promise of personal safety. Thus, the evolution of campaigns designed both to scare and rescue us at the same time. What we haven't seen much of lately is an appeal to the community's better points: a sense of generosity, compassion, a concern for the future and so on.

In their defence, political parties will reply that they are not inventing the values they use as levers in their pursuit of power. Instead, they spend a small fortune on research designed to discover who we are and what we stand for. It's then just a matter of holding a mirror up to society. Who can fairly blame the parties if we don't like what we see reflected in their campaigns?

It may be true that we are the authors of our own vices. However, I wonder if it is acceptable to exploit those vices in the pursuit of power? Might not we expect political parties to appeal to that which is best in us and in doing so, help us to build a better society? If this seems a hopelessly naive idea, let me say that the original purpose of politics was a noble one. It was not merely to achieve and hold power for its own sake.

Politics was always meant to be the practice of building a good society. It will be obvious that this aim is undermined whenever political parties try to profit by rewarding the things that are small and mean in our society. All that does is to entrench the barriers that hold us back from being the kind of good people who build good societies.

The 'campaign' has only just begun, so there is still a chance that the parties will try to harness that which is best in us. But it's ultimately up to us to decide on the path we follow as citizens.

Each election provides an opportunity for us to wrap ourselves around a politician's ankles and threaten to scream. Each vote is a small but valuable piece of power – entirely at our disposal. I wonder what we will be offered and more importantly, what we will accept in return for it this time?

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