'Strong' leadership misses the mark
The recent Coalition leadership storm was full of sound and fury. It signified both more and less than appeared. Less, because the lament from many business and media figures that Australia had squandered the opportunity to fix its economy was trivial and self-serving.
And more, because the turmoil revealed a deeper cause for concern. The priority that culture and politics give to individual will and power over reason and community ultimately cripples good politics.
The focus on power can be seen in the emphasis on the leader, and in the association of leadership with strength and power. The country is thought to be in good hands when it is ruled by a strong-willed leader who is effective in pushing through his chosen policies. All leaders enter office with high hopes of being this chosen one.
This focus on will and power is also reflected in culture, with its emphasis on the freedom of the individual to choose, not only what to do, but who to be, and on the insistence on being economically competitive. People’s worth is created by the choices they make as competitive individuals. The defining mark of citizens is the choice they make between candidates and parties at elections. This choice is usually presented as the choice between leaders, each exuding power and promising strong and effective leadership. And many people are guided in their choice by the appeal of the image rather than by argument.
The difficulty with choice, will and power is that they are blind. Strong leaders choose their programs without having to signal, explain or defend them. The slogans and spin with which they adorn them are not arguments to support them but weapons with which to implement them. In current public life it is increasingly clear that the definition of problems and the policies chosen by leaders reflect the will of wealthy individuals and corporations in order to protect and expand their wealth and privilege. The appeal to the good of Australia made in their defense is rightly seen as spin.
When politics is based on will and power, it is inherently competitive. In a democracy the power of leaders to carry through their chosen policies is subject to the will and the power of the people who can choose another leader, and the will and power of the other party members who can dump them. Those decisions can be made as arbitrarily as the choice