Something amazing has happened in Australia and the USA recently. The mobilisation of effective oppostion in politics has produced better policy from the executive by forcing them to address values issues. In the states it's the democrat controlled congress here it's the Rudd-led Labour party.
Don't get me wrong, neither head of government has changed course, and neither will they. Dubya and John are the only two conviction politicians left in the world, except for Giulianni (It's too early to say for Costello). They don't budge from what they believe. What has happenned is that both have had to articulate the best possibile values-based arguments for the direction they are heading. In addition the leaders have introspectively reviewed their principles had been able to accomodate a broader view and adopt more inclusive policy. This has brought alot of doubters onside as they finally see that Conservatives are not the bastards they thought they were.
The major upshot of this in Austalia was John Howard's reconciliation speech just over a week ago. When I saw the headline I thought 'oh no. Now is not the time to cave in to pressure from the left. Even if it does make for good policy it looks like you're running scared.' Then i read the contents of the speech in a few papers, and my jaw dropped. Howard has re-defined reconciliation. He has reconciled reconciliation with his principles by defining it to mean a one-country, one-law, responsibilities as well as rights agenda. Paul Kelly's blog in the Australian has the best take on it and i wont repeat it here.
The obvious question is why make this mea culpa now? The answer is obviously that the polls are bad and Rudd has applied major pressure on Howard by making him looking sneaky and heartless with this scare campaign. Howard had to soften his image or this mud would stick. It could be seen as a cynical stunt, and it was descibed as a deathbed repentance by Keating (Keating is the one who's policially dead. Howard is still alive and kicking). I however take Howard completely as his word, as does Kelly.
The fact is that not only is an election coming up but circumstances has changed in the electorate. What has happenned is that the NT intevention into Indigenous communities has changed the public mood and created the opportunity for Howard to meet his opponents half-way. Before now they had all the power and support and Howard could only wait for the inevitable failure of left-wing Keating-era indigenous policy.
But if Rudd has not applied the huge political pressure that he has, then Howard would not have had to embrace symbolic reconciliation, and probably would not have having repudiated it as pointless for years. But Howard has embraced it, and more than that has publically reconciled it with his long held principles. He believes in it too!
As a result all the Liberal supporters like me are alot more confortable with reconciliation. We don't see it as a guilt-trip. He is bringing about unity on the issue, thanks to the pressure of Kevin Rudd. Well done Kevin, you have helped, in an indirect way, to solve a major policy problem for this country. You could not have solved it yourself, but the pressure you applied forced it on to the agenda and the people who can solve it have done.
This caused me to form a theory. It's a bit like Plato's republic in that it draws parallels between the brain and body politic. Here goes:
Conservative politics is the drive to self-assertion of the body politic. The left-wing parties see themselves as the political conscience. For as long as they see themselves that way and try and acheive things by blaming the well-off and inducing guilt in others they must remain in the secondary role, just like the consience is subordinate to the drive to self-assertion in an human being.'s brain.
Within the brain the drive for self-preservation and self-assertion must dominate the inhibiting drive of the conscience for the health of the organism. As soon as the guilty feelings dominate the organism cannot operate with the freedom needed to survive in a competative environments. It becomes crippled by doubts. It needs to react quickly to stimuli, not hesitate. It needs to be confident to survive.
The conscience has a crucial function. It makes us consider the adverse consequences of our actions to other people. But when push comes to shove we need to do what's best for us even though it might run contrary to what others expect and want. We have to live our own lives, because if we dont someone else will take our lives over. The priority for each individual must be the health and happiniess of that individual.
The assertive drive must be the primary function in the brain, the conscience the secondary funtion. The two functions work together to help us make complex decisions, and they give us our human complexity and beauty. They are both vital, but one must dominate the other or the organism will perish and both drives along with it.
Similarly conservatives must dominate the guilt-ridden left for the health and preservation of the body politic. If the left gains acendence over the body politic the country grinds to a halt for lack of direction and confidence. The retarding forces in the community are strengthened. The community is not free grow stronger. The conservatives are necessarily biased toward assertive, direct decisions that strengthen the most successful part of the community, in order to stengthen the whole. This success gives the whole community confidence and benefits everyone, but this distribution process is by nature imperfect and unequal. The left-wing opposition plays an important role forcing the conservatives to make decisions that are complex and cater to as many divergent interest as possible. If they are at the helm they cripple the assertive drive that is fundamental to the ongoing success of the comminity.
For as long as the left see themselves as the concience of society they will help society best if they remain the in conscience's alotted secondary position.
Conclusion: Conservatives Rule!
