Human Rule Weighed in the Balances
Part 1a—Turning a Spotlight on Government
DRAMATIC political changes in Europe during 1989 turned the world spotlight on the subject of government in a unique way. A newsmagazine noted that “1989 will be remembered not as the year that Eastern Europe changed but as the year that Eastern Europe as we have known it for four decades ended.”
Going even further, Francis Fukuyama of the U.S. State Department’s policy-planning staff recently wrote that “what we may be witnessing is not just the end of the cold war, or the passing of a particular period of postwar history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution.”
This view, while highly controversial, nevertheless focuses our attention on some very important questions. For example, what can be said for the centuries of human rule that lie behind us? Has mankind reached that point in time where he can speak about “the end of history as such”? Just what does the future hold for governments? And what effect will these future events have upon us as individuals?
How People Feel About Government
Millions of people are clearly disillusioned with their political leaders. This is true not just of those living in Europe but, to varying degrees, of citizens everywhere. Let us look, for example, at the countries of Latin America.
A noted German trade journal described the political situation there at the end of 1988 as “little more than a heap of ruins.” Going into specifics, it said: “Argentina’s . . . economy is coming apart at the seams. Brazil threatens to become ungovernable. Peru is at the end of its tether. Uruguay is muddling through. Ecuador is trying to size up what is undeniably an emergency situation. Colombia and Venezuela . . . are maintaining a fragile democratic tradition. In Mexico the stability of a ruling party that has governed unchallenged for 50 years . . . is disintegrating for all to see. The 1980s are already being dismissed as a ‘lost decade.’”
In some places the popularity of politicians has dropped to an all-time low. When the people of Austria were asked to rank 21 occupations in order of prestige, they listed politicians in 19th place. Public opinion polls in the Federal Republic of Germany reveal that 62 percent of its citizens who were questioned admit to having little confidence in politicians.
Professor Reinhold Bergler, director of the Institute of Psychology at the University of Bonn, warns that “young people are on the verge of turning their backs on the state, politics and politicians.” He says that 46 percent of these young people view politicians as persons who “shout their mouths off,” and 44 percent view them as being corruptible.
An American polltaker, writing in the 1970’s, noted: “There is a belief that the (political) process is so unresponsive and dishonest that it cannot be used by voters for their purposes.” Thus, the number of persons in the United States who feel that politicians “don’t really care what happens to you” has steadily risen from 29 percent in 1966 to 58 percent in the 1980’s. The German newspaper Stuttgarter Nachrichten justifies such an evaluation, saying: “Too many politicians have first their own interests in mind and then, just possibly, those of their voters.”
Understandably, political apathy is growing. In 1980 only 53 percent of U.S. citizens eligible to vote went to the polls. This was reportedly the fifth voting decline in a row. By 1988 the number of voters had dropped to only 50 percent.
Politicians recognize the problem. A well-known world leader confessed: “There’s a lot of hypocrisy . . . in political life.” Explaining why, he said: “It’s necessary in order to get into office and in order to retain office.” The speaker? Former U.S. president Richard Nixon. In view of the scandals that shortened his presidency, few persons will doubt that he knew what he was talking about.
Political inadequacies make honest people wonder whether good government is even possible. Might we not be better off without any government at all? Could ‘no government’ perhaps be the answer?
[Box on page 4]
“When there is no skillful direction, the people fall.”—Proverbs 11:14