30 March 2011

The personal & the political

Authority, along with the political and electoral processes that define its rights and duties, divides the personal from the political in ways that societies organized along the lines of loyalty or honor do not. 
When nothing is political then everything is political and the personal domain becomes infected with the honor-bound issues and concerns of the power structure in ways that are intrusive and dysnfunctional. Alternatively, when nothing is political then everything is personal and the common weal becomes the screen on which many of the personal pecadillos of the membership get projected, to little avail and to the detriment of that society's ability to respond to strong leadership and therefore to function resolutely, innovatively and effectively. 

No comments:

Post a Comment