It’s election time in the UK and I’m apt to try and make something of the utter nonsense spouting from the candidates. This is considered one of the dullest campaigns ever although I imagine not that much more than the previous one. Best I can do here is scrape together a bigger perspective which might make some sense of the empty rhetoric we have to listen to.

First thing that occurs to me is that no one really knows much of what politicians actually do. Okay, so they ‘run the country’ whatever that means, and they appear on television to debate issues. Some of them frame legislation. But I wonder how does anyone know, of all the situations encountered in their daily lives just to what extent it is the very direct action of the government which is effecting what they are experiencing. In any given issue it might be legislation from ten years ago, or fifty, or two-hundred years back which is presiding. That is if it is any legislation at all. Most of human experience and its conventions are not legislated for.

But whatever the case, few people really know either way. The only ones who have any sense of what goes on in power circles are those directly involved and even they will find it difficult to get a full picture. Generally, ordinary folks are pretty clueless. Yet when they start to wax about politics they come over like they know what’s happening. I can’t see how that is possible. Personally I’m not inclined to take a view on anything without good intelligence. I don’t like forming an opinion on things I know next to nothing about. And it has to be said you learn nothing listening to the polemics which are little more than a game played, albeit necessary to keep the whole thing in check.

Now, I’ve never been encumbered much by raised expectation with regard to politicians so none of this bothers me much. In fact I’ve come to be quite grateful that we go through this bizarre practice of elections every few years having enough knowledge of history to know that previous to settled democratic politics life was always much worse for people in society. Even in the modern age countries which have non-democratic systems are nearly always worse off as a consequence. They are invariably subject to the whims of those who just happened to have picked up the power, inherited or seized. We are lucky to be born within the wisdom of liberal democracy with all its attendant benefits, centrally the limitation of power so that no person or group can have too much dominance. The institutions of government have to be respectful of each other so that none has its way without taking broad issues into consideration.

That every few years the mandate has to be re-established may seem absurd especially when looking at the rituals and listening to the often tired old rhetoric. Its vacuous content is not what’s important, it is the context in which it is presented that matters. That is, it honours the principles enshrined in liberal democracy; it ensures the limitation of power on the basis that power usually corrupts sooner or later. A new lot comes in and has a go. This is what is important, far less than policy and quality of argument. You don’t have to listen to it or participate, just be pleased it is taking place.