A lesson in symbolic politics

Lawrence Powell World Watch

In the 11 months since their overwhelming general election victory last December, which the people granted in a moment of good faith, I have to confess that I've found myself increasingly disappointed with the prime minister's, and the People's National Party's (PNP), squandering of political capital and opportunities for positive change.

Among the disillusionment since then, let me cite two in particular that illustrate the problems they seem to be having. First, they got off to a bad start with the 'pricey Cabinet' issue, back in January, that involved the prime minister's lavish appointment of 20 Cabinet ministers and eight junior ministers. (See Gleaner, January 8, 2012, 'Pricey Cabinet - Close to $200m per annum in salaries, allowances".)

And now, as if they hadn't learned a thing from the fallout from that January fiasco, there's the current issue of the PNP's 'pricey vehicles' for ministers. (See Gleaner, November 22, 'Gov't shells out $60m for ministers' new vehicles - Big bucks, big cars'.)

In both cases, the prime minister and the PNP focused narrowly, some would say arrogantly, on what they thought were the Government's objective administrative needs to operate effectively - not on the people's subjective perceptions of that, or its fairness in a difficult time when all are being asked to tighten belts.

FAILED SYMBOLISM

The usual criticisms of this Government's failings are that they've dragged their feet, or been clueless, or both, as to how to resolve the country's accumulated economic crisis. Like many, I, too, have some disagreements with the PNP's economic policies and the speed with which they're being implemented. But that's not it. That's not what disappoints me. I can understand that the nation's economic conundrums are vexing, and solutions will take great patience.

There are also those who constantly imply that the prime minister and her governing entourage are acting in corrupt and immoral ways. To my mind, that's not it either. No one would deny that corruption is a chronic problem in Jamaica, but it's difficult to take these accusations too seriously as being unique to PNP given the shenanigans that brought the previous administration down.

Rather, as the January 'pricey Cabinet' and November 'pricey vehicles' decisions so aptly illustrate, the PNP's sapped political legitimacy since last December has been owing to failed symbolism, more than to failed substance.

Political psychologist Murray Edelman pinpoints the problem Portia and the PNP are experiencing now, when he notes, in 'Constructing the Political Spectacle', that: "The critical element in political manoeuvre for advantage is the creation of meaning: the construction of beliefs about the significance of events, of problems, of crises, of policy changes, and of leaders ... . Allocations of benefits must themselves be infused with meanings."

These two PNP 'pricey' scandals, then, are classic examples of failed symbolism, of failed meaning construction, of naïve public-relations strategies and media management. More ministers and more cars probably do, objectively, make it possible for the PNP Government to do more work on behalf of the public, resulting in more tangible benefits for more people.

But unless properly explained to the people via the mass media, which the PNP failed to do, the political downside of that is severe in terms of subjective perceptions of 'unfairness', in a time of widespread popular sacrifice to reduce debt and satisfy the IMF.

ORCHESTRATING SUCCESSFUL SYMBOLISM

As Edelman points out, media symbolism and the skilful manipulation of public perceptions are often as important to shaping the success of a government's policies, as are the more tangible realities of economic conditions, group resources, and demographics.

Orchestrating changes in economic policies over time requires successful efforts at mass persuasion and the adept use of political language and political gestures, which in turn represent attempts to justify or protect the resource claims of different sectors in society. In short, the making of a nation's economic policies is not merely a matter of "who gets what, when and how", but also a matter of "who defines what, when and how".

This question of who defines, who interprets, and who is in a position to frame the public debates over what is fair, and to determine which issues will be considered important enough to place on the national agenda, is, therefore, a key source of power. Within political science, the study of these definitional processes is usually referred to as 'symbolic politics'.

Edelman and others dispute the conventional model of politics that takes for granted that citizens in democracies live in a world of 'facts', and that citizens respond rationally to 'objective information' they receive through mass media. He argues, instead, that so-called political enemies, threats, crises, problems, compromises, laws, and leaders are all socially constructed, and,, as such, take on definitions and meanings that perpetuate various interests and statuses in society.

This means that conflicts over economic policy objectives like debt reduction, tax reform, etc. will assume the form of intense public skirmishes in the media over conflicting definitions of what would constitute 'appropriate', 'fair' or 'feasible' solutions - a matter of who defines, not just a matter of what works.

Without this sort of careful prior cultivation of public sentiment via the media, then, the prime minister's January 'pricey Cabinet' and November 'pricey cars' decisions have come across as terribly unjust to a lot of people. As Edelman would say, the PNP has failed to "symbolically reassure a restive populace". These two public announcements were incompatible with Portia's carefully groomed political image as a champion of the needs of the poor. They create cognitive dissonance with that view of her.

The apparent evidence of bling by political elites at public expense seems outrageous at a time when politicians and the media have been accusing Jamaicans of being hopelessly addicted to bling themselves, and warning that they will have to cut back their habits. And that symbolic unfairness - not whether the administrative decisions were economically feasible in some objective way - is why these two 'pricey' decisions have ironically eroded, rather than strengthened, PNP's political capital with which to govern.

Lawrence Alfred Powell is honorary research fellow at the Centre of Methods and Policy Application in the Social Sciences at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and the former polling director for the Centre for Leadership and Governance at UWI, Mona. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and lapowell.auckland@ymail.com.