Contributor

Ray Haynes

Mr. Haynes is an Assembly member representing Riverside and Temecula. He serves on the Appropriations and Budget Committees. [go to Assembly Member Haynes website at California Assembly][go to Haynes index]

Political Myths
The truth is rare…
[Ray Haynes] 10/26/04

We all learn about Greek and Roman myths in school, and we know that they are just stories that these ancient civilizations made up to explain some of their traditions and behaviors. Myths are not problems if everyone knows that they are false. A myth becomes dangerous if people accept its false view of the world as true.

Truth is a rare commodity in politics, and myths govern too many of the decisions that politicians make. Here are some of the more common myths that dominate modern political decisions and decision making:

There is a right, left and “middle” in politics—The terms right and left derive from the early 20th century fights between the fascists and the socialists about the better means for government to control individuals. The fascists were the “right” and the socialists were the “left.” They both believe, however, in the pre-eminence of government control. Those who fought these control freaks were advocates of individual liberty. Today, those advocates of liberty are called the “right” and the control freaks, whether they are socialists or fascists, are the “left.” The “middle” therefore advocates a move towards more government control and less liberty.

Good people can run a big government—This is myth that says elect me and I will do a better job of “delivering” the “services” you want from government. Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter who’s in charge of a government program, they will become defenders of that program, no matter how bad it is. The institution changes the person; the person does not change the institution. It is better to elect managers who will eliminate government programs, not elect more efficient managers.

Politicians should discern the will of the people—this is the most dangerous myth, because there is no “will” of the people. The purpose of the political process is to change the “will of the people” by persuading people to entrust a particular political leader with political power. Polls and consultants look at the “will” of the people as it is, but ignore the power of persuasion. Polls and consultants can be tools to help evaluate the magnitude of the task of persuasion, that is, just how much persuasion will be necessary to convince people of the right view of the role of government, and what persuasive techniques will work. Polls and consultants should not formulate the views of the political leader.

Government solves social problems—Government only does one thing really well--point a gun at someone and say, “Don’t do that!” That is why police and military services are the most important thing a government can do. Problems of bureaucracy and government inefficiency infect our public safety institutions, but that is still the most effective government program. Unfortunately, if we add too much responsibility to government and try to use the barrel of a gun to solve all of society’s ills, even the public safety programs begin to fall apart.

Government is best run by moderates—This myth is usually perpetrated by socialists against the advocates of liberty. Of course they want moderates, moderates will agree to the creeping encroachment of socialism. Socialists and fascists only compromise if it expands government control. When they negotiate with moderates, it always results in diminishing personal freedom. We will either defeat them, or lose our liberty, one compromise at a time. That is our political choice.

The unfortunate problem of myths is that they dictate behavior until they are dispelled by truth. California has been seriously hurt by clinging to these political myths. Hopefully people will learn the truth in time to change our direction. CRO

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