Page 28 - Issue 18

in which politics is a dirty word, and a dirty business.
Statements like “I’m not interested in politics,” “I don’t get
into politics,” “I don’t read newspapers,” “All politicians
are the same” long ago became standard phrases in much
of the West and took root in Israel too.
So, for the benefit of our younger readers, let’s translate
phrases like “I’m not interested in politics,” “Politicians, by
definition, only cause harm” or “The government doesn’t
do anything” into practical language: “I’m not interested in
politics” means – I prefer that the rich, and powerful
groups in the public and private sector, pass and enforce
legislation that suits their interests and outlook. Saying,
“The government doesn’t do anything,” is akin to saying
my family and I have no need for the basic infrastructure
of science, education, health, transportation and law
enforcement provided and overseen by the government.

Giving up the fairy tale of the free market doesn’t mean
giving blank checks for increasing government budgets or
transferring assets to government ownership. Giving up
this fairy tale means understanding that joint action
through democratic and political institutions is the only
way to solve social and economic problems. It means
understanding that any attempt to construct a parallel
world in which we as a society solve problems without
politicians who must answer to the public and without
professional and impartial state institutions – is essentially
a smokescreen behind which the rules of the game,
resources and laws are controlled by the centers of power
and money. What we need is a New Deal with strong and
decent democratic state institutions at its core.