The strengthening of political institutions and a free and sound press are the two most important factors that counter “immoral politics”, according to Susan Mendus, who yesterday delivered The Mabel Strickland Memorial Lecture on ‘Politics and Morality’.
Addressing a well-attended event organised by The Strickland Foundation, Prof Mendus, professor emerita in political philosophy at the University of York, said that although it was almost impossible for there not to exist immoral politics and politicians, it was important for clear rules to be in place so that a line could be drawn between the acceptable and the unacceptable.
Giving the example of recent scandals in the UK, particularly involving politicians claiming expenses that were totally unaccounted for, Prof Mendus said that while this was blatant corruption it was the lack of proper rules and the many grey areas in the rule books that perpetrated the abuse.
We need to discover what is being done behind people’s backs
She said a strong press – free from any political and commercial ties – was the bulwark of democracy and should be the people’s watchdog against wrongdoing by those who were supposed to represent the people’s wishes.
“We need to nurture and cherish a free press in order to investigate and discover what is being done behind people’s backs,” Prof Mendus insisted.
“Without a free press, democracy will falter and fail.”
At the same time, Prof Mendus said that although politicians should be morally correct, there were many instances in history where the most effective politicians acted immorally and did wrong things. She cited Martin Luther King and his notorious womanising as a clear example. “While Martin Luther King was a very unpleasant womaniser no one can contest that he was an effective politician,” she argued.
According to Prof Mendus, while people are normally scandalised by the immoral actions of politicians, such as improper behaviour in the form of sleaze or tax evasion, it was the lying which prompted the worst reactions.
Taking Bill Clinton’s secret relationship with Monica Lewinsky, for instance, she said people were not scandalised by what he had done inside the Oval Office but more that he had lied about it.
While people expected politicians to get things done, this did not mean they were given a licence to do what was morally wrong in order to reach their goals.