The Jews were a collection of loosely connected tribes. They lived under the harsh rule of a powerful Egyptian Pharaoh whose subjects believed he was a god, thus unbeatable. Their lot as over-exploited slaves provided them with very little food, besides no freedom.

Moses, their greatest leader ever, sold them a very important dream: together we can achieve freedom. It seemed an impossible dream. Though the dice were loaded against him, he succeeded – truth be told, with a little help from his friend up there. Deal done and dusted. Freedom achieved. One would have thought he would have won the next election with the largest possible landslide vote, had there been any elections back then.

Things turned out to be somewhat different. The Jews, while meandering among the sand dunes of the scorching Sinai desert, warding off hostile tribesmen and venomous snakes, discovered that besides a spirit thirsty for freedom, they had a stomach hungry for food. They revolted against Moses. We want bread more than we want freedom, they shouted in unison.

Moses was able to provide. The new menu included both quail and manna; once more, thanks to help from his friend up there.

Moses learnt a very important lesson. Men and women are ready to die to obtain freedom but they will also die if there’s no food to be had. He learned that humans are multidimensional creatures. They have different needs all of which they want satisfied; the satisfaction of one cries for the satisfaction of the other.

Moses would certainly advise Maltese politicians to keep this lesson in mind, particularly during the current debate about the Panama Papers mega-scandal that is tarnishing the reputation of our country thanks to the appalling behaviour of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, as well as the Prime Minister’s manifest dereliction of duty.

What Moses learnt through experience, Abraham elaborated through research and theory.

I refer to the American psychologist Abraham Maslow and his theory of the hierarchy of needs. Like other humanistic psychologists he believed that every person has a strong desire to realise his or her full potential, to reach a level of ‘self-actualisation’. Humanistic psychologists emphasise the positive potential of human beings who continuously try to accomplish something higher.

Bread without good governance reduces citizens to serfs. In such situations the few lord it over the many, handing out morsels to their minnows

In line with this ethos, Maslow developed and gradually evolved a hierarchy of needs which all of us try to fulfil to better our qua­lity of life. He started with a five-stage hierarchy and ended with an eight-stage one. Biological and physiological needs together with safety needs – food, shelter, order and security – form the first two steps. Aesthetic, self-actualisation and transcendence needs form the top three echelons.

The strategies of the different sides of the debate about the Panama Papers scandal fit this theory like a glove.

Government, having lost the moral high ground, is emphasising the lower levels of Maslow’s ladder of needs. The economy is good, there is stability, unemployment is very low, electricity tariffs have been re­duced and more financial and fiscal benefits are round the corner.

Its pre-electoral strategy of addressing both ends of the scale – for example, cheap electricity and good governance – evaporated under the heat generated by the magnitude of the misdemeanours revealed by the Panama Papers and the never-ending list of scandals plaguing this government, day in, day out. These scandals were recorded and denounced by, among others, the Ombudsman and the National Audit Office, not to mention the independent media.

The Nationalist Party, the media and civil society are, on the other hand, generally addressing the top stages of the hierarchy. Good governance, transparency, accountabi­lity, honesty in politics, ethical behaviour and the assuming of political responsibility.

On top of and parallel to this, there is another rallying point: safeguarding of the environment as the property of future generations.

There are those who cynically believe that people care more for ‘bread’ than for ‘good governance’ or the environment. Those pushing forward this myopic vision of the human person and Machiavellian reading of politics fail to see that there is an intrinsic link between ‘bread’, good governance and the environment. The lower rungs of Maslow’s ladder not only lead to but also progressively morph into the higher rungs.

One dimension does not exist without the other dimensions. Bread without good governance reduces citizens to serfs. In such situations the few lord it over the many, handing out morsels to their minnows. Instead of empowerment there is patronage and servitude.

Good governance implodes without ‘bread’. As Maslow used to write, humankind would want to live by bread alone when there is no bread.

Does the appeal for good governance, political accountability and a healthier environment fall on deaf ears when countered by blaring propaganda promising more and better garnished bread?

Abraham (Maslow) realistically said that bread is essential, while adding that when people’s bellies are habitually filled they clamour for higher needs, realising that life is not worth living on bread alone. When they have work that fills their pockets, people do not feel satisfied and stop there. Like Oliver, they ask for more: work as a means for self-actualisation. When people’s domestic houses are well furnished, they lobby for a nicer common home: the environment.

When people’s lower needs are satisfied they strive to join the race to the top and despise the race to the bottom. And if, when they still need bread, they are ready to bow in front of the political masters to get some favours, they don’t want their children to be in the same subservient position.

The Panama Papers scandal will not be extinguished by throwing material needs at people. On the contrary, the satisfaction of these material needs will urge people to move up the ladder of needs and demand good governance, end to corruption, political accountability and a pleasanter environment.

That is the lesson that Moses with Abraham’s clarifications teaches us – never lose sight of the bigger picture.

joseph.borg@um.edu.mt

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.