Bankruptcy of Politics

The kind of reimagining and reconstruction of the global economy that is urgently needed today calls for innovative, united and reforming political action on an unprecedented scale. Unfortunately, just at the moment when it needs to raise its game like never before, the political system seems to have been evacuated of its integrity and purpose.

When the all-powerful idea guiding human affairs is the supremacy of the market, the options available to political actors are drastically reduced. Their role becomes the subservient one of removing any national obstacles that might be impeding the effective operation of the global market. 

Inasmuch as citizens become motivated by political issues, it is all too often the politics of grievance as a media funded and controlled by those who stand to benefit from fomenting social division tries to influence public opinion. Resorting to culture wars has become a familiar tactic on the part of unsuccessful governments that are failing to get to grips with the issues they face.

The climate crisis has exposed the inadequacy of existing political systems to meet the unprecedented challenge that it presents. In most contexts, politics is national and the cycle is short. Often the horizon on which politicians are focused is no further ahead than the next election. All energy is absorbed by maneouvers aimed to secure short-term political advantage. This very much plays against any serious action on climate change since this normally involves some short-term sacrifice with a view to securing a sustainable future in the long term. 

From where will politics find its renewal? While faith communities have no aim or intention to supplant political life, what they can do is to remind it of ultimate issues, and inspire people to unite around a common transnational political purpose with a long-term perspective. They must play their part if the human community is to muster the extraordinary political will and unusual degree of unity that is needed if there is to be any realistic hope of overcoming our contemporary crisis.