Time to stop the cycle of personal destruction

The first principle of morality, says French philosopher Blaise Pascal, ‘is to work hard at thinking clearly.’

And at the start of an election year, Pascal’s dictum applies especially to our political leaders who influence the moral tone of public discourse.

For too long, each side of politics has been determined to show up the moral deficiencies and failings of the other.

’This obsession with personal morality goes a long way towards explaining the sheer nastiness of contemporary Australian politics,’ wrote Greg Craven last year in The Australian.

It’s a distasteful development but one that can be traced back over the last thirty or forty years as mainstream parties of the left and right have converged on the centre ground of politics.

Free market economic reforms introduced by left-wing governments and embraced by the electorate have prevented a gradual drift back to the political fringe. In a similar way, the social conservatism of right-wing parties has modified as the electorate has been attracted to more progressive causes such as divorce and environmental protection.

As the major political parties have moved towards the centre, and substantive policy differences between them have diminished, political leaders have turned to moral stature as the basis for differentiating themselves.

Rather than argue about the substantive content of policies, politicians now question the moral worth of those who propound them.

Policy is no longer weighed on its merits. Political opponents now go for the moral calibre of the person proposing the policy.

It amounts to the politics of personal destruction and does nothing to widen the circle of moral concern and strengthen the fabric of civil society.

According to game theory, it’s a win-lose game because there is an inverse correlation between the fortunes of one person and another. Players simply see a winner and a loser. It’s exclusive and destructive, and it gets us nowhere in the long term.

As the country prepares to head to the polls later in the year, it’s time for that moral tone to lift.

Instead of attacking the morality of their opponents, it’s time for government and opposition frontbenchers to assert their own ideas and political principles.

The cycle of personal destruction on the Australian political landscape must stop before it drags us all down into the mire.

It’s time to work harder at thinking clearly.

Peter Kurti is a Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies.