One can only imagine how the distinguished Ontario-born
economist John Kenneth Galbraith would rebut Stephen Harper and other
free-market idealists of today. Suffice
it to say, Galbraith was a Keynesian, a prolific author and even Ambassador to
India during the Kennedy administration.
As a public intellectual his recognition was enormous, well suited to
his 6-foot, 8-inch frame.
He also had something to say about the penchant for public relations
and controlled image-building in modern politics, which is clearly evident in
the “Harper Government”. Much of Harper’s
image-making fell flat, recently, when in an effort to shore up both federal and Conservative support in Quebec, he secretly met with Brian Mulroney,
last June, five years after excommunicating the former Prime Minister from the Conservative Party. Here
is an excerpt from a chapter, “The Build-up and the Public Man”, in The Liberal Hour (1960):
As noted, the build-up
consists in giving a public figure a character which, in fact, he doesn’t
have. It has two forms, and, since the
political scientists to date have been cautious in dealing with the phenomenon,
they are still without names. There is
first what may be called the contrived build-up. Secondly, there is the autonomous build
up. The categories are not mutually
exclusive ….
The contrived build-up
is a notable phenomenon in our time and much attention is being given to its
technique. But it is also self-limiting
in its effect. The man who hires a public
relations man to impress the public with his intelligence, the dynamic qualities
of his personality, or the depths of his devotion to the public good is
tolerably recognizable as a man who hires a public relations firm to do these
things.[1]
…
The autonomous
build-up always strikes someone who is already in the public eye. Perhaps he has earned a measure of public
esteem for doing an important and difficult job in a restricted area of public
endeavour. Or he has made a promising
start on such a job. Or, in a common
case, he has just assumed public office after a respectable private career. Then comes the build-up. He is a man transformed – indeed he is no
longer a man but a superman. His eccentricities
become the mark of a unique personality.
His hobbies are the refreshment of an intense and active mind. His wife becomes a gracious, untiring and
selfless partner. If he has several
wives, he has been tried by sadness. If he is a teetotaller, this marks him as
a stern, disciplined, and dedicated man.
If he is given to belting the bottle, it will be said that he is not
lacking in warmth and human qualities.
But most remarkable of all are his qualifications for the job he has
assumed. Where others ponder, he has
solutions. That is because he is able to
separate the essentials from the nonessentials and then find a painless course
of action by shooting straight for the target. It has been the fault of lesser men that they
had left the impression that there was a choice only between equally grim
alternatives.
In fact, the build-up
is particularly likely to occur at a time when problems are numerous,
vexatious, and incomprehensible. [2] …
Although there is no
clear remedy for the build-up, it might help were we to resolve to remember
that in a democracy, leaders, at their best, are the first among
near-equals. So they will always
share the bafflement of their followers ….[3]
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