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Political Pragmatism vs. Practical Action
by Roberto Diego
Copyright 2004 Roberto Diego - distribute as desired but links and copyright must be included
Richard Nixon never found the vindication that he promised upon the resignation that ended his Presidency. Nixon's excesses were caused by the privileges that his pragmatic mind held to be inherent in Presidential power. He died a discredited President whose only major accomplishment was his foreign policy overture to China. Apologists claimed that Nixon's actions in the Watergate scandal were preceded by similar actions of other Presidents. This last is certainly true. But the real lesson to be learned from Watergate and the politics of the '60s and ‘70s is that political pragmatism does not and cannot work. When Nixon apologists defended him during Watergate, it is political pragmatism that they defended, the idea that the proper action is the one that is most likely to work. The idea of principled action based upon moral premises is anathema to political pragmatists who live in a precarious world where only “what works” is the hallmark. That it didn’t work for Nixon has been the real cover up.
Kennedy's foreign policy failures were caused by his pragmatism as well. Johnson's humiliation was caused by his trying to be all things to all people (a political pragmatist's ideal). Ford's election defeat was caused because he did not believe it practical to defend his actions while President. Today, conservatives who stand on religious grounds, surprisingly depart from principled action in favor of pragmatic action. This is why they are so hard to believe and trust and why they never defend their actions (They just resign).
I am not advocating that religion be the foundation for political action, only exposing the fact that conservatives drop their "principles" when they obtain leadership – on the contrary, reason and properly defined principles (property rights, individual rights, equality, etc.) based in reasoned analysis should be the foundation of political action . Practical action (doing the right thing) and pragmatic action (doing whatever alleviates the effects of a problem one has created) are two different issues, a philosophical error based upon a wrong view of the nature of reality. This philosophical error is the mask by which mediocrity comes to influence the affairs of a nation, a mask that hides the fact that today few politicians, especially the most powerful, know what they are doing.
No, they are not all cunning demons who seek to rob us. But they are cunning in evading the fact of their incompetence.
Only when a consistent set of freedom-oriented principles replaces today's mishmash of politically pragmatic ideas will we find men of principle to replace the incompetents who are trying to lead us. In the meantime we can expect more of the same pragmatism from those who fill positions of leadership. I hope Bush is an exception. Posted on 7/9/04
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