Quote
“It is too early to say.” Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, responding to a question on the impact of the French Revolution in a conversation with President Richard Nixon. (SPOILER: unfortunately Zhou thought Nixon was referring to the 1968 revolution, not the storming of the Bastille in 1789!)
News
Nicolas Sarkozy and his rival Francois Hollande, representing the main conservative and socialist parties, are neck and neck in the French presidential election this weekend. Two extreme parties on left and right are also doing well in the polls, with around 15% each. However, most commentators expect Hollande to take over at the Elysee Palace, becoming the 7th President of the 5th Republic since the French Revolution.
The quest for a viable system of government in France since 1789 has been influenced significantly by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the philosopher born 300 years ago in June. He argued that a nation could only be governed justly by a social contract, with each citizen subordinating his freedom and self-interest to the ‘general will’ of the people as a whole – if not voluntarily, then by force. This was the way to overcome the social and economic inequalities in French society, thought Rousseau.
Similar issues are still dividing the electorate in France in 2012. The concern of the left is inequality, which strains the relationship between rich and poor. With unemployment reaching 10% and austerity measures cutting welfare, the poor are paying a far greater price than the wealthy, even though the financial and political elites are seen as the primary culprits for the debt crisis and recession.
Meanwhile for the far right, it’s the relationship between ‘indigenous’ French and immigrant (especially Muslim) communities that is thought to be unsustainable, with the pressure of 180,000 immigrants a year on jobs, housing and schools. The lack of common values and cultural goals militates against building a cohesive society.
It is one thing to have the political skills to win an election, but it’s another to identify and implement an agenda to overcome mistrust and build strong and fair relationships between diverse groups in society. This would involve a quite different form of social contract, emphasising interdependence and responsibility instead of individualism and rights. Such a relational direction in politics might take France closer to a true and lasting liberté, égalité and fraternité!
Read on…
In Paris immigrant communities and impoverished estates bring France’s economic and social divisions sharply into focus. Read ‘Cities’, the chapter in the R Option by Michael Schluter and David Lee, discussing how to build relationships in urban communities, here.
Walk the talk
Politics tends to polarise groups of people and assign collective blame for various ills on one group or another; is there something you might do to build a relationship with someone in your workplace or neighbourhood from a completely ‘different’ social, economic or political group to you?
The last word
Galatians chapter 3 verse 28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
“It is too early to say.” Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, responding to a question on the impact of the French Revolution in a conversation with President Richard Nixon. (SPOILER: unfortunately Zhou thought Nixon was referring to the 1968 revolution, not the storming of the Bastille in 1789!)
News
Nicolas Sarkozy and his rival Francois Hollande, representing the main conservative and socialist parties, are neck and neck in the French presidential election this weekend. Two extreme parties on left and right are also doing well in the polls, with around 15% each. However, most commentators expect Hollande to take over at the Elysee Palace, becoming the 7th President of the 5th Republic since the French Revolution.
The quest for a viable system of government in France since 1789 has been influenced significantly by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the philosopher born 300 years ago in June. He argued that a nation could only be governed justly by a social contract, with each citizen subordinating his freedom and self-interest to the ‘general will’ of the people as a whole – if not voluntarily, then by force. This was the way to overcome the social and economic inequalities in French society, thought Rousseau.
Similar issues are still dividing the electorate in France in 2012. The concern of the left is inequality, which strains the relationship between rich and poor. With unemployment reaching 10% and austerity measures cutting welfare, the poor are paying a far greater price than the wealthy, even though the financial and political elites are seen as the primary culprits for the debt crisis and recession.
Meanwhile for the far right, it’s the relationship between ‘indigenous’ French and immigrant (especially Muslim) communities that is thought to be unsustainable, with the pressure of 180,000 immigrants a year on jobs, housing and schools. The lack of common values and cultural goals militates against building a cohesive society.
It is one thing to have the political skills to win an election, but it’s another to identify and implement an agenda to overcome mistrust and build strong and fair relationships between diverse groups in society. This would involve a quite different form of social contract, emphasising interdependence and responsibility instead of individualism and rights. Such a relational direction in politics might take France closer to a true and lasting liberté, égalité and fraternité!
Read on…
In Paris immigrant communities and impoverished estates bring France’s economic and social divisions sharply into focus. Read ‘Cities’, the chapter in the R Option by Michael Schluter and David Lee, discussing how to build relationships in urban communities, here.
Walk the talk
Politics tends to polarise groups of people and assign collective blame for various ills on one group or another; is there something you might do to build a relationship with someone in your workplace or neighbourhood from a completely ‘different’ social, economic or political group to you?
The last word
Galatians chapter 3 verse 28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
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