6.4.6   Balancing Political Pressures

Unsolicited pressure forms part of negotiation, but it is one-sided almost by definition: someone wanting to put pressure on a government is unlikely to try to explain other people's points of view.  Politics is about striking a balance that benefits all the people, but this is difficult to achieve:

·     The political posturing of politicians trying to gain and retain power in a democracy can polarise public opinion and make compromise difficult (6.3.2.8).

·     Public demonstrations of concern (6.4.2.1) are made by people who are passionate about an issue.

·     People and politicians have their points of view reinforced by the ‘echo chamber effect’ of Internet social media (6.4.2.6) so they don't get a balanced picture. 

·     Politicians can be as much misled by media distortion (6.4.3.3) as anyone else.  They might hear only what they want to hear, on channels which are biased.

·     Interest groups (6.4.4) exist to advance sectional interests and they often represent extreme opinions.  They tend to be radical, in contrast to people who are content with the status quo, who don’t speak out and who may be in the majority.

·     Businesses can distort the balance in a democracy, by using money to put pressure on politicians (6.4.5.2). 

Putting pressure on politicians makes them aware of issues of concern but does not help them to decide what level of response would be suitable.  Further consultation (6.5.3) is needed to ensure that negotiations are balanced and take account of the ‘silent majority’. 

(This is an archived page: a later version than the one published in Patterns of Power Edition 3a.  The latest versions are at book contents).