Popular Alienation from Government

For at least a decade political analysts have pondered the significance of survey data indicative of a steady increase in the alienation of the Amer­ ican public from the political process…. The American public is in a nasty mood, a cynical, distrusting, and resentful mood. The question is. Why?

If the same national problems not only persist but worsen while ever- greater amount^ of revenue are directed at them, why shouldn’t the typi­ cal citizen conclude that most of the money must be wasted by incompetent officials? iFnarrowly based interest groups increasingly affect our poli­ tics, why shouldn’t citizens increasingly conclude that the interests run the government?’^^Jifteen years the citizenry has listened to a steady stream of promises but has seen very little in the way of follow-through. An increasing proportion of the electorate does not believe that elections make a difference, a fact that largely explains the much-discussed post-1960 decline in voting turnout.

Continued public disillusionment with the political process poses several real dangers. For one thing, disillusionment begets further disil­ lusionment. Leadership becomes more difficult if citizens do not trust their leaders and will not give them the benefit of a doubt. Policy failure becomes more likely if citizens expect the policy to fail. Waste increases and government competence decreases as citizens’ disrespect for politics encourages a lesser breed of person to make careers in government. And “government by a few big interests” becomes more than a cliché if citizens increasingly decide the cliché is true and cease participating for that reason.

372 Morris P. Fiorina

Finally, there is the real danger that continued disappointment with particular government officials ultimately metamorphoses into disillu­ sionment with government per se. Increasing numbers of citizens believe that government is not simply overextended but perhaps incapable of any further bettering of the world. Yes, government is overextended, ineffi­ ciency is pervasive, and ineffectiveness is all too common. But govern­ ment is one of the few instruments of collective action we have, and even those committed to selective pruning of government programs cannot blithely allow the concept of an activist government to fall into disrepute.

Of late, however, some political commentators have begun to wonder whether contemporary thought places sufficient empha^s on government for the people. In stressing participation have we Ipsf sjght of accountabil­ ity? Surely, we should be as concerned with what government produces as with how many participate. What good is participation if tKe citizenry is unable to determine who merits their support?

Participation and responsibility are not logically incompatible, but there is a degree of tension between the two, and the quest for either may be carried to extremes. Participation maximizers find themselves involved with quotas and virtual representation schemes, while responsibility maximizers can find themselves with a closed shop under boss rule. Moreover, both qualities can weaken the democracy they supposedly underpin. Unfettered participation produces Hyde Amendments* and immobilism. Responsible parties can use agenda power to thwart demo­ cratic decision—for more than a century the Democratic party used what power it had to suppress the racial issue. Neither participation nor respon­ sibility should be pursued at the expense of all other values, but that is what has happened with participation over the course of the past two decades, and we now reap the consequences in our politics.

Discussion Questions

1. How do political parties provide “collective responsibility” and improve the quality of democracy? Do you believe the complaints raised by Fiorina thirty-five years ago remain persuasive?

2. Are strong parties in the interest of individual politicians? What might be some reasons that members of Congress would agree to strong parties? What would make them distance themselves from their party’s leadership?

3. President Donald Trump won the Republican Party nomination in 2016 despite opposition from many party leaders and elected officials. Is his electoral success in 2016 a confirmation of Fiorina’s concerns or a rejection of them?

“The Hyde Amendment, passed in 1976 (three years after Roe v. Wade), prohibited using Medicaid funds for abortion [Editors],

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