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Everyone can participate actively in politics, which in the terminology of this book means choosing how to affect the way in which their society is governed. They have more scope in a democracy, but they can be active in any political system. Individuals have personal preferences in political ideology and approaches (6.2.1), that will affect which politicians and policies they support. Apathy is a possible choice – implying either a lack of knowledge as to how to participate, or a belief that their participation would make no difference – but neither of these reasons is defensible, given the number of mechanisms available:
· By voting in democratic elections, people can choose politicians.
· They can choose to join a political party; that would be a statement of support in a one-party system.
· They can apply pressure on politicians, either directly (6.4.2.1) or through the media (6.4.3).
· They can join political pressure groups or opposition parties (6.4.4).
· If a non-political interest group decides to apply political pressure, its members would normally support it; merely being counted as part of its membership is a form of support.
· There are ways in which people can spend money politically:
‒ They can make donations to political parties or to pressure groups (6.4.5).
‒ They can avoid buying goods and services from countries or organisations they disapprove of, perhaps because of concerns about the workers’ human rights (4.3.5.2). This use of economic power can have a political effect if such purchasing decisions are explained and publicised.
· People can explain their concerns, if they are given an opportunity in consultation processes (6.5.3).
Some of these forms of participation depend on free speech, as discussed later in this chapter (6.8.3.2).
Many people might find themselves to be in opposition to a government, often alongside many others who share their views. They will want to continue to apply pressure on specific issues or on general policy directions, even though the government they oppose might be popular with the majority of the population. As described later in this chapter, people need to be able to apply pressure and raise governance issues (6.8.3.1), and then participate in meaningful negotiation (6.8.4), even if they haven’t joined an interest group.
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