A common characteristic of the changes arising from technology, globalisation, immigration and market forces is that they can cause problems in specific areas – for example where many jobs have been lost, or where there has suddenly been an influx of immigrants resulting in increased pressures on public services and changes in the character of neighbourhoods.
Politicians need to respond when people become concerned about their financial security and cultural changes. People expect a response. They are powerless, and they have empowered politicians to make economic and practical decisions on their behalf. Politicians cannot prevent change, or turn the clock back, but they can do a lot that to help people to adjust. They need to convince the population that they are attending to the problems.
They need to educate the public. Leadership involves explaining what is happening, and why some changes benefit most of the population despite creating local problems:
· Governments need to explain the benefits of free trade (3.5.4). That includes arguing that protectionism is not a good solution, showing how it increases prices and can result in retaliatory tariffs.
· They can describe how both globalisation and automation deliver overall benefits, even though jobs are lost in some parts of the country. People tend to forget that they are probably paying lower prices for better goods.
· Politicians need to make a strong case for protecting the environment and reducing carbon emissions (6.7.5). It is impossible for this to be achieved without some personal sacrifices on the part of the population. It is grossly irresponsible to pretend otherwise.
· They should make the case for showing compassion towards refugees, and for allowing immigration to fill business needs.
They need to encourage people with positive messaging. Although it might be tempting to try to explain why problems are not their fault, politicians also need to say what they are doing to improve the situation. Former chief economist Andy Haldane explained, in a Sky Television interview, that new Chancellor Rachel Reeves's speech to Parliament after taking office in 2024, in which she drew attention to a 22 billion pound “black hole” in the country’s economy, “was unnecessary and probably unhelpful economically". He went to say that it would have been "much better to say nothing until you provide solutions to filling the black hole, as well as revealing it as it was". Public morale and investor sentiment have a direct impact on economic activity.
Local authorities with the necessary funds can try to address people's concerns. Local solutions have the legitimacy of having the problem dealt with by people who know the area, in contrast to having solutions imposed by a distant national government. Local politicians should show that they are paying attention: they need to communicate their plans. They can let people have their say, by holding public meetings and setting up telephone helplines. They should keep people up to date with what is happening – using social media, local radio, local newspapers, and putting leaflets through people's doors.
Politicians also need to restore people's faith in democracy, in those countries where trust has been eroded – in America, for example. Pete Buttigieg put this argument in a Democracy Journal article: To Tame the Fanatics, Fix Democracy. The problem of lack of trust in politicians was mentioned earlier as undermining political legitimacy (6.3.3).
Joe Biden’s government tried to reform the political system, by introducing the H.R.1 bill in 2021: “To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.” The bill was passed by the House of Representatives, where Democrats held a majority, but in the words of the New York Times: “Senate Republicans used the filibuster on Tuesday to block debate on an ambitious Democratic bill aimed at countering a wave of ballot restrictions in G.O.P.-controlled states”.
(This is an archive of a page intended to form part of Edition 4 of the Patterns of Power series of books. The latest versions are at book contents).