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Of Grace and Arrogance
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Sep 1, 2004 Posted by Rich HarwoodGuest: Carol Darr, Director, Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at The George Washington University
Rich Harwood's two commentaries on the Republican convention focus on the theme of grace and humility vs. certainty and partisanship. Each party, he comments, spend too much time demonizing the other, and too little addressing the larger and more important issues the beset the country.
Rich's call for grace and humility in the face of the widespread and mutual contempt that both parties exhibit toward their political opponents calls to mind Niccolo Machiavelli's comments about arrogant and insulting behavior.
Machiavelli said that arrogance springs from two impulses, an overestimation of one's own abilities, and an underestimation of the power of one's opponent. Insults, he said in the Discourses, are "usually caused by victory or the false hope of victory" and "inflame your enemy and egg him on to revenge." This arrogant behavior does not take "any strength from the enemy" - "in no way impedes him" - but instead "makes him hate you more and more and plan with greater zeal to harm you."
The arrogant person is thus harmed from both ends: he or she strengthens opponents and makes him- or herself more vulnerable. For these reasons, in the Discourses, Machiavelli advises leaders "to employ all suitable measures against the use of insults and taunts... for there is nothing that inflames the minds of men more or raises greater anger whether it is said in earnest or jokingly."
Thus, if political leaders on both sides cannot find it within themselves to act with more grace and humility, perhaps they can be persuaded to take a more expansive view of their self-interest. "From such pride a prince ought to guard himself as from a shoal, because to bring hatred on himself without any return is in every way rash and imprudent," Machiavelli cautions.
Carol Darr teaches a course on Machiavelli's political advice at GW's Graduate School of Political Management.
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Sep 2, 2004 | John Barth | barthjg@aol.com
I agree with both Rich and Carol, but until the people running campaigns see results that come from a more expansive approach to campaigns, it won't happen. This morning the analysis about the DNC convention is that the Kerry campaign was not aggressive enough---they didn't attack Bush enough. Kerry has seen a swing in his leadership numbers by 18 points in 4 weeks! On a related note, David Gergen said this morning on WNYC that Zell Miller's rant was ' a hate filled speech' and he compared him to Lester Maddox. That is a sober and balanced and clear eyed critique---Miller was mean spirited and, I think, sent this campaign into the trash heap.