January 26, 2003

People have now become politically alienated as voters, and find that they have no control over the system that is run by a small number of powerful people who remain in control regardless of the outcome of elections

In Pakistan, slowly and gradually, a large proportion of the electorate feels politically powerless because it believes that the community is controlled by a small group of powerful and selfish individuals who use public office for personal gain. Many voters assume that this power elite is irresponsible and unaffected by the outcome of elections. Those who embrace this view feel that voting is meaningless because they see the candidates as undesirable and the electoral process as a sham.

Murray Levin suggested the term “political alienation” to refer to these attitudes. Since sufficient information is available to indicate that feelings of political alienation are widespread, here is an attempt to theorizing the forms of political alienation, the mechanisms by which it is handled, and its implications for democratic politics.

Hegel first used the term alienation to denote man’s detachment from nature and himself arising out of man’s self-consciousness. Other observers have seen alienation within man, between man and institutions, and between man and man. They have attributed the origin of feelings of alienation to machinery, mass communications, the size of modern communities, the transition from gemeinschaft to gesellchaft, original sin, mass society, lack of religion and capitalist commodity production. Some view alienation as unique to modern society, while others see it as a permanent condition.

Feelings of alienation are labelled ‘good’ or ‘bad’, according to whether they arise from causes or lead to results which the critic approves or disapproves. The essential characteristics of the alienated man is his belief that he is not able to fulfil what he believes is his rightful role in society. The alienated man is acutely aware of the discrepancy between who he is and what he believes he should be.

Alienation must be distinguished from two related but not identical concepts: anomie and disorganization. Alienation refers to a psychological state of an individual characterized by feelings of estrangement, while anomie refers to a relative normlessness of a social system. Personal disorganization refers to disordered behaviour arising from internal conflict within the individual. These states may correlate with one another, but they are not identical.

Political alienation is the feeling of an individual that he is not a part of the political process. The politically-alienated believe that their vote makes no difference. This belief arises from the feeling that political decisions are made by a group of insiders who are not responsive to the average citizens — the political outsiders. Political alienation may be expressed in feelings of political powerlessness, meaninglessness, estrangement from political activity and normlessness.

Political powerlessness is the feeling of an individual that his political action has no influence in determining the course of political events. Those who feel politically powerless do not believe that their vote, or for that matter any action they might perform, can determine the broader outcome they desire. This feeling of powerlessness arises from and contributes to the belief that the community is not controlled by the voters, but rather by a small number of powerful and influential persons who remain in control regardless of the outcome of elections. This theory of social conflict between the powerful and powerless is not identical to the Marxian theory of social conflict between capitalists and proletarians. The powerful are not necessarily capitalists, they may be professional politicians, labour leaders, feudal lords, underworld figures or businessmen.

Many voters believe that the powerful, who are most identified as politicians, feudal, businessmen and the underworld, continuously exploit the public. The politician needs campaign contributions, the feudal requires ministries to protect their tax-free status, the businessmen needs tax abatements and easiness in loans, and the underworld needs police immunity. This provides the setting for the mutually satisfactory relationships among the powerful, from which the average voter is excluded. The feelings of powerlessness among the electorate are sharpened by the view that regardless of the outcome of the election, the powerful remain in control by realigning themselves with the newly-elected. These voters view the political process as a secret conspiracy, the object of which is to plunder them.

Political alienation may also be experienced in the form of meaninglessness. An individual may experience feelings of meaninglessness in two ways. He may believe that the election is without meaning because there are no real differences between the candidates; or he may feel that an intelligent and rational decision is impossible because the information upon which he thinks such a decision must be made is lacking. The degree of meaninglessness will vary with the disparity between the amount of information considered necessary and that available. If the candidates and platform (parties) are very similar or identical, it will be difficult to find “meaningful” information on which to base a voting decision.

Under these circumstances, an individual who feels alienated in the “meaningless” sense will tend either not to vote, to believe his vote makes no difference, or to make his decision in terms of what he believes are inadequate standards. Since relevant factors are absent, many voting decisions are based on ‘gut reactions’ — intuitive emotional responses to the candidate’s bradari attachment, physical appearance, voice and personality.

The feelings of political meaninglessness give rise to a low sense of confidence among many voters that their voting decision was correct: that their candidate would be a better MNA/MPA. When relevant factors are not available, voters cannot predict the future course of political action with any sense of certainty. This also contributes to feelings of powerlessness.

Feeling of political alienation may also be experienced in the sense of the lowering of an individual’s political ethics. This occurs when standards of political behaviour are violated in order to achieve some goal. This is likely to occur when the political structure prevents the attainment of political objectives through institutionally prescribed means. An example of this would be an individual who believes that paying off a public official is illegitimate, yet does so. The fact that the individual may be reluctant to bribe a public official does not alter the fact that he is lowering his standards of political ethics.

When individuals believe that corrupt practices are the only ways to achieve political goals and when they feel that corruption is widespread, there will be a greater tendency to resort to it. If corruption becomes the generally accepted method of dealing with public officials, the stigma attached to it tends to disappear and the political community becomes normless.

Political estrangement refers to the inability of an individual to find direct satisfaction in political activity itself, that is, gratification from fulfilling his obligations as a responsible citizen. Both politically active and politically inactive individuals may be politically estranged. Political activists are estranged if their activity is motivated by goals of personal monetary gain rather than a sense of their obligation as citizens. Individuals who do have a sense of community responsibility are likely to find other community activities, such as support of NGOs for social services or charities, a more rewarding way of fulfilling this obligation than being politically active. This is political estrangement.

The feeling of political alienation may be expressed through rational activism, withdrawal, projection or identification with a charismatic leader. These are conscious or unconscious mechanisms by which an individual may handle the uncomfortable feelings of political alienation. Some forms of alienation lead to specific mechanisms, for example, feelings of estrangement inevitably lead to withdrawal because gratification is found only in non-political activity. Other forms may result in one or more of several mechanisms, for example, feelings of powerlessness may lead to political activism or to projection and identification with a charismatic leader.

Rational activism is political action-based on a realistic evaluation of the political situation, the object of which is to promote a political structure consonant with political values. The frustration arising from political alienation can be a spur to rational activism; feelings of powerlessness can lead to increased political activity. Feelings of meaninglessness can lead to demands for more information rather than withdrawal or ‘blind’ voting. And guilt, resulting from normlessness, can result in activity directed toward raising political standards.

Mature individuals, who are able to tolerate frustration and to act on their beliefs, are those most likely to handle their feelings of political alienation through rational activism. This activity may occur within existing political institutions or it may be directed toward the creation of a new set of political institutions. Rational activism is more likely to be the response to feelings of political alienation, when individuals believe that their activity has a reasonable chance of bringing about a change.

Political withdrawal is the removal of an individual’s interest and activity from politics. This may occur as a result of a conscious rational decision based on a realistic estimate of the political situation or as an affective, unconscious response. In the later case, the anger and resentment of political alienation may be internalized within the individual rather than expressed outwardly. This mechanism is more likely to occur when the individual feels that any political effort on his part has little chance of producing an effect.

Feelings of anger and resentment which arise from political alienation may be projected on to some other individual or group. This group is seen as participating in a hostile conspiracy. Political leaders may use this mechanism because it establishes a sense of identity between them and the voters to whom they are appealing. The conspiratorial theory is particularly appealing to individuals who have feelings of powerlessness and normlessness, because it accounts for the absence of power and the lowering of values in a simple and easily understood fashion. The individual who projects or sees himself as powerless because sinister forces have successfully conspired to destroy the traditional political rules in such a way that he is excluded from exercising his rights.

Another mechanism for dealing with feelings of political alienation is identification with a charismatic leader. This is the attempt of an individual to feel powerful by incorporating within himself the attitudes, beliefs and actions held by a leader whom he perceives as powerful. The term ‘charismatic’ refers to an extraordinary quality of a person regardless of whether this quality is actually alleged or presumed. In taking over the attributes of a charismatic leader, the individual may enter into activity he would otherwise abhor.

Rational activism is behaviour based on logical reasoning and an undistorted perception of political realities. Withdrawal may be a rational response in some situations and an irrational, affective response in other circumstances. The mechanisms of projection resulting in conspirational thinking and identification with a charismatic leader are irrational, affective responses. They are also regressive, in that they are more characteristic of a child’s than of an adult’s handling of the problem.

When feelings of political alienation are widespread, individuals will adopt one or more of the mechanisms described to handle the frustration and anxiety associated with them. The political behaviour of each individual will be affected by the particular mechanism or mechanisms he selects.

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