W. Somerset Maugham Quotes
What does democracy come down to? The persuasive power of slogans invented by wily self-seeking politicians.
W. Somerset Maugham, 1874-1965, British Writer, Christmas Holiday, 1939
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
“Cant” is another word for oratory or speech, but has a manipulative shade to it.
This is a fascinating quotation because it illustrates how political attitudes have changed since then. Stevenson meant this to be an insult to and even a charge against the men who ran the Eisenhower administration and campaign but not the President personally. And that was the way that it was taken. Republicans were insulted and thought this was a scurrilous charge by a candidate who was down in the polls but wanted to throw “red meat” to his base. However, when we read the statement today, it doesn’t seem at all like an insult. As a matter of fact, there are few politicians today, of either party, who would not agree with the views that Stevenson accuses the Republican strategists of having. Arguably, the Democrats were historically very slow to arrive at he place the Republicans had achieved. But in 1956 it was almost unethical to use shows and advertising techniques to manipulate public opinion. Politicians had been doing it since the beginning of our Republic but it used to be something a little dirty—something to which no one wanted to public admit believing. Today, politicians of both parties are often criticized by their base and the pundits for not believing sufficiently in the importance of image manipulation and advertising. Today, virtually no politicians have any moral scruples about using the techniques, doing so overtly and being proud of their staffs for being good at it.
This was Moyers paraphrase if Chomsky’s position to which Chomsky agreed.
He was paraphrasing the findings of Political Scientist, John J. Mearsheimer. See {641228} and {641230} .
Reagan, Ford, Bush, Clinton
That is not terribly different from other democracies including the United States.
The House Rules Committee had evolved into a very powerful committee which controlled the debate rules of every piece of legislation that came before the House. This Congress—the worst in American History—passed fewer bills than any other. Those that ever got out of the Rules Committee had Rules that prohibited the minority from even offering amendments.
William Somerset Maugham CH was an English playwright, novelist, and short-story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s.
