The political scientist Karl Deutsch defined power as "the ability to talk instead of listen."
The term "Dictator" derives from the Latin for "to say," which connects with the idea that a ruler is a Dictator if he insists on doing all the talking, compelling everyone else to "take dictation."
In America, the Constitution confers powers which allow the holders of office to "talk instead of listen." But as our system is not supposed to be a dictatorship --it being one in which the "just powers" of government derive "from the consent of the governed"-- our rulers are supposed to listen as well as talk.
But we have just witnessed a remarkable moment in American history-- remarkable precisely for the refusal of power to listen. Our president --who has declared himself The Decider-- has chosen to ignore the message delivered by the electorate in November, and reinforced by a blue-ribbon bi-partisan commission a few weeks later. And he he continues to insist on his right to do the talking and to compel all others to listen.
What makes this especially remarkable is that this president has so little legitimate basis for imagining what he has to say to be superior to the input he's ignoring from others. Karl Deutsch also defined power as "the priority of output over input," and it would seem that for this president, one of the chief values of power is the ability to avoid input. One can only imagine what kinds of input he experienced in his formative years to lead to his placing such a huge priority on that avoidance.
This most recent remarkable refusal to listen is only a more dramatic piece in a larger pattern. Throughout this presidency, George W. Bush and his inner circle have been notable for their lack of true consultation or collaboration, i.e. for those processes that involve serious and respectful listening.
America's traditional friends and allies have complained from near the very beginning of this administration that they've been dictated to rather than consulted.
And from the Republicans in Congress it is now coming out more and more that, even as the congressional Republicans rubber-stamped and walked in lock-step with administration policies, the relationship was not a reciprocal one: the administration talked, and insisted that their congressional allies (or perhaps lackeys would be the better word) listen and obey.
For a president to see himself as The Decider implies that he does not seem himself as the one who solicits and evokes and integrates the collective wisdom. It is power as a one-way street: I move you, but I remain unmoved.
And as for the opposition, the approach of this administration has always been more to vanquish and humiliate opponents through the raw exercise of their power than to seek an accommodation through give and talk, through the talk-and-listen of negotiation, through compromise. That's certainly true of the Bushite way of dealing with the Democrats. And of course it has also been true of its dealings with adversaries elsewhere in the world, as the administration had to be dragged reluctantly into any sort of discussion with the North Koreans, and continues to refuse to deal directly with the Syrians or the Iranians.
It is probably a healthy sign for the American body politic, that the president's self-description as The Decider has begun to be noted as a significant indicator of the nature of the spirit with which G.W. Bush wields power. The Decider, after all, means very much the same as Dictator: the one who talks, while others are compelled to listen.
And so it is no coincidence that being the Decider fits into a still larger pattern-- of violation of the rights of others, of violation of the Constitution and of the laws of the United States, of a refusal to listen to the sacred rules of the game of power in the United States.
If we had an artist like Charlie Chaplin at work today, perhaps he could create a comic portrayal like the one that Chaplin made in his film THE GREAT DICTATOR. But for now, we have no comedy, THE GREAT DECIDER, and the the real-life version remains no laughing matter.
Andrew Bard Schmookler's website www.nonesoblind.org is devoted to understanding the roots of America's present moral crisis and the means by which the urgent challenge of this dangerous moment can be met. Dr. Schmookler is also the author of such books as The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution (SUNY Press) and Debating the Good Society: A Quest to Bridge America's Moral Divide (M.I.T. Press). He also conducts regular talk-radio conversations in both red and blue states.
In fact, terrific! Andy at his best.
The Great Dictator's name was Adenoid Hinkel,as I remember. I would suggest the name of the Great Decider to be Nukular Push.
Just for fun. But Andy is right: it is not a laughing matter.
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Mark Sashine (46 articles, 19 quicklinks, 234 diaries, 3348 comments)
on Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 2:55:15 PM
I still fail to see where a guy can call himself a great decider, when he don't even have enough wits to turn on and off a light switch. Bush's switch is stuck on and on towards the destruction of all mankind.
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Fred F (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 363 comments)
on Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 7:10:38 PM
Bush's latest proclamation to appoint political appointees to subvert the democratic process merely makes official a secret Plutocratic policy that has been in effect since Nixon. Reagan did everything in his power to advance authoritarianism, as has every Republican president and congressman since the "Reagan Revolution" covertly subverted Democracy.
America didn't become a dictatorship overnight, it has been a step by step progression that Democrats have failed to challenge or even resist in any meaningful way. Obviously, our two party system exists in name only, Democrats are complicit in the transformation of Democracy to dictatorship. The Plutocracy allows the Democratic party to exist as strictly an ornamental illusion to perpetuate the myth of Democracy.
The United states is Plutocratic dictatorship. The question is, will they be able to maintain it. Dictatorships are inherently unstable because they can only exist in a state of lawlessness and because every man is a wannabe dictator. The time will come when a charismatic leader will arise, a man ruthless and cunning enough to seize control. It might happen over and over again, as it has so often throughout history. And of course, while we are being ripped to pieces internally, foreign dictators will be biding their time.
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rabblerowzer (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 227 comments)
on Friday, February 2, 2007 at 3:03:20 AM
Andrew you are a great writer and thinker. It is funny how most people accepted Bush's coining of the phrase, "I'm the Decider," as either arrogance or ignorance, but it is truly much more than mere hubris. Andrew points out that it is actually his way of saying I am the dictator. In his own words, "A dictatorship would be a heck of lot easier." Yes, C students usually choose the easy route if possible.
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JohnNmissouri (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 40 comments)
on Friday, February 2, 2007 at 4:03:47 PM
Thank you for a very good article. I think Bush has another image of himself in mind. I think he is mistaking himself for Alexander the Great. Alexander was in love with both the Greek culture and the Greek language. He wanted to conquer the world so that the Greek culture and language could reign forever.
Bush wannts to be remembered as the one who brought Christianity and Democracy to the Muslim world. He is mixing up the Warrior King role trying to be the Warrior President. He thinks he is the American King David and everyone else are the uncultured Philistines.
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pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 940 comments)
on Sunday, February 4, 2007 at 10:46:41 PM
I see a term used repeatedly about Bush that's inapplicable
As I have read this column and others, in the comments on the columns and heard in the media a word applied to George Bush that I find totally inappropriate. The word is "think".
To use any form of the word 'thought' in relation to this dullard with his obviously purchased, as opposed to earned, Ivy League degree is an inapprobrium of colossal proportions.
Bush hasn't actually thought anything in decades. He has a set of instructions that have been carefully programmed into his tiny brain that have been used to propel him through life in the manner that he has exhibited. The virtual flood of verbal misrepresentations, monstrous attacks on the English language, his vision of what a president of the USA is and the sick vision of the world as he sees it and has so inarticlulary spouted from rote were all implanted in his empty brain case at the knee of his New World order daddy.
Since he burst forth on the world scene as "the decider" surely you should have been able to see Dick Cheney with his hand up the back of G-Dubya's shirt as Bush jerked and twitched his way into history as the most embarrassing and dangerous man to ever hold his high office or any high office for that matter.
Can anyone truly state that they have seen evidence of Bush's ability to think? Just imagine the raw terror that invades the minds of his handlers when he attempts an impromptu response to any question. I invite you to watch these peoples' expressions of terror as they stand off to the side of or behind Dubya in a unscripted or untelprompted moment.
Bush thinks nothing...he knows what he knows and he'll be damned if he's going to allow thought to infere with his programming.
There's not one little thing humorous about this tyrant and his assault on our freedoms and human decency.
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Michael Weaver-Robbins (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 30 comments)
on Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at 12:02:19 AM
