‘Them’ and ‘us’: demonising politicians by moral double standards

Abstract

The distance between politicians and those they are supposed to represent is substantial. Almost invariably, it is politicians themselves who are made to shoulder the responsibility for this ‘gap’, their actions being demonised. This paper assesses some ‘ordinary’ ethical lapses that politicians are often accused of: lying, breaking promises and being self-serving. It is argued that the public tend to apply double standards when it comes to the moral expectations that they have of their representatives, inasmuch as they far more readily accept ethically dubious actions when they apply to other social and public roles. The moral singularity of the political sphere is called into question, with the effect of helping to narrow the gap between the two categories, and encourage more empathy on the part of the public.

Keywords:

• ethics
• representative
• ordinary vice
• lying
• promise

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Richard Shorten, Mike Cunningham and Alan Apperley for their advice and comments on earlier versions of this article.

Notes

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was made to apologise after calling a voter, Mrs Gillian Duffy, ‘bigoted’, during the 2010 general elections campaign.

Sarkozy used the recurring phrase of ‘la France qui se lève tôt’ (‘The France that gets up early’) during his victorious presidential campaign in 2007.

See Available from: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/pcfs/review-of-guide-to-the-rules/Consultation-on-Guide-to-the-Rules.pdf [accessed 30 March 2012].

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cécile Hatier

Cécile Hatier is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Politics at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. Her research focuses on morality in politics, political ideologies and Cold War liberalism.