The Politics of Hope

Throughout history political leaders have used the Politics of Fear to motivate the public into supporting their agendas. If the general public believe that something or someone threatens their lives, livelihoods, or lifestyles they tend to concede power to government and authority figures. This makes it easy for unethically savvy leaders to make just about whatever they wish to have happen – happen.

Sometimes the Politics of Fear are frightfully effective. After WWI the Nazis managed to convince the public that Jews were gong to take everything away from them. The German citizens were told that the Jews were a threat to their livelihoods and lifestyles. The citizens of Germany gave their power away to the Nazis and found themselves living in a harsh police state that committed the largest genocide in history.

One characteristic of societies that are ruled by the Politics of Fear is that they tend not to deliver prosperity to anyone except for a handful of insiders. The only economics that work very well with the Politics of Fear are to devote a significant part of the economy to the business of war and enforcement. When more of the economy is devoted to these activities livings conditions and civil liberties suffer. The culture becomes repressive.

On the other hand the Politics of Hope tend to stimulate economic growth, and skew that growth away from war and enforcement and into things like entertainment, travel, and investment. People are much more likely to spend and invest if they feel hopeful about the future. People are much more likely to give to charity in a climate of hope and optimism. This produces a culture that is expansive and promotes freedom and expression.

Creating an environment of hope and optimism is the job of leadership. It is disturbing to see that when society is threatened or at war that most leaders begin to talk in pessimistic tones – as if this is the only way they can appear seriously concerned about what is going on. This however, is the signature of minds that lack vision or the ability to inspire.

It is especially important to maintain a hopeful and optimistic attitude during times of challenge or hardship. This is how we are able to emerge from trying circumstances with the greatest amount of momentum. Consider what leadership did to help us emerge from the Great Depression. FDR talked about opportunity and led the way for business by investing in the country’s infrastructure and creating jobs. Think about the stock market. Stocks rise and fall on the perception that things are going to get better or worse for a particular company or the economy as a whole. Great leaders are able to inspire the public and instill a feeling of we can do this in the minds and hearts of citizens.

This approach stimulates the Will of the People to take on challenges that otherwise seem too daunting. Willpower is perhaps the most important quality required to persevere, overcome adversity and emerge victorious. It is certainly possible to motivate people through fear – but it is nowhere near as powerful as stimulating their will through inspiration.

Our society faces some of the greatest challenges in the history of humankind. We need great leaders to inspire us to do whatever is necessary to move through these challenges as efficiently as possible so we can create and maintain a high quality of life on planet Earth.

Remember this when you vote. Vote for the candidate with the best visionary and leadership potential. This will be the person capable of seeing through the problems to the solutions and communicating this vision to the public. Such a leader can inspire the hope and optimism necessary to summons the collective will of the people to move beyond our challenges and towards a brighter future for all. Support these leaders and we can transform the Politics of Fear into the Politics of Hope.

In closing I suggest you read Restoring Democracy, an article on the Bright Future website. It contains clues about why we tend to elect politicians instead of leaders, and how we change this trend.