When magical thinking meets reality
European politicians must understand that reliance on magical thinking only serves a disturbing purpose
Social scientists have been debating the cause of declining civic and electoral participation in Western democracies for years. Many feel that voting has become an exhausting ritual – a cycle of choosing the “lesser of two evils” without ever seeing meaningful change. So, what is behind this phenomenon?
According to a 2023 Ipsos Veracity Index, the proportion of people in the UK who say they trust politicians and government ministers to tell the truth has fallen to just nine per cent – its lowest since the survey began in 1983.
Political campaigns throughout history have been shaped around simple slogans and memorable messages. Politicians keep making selective use of data and evidence to convey the messages they want the public to hear.
Magical thinking has become the rock base of political communication and strategy. There are different definitions of magical thinking, but one that I find truly meaningful is that “magical thinking is an utter disregard for truth and reality, a delusion that we can make facts just by saying them.” The growth of magical thinking in politics is linked to the growth of manipulative social media by some politicians.
Examples of dangerous political magical thinking abound in almost all democracies.
US President Donald Trump wants Americans to believe that the huge fiscal deficit of the US is a result of illegal immigration and that he can cut the deficit by imposing massive tariffs on the countries the US trades with.
In the UK, Brexit has been sold to the British people as the silver bullet that would resolve the country’s structural weaknesses.
The present Labour government built the illusion that it could deal with illegal immigration and fix the NHS’s crumbling structures simply by being elected.
Brexit cake-ism has evolved into a persistent strain of magical thinking among the political classes regarding the state of the country and the sufficiency of the strategies they propose to fix it. Still, reality cannot be denied indefinitely.
Of course, EU politicians are just as prone to promoting magical thinking as they are to being dishonest with their citizens by not disclosing the trade-offs of economic and social reform. They fail to acknowledge that the Union’s governance structures are no longer fit for purpose. The right of veto of member states, for instance, is often used to secure national benefits at the cost of weakening cohesion and unity of purpose.
The European Council now needs to explain to European citizens how it will protect their security by investing more in arms and military expansion, while simultaneously undertaking structural economic reforms and enhancing social support.
The growing gap between political rhetoric and reality is widening. This is a dangerous trend for all democracies
An increasing number of citizens are realising that, with all the magical thinking of their political leaders, it is unrealistic to expect to have the cake and eat it too.
Still, when elections approach, we see more magical thinking. The impending poll will shape political strategies and decisions, and the inevitable temptation will be to overpromise and fudge the narrative on the hard choices that need to be made.
Short-termism, scorched-earth tactics and unaffordable commitments risk undermining the long-term prospects of any country.
Parties in opposition seeking the privilege of governing the country after an election do not just need to convince voters that they have ideas for things they would like to achieve in government. They also need to have a credible and realistic proposal to change the way they govern.
This goes beyond coining slogans, uttering sound bites and repeating platitudes. A failure to reform the way we run government will mean that many manifesto pledges and campaign promises remain just that – commitments that do not bridge the gap to reality.
All sides of the political spectrum will claim that public service reform will deliver better performance. While this is doable, almost all reforms will require upfront investment.
With financial markets acting as fiscal vigilantes, no government can promote magical thinking by nurturing the illusion that it will not cut services or raise taxes to fund public services improvements or economic reform.
The growing gap between political rhetoric and reality is widening. This is a dangerous trend for all democracies. For decades, countless European citizens have cast their ballots in the hope of a better future, only to witness old promises and repeated disappointments.
European politicians must understand that reliance on magical thinking only serves a disturbing purpose. It absolves leaders of accountability, allowing them to sprinkle a bit of magic dust on select groups, leaving everyone else disillusioned with the democratic process.
