It's all about power

Only 19 days till election day here in Malawi. A common sight for the past few months have been the truckloads of people wearing their party colours parading to rallies. Even as I write this, I can hear horns blaring and cheering not too far away. And there was quite the scene in front of the office a few days ago. The leaders of both opposition parties (who are now in an alliance) were passing through. Dozens of people lined the streets a few hours ahead waiting for their chance to greet the convoy. Witnessing all this left me with a question- what makes someone want to jump on board an overcrowded truck or wait on the street for hours to support their politician?

I guess one answer might be that "democracy is alive and well" and people are excited and engaged in the political process. On a more cynical day I found myself wondering if politics is merely another form of entertainment- "let's take the afternoon off and go to the circus". Then, in the span of a few days, a conversation, a radio broadcast and a quote all suggested an alternative explanation.

I was speaking with a coworker who remarked that village chiefs (and by extension the people in that village) have very strong allegiances with a particular party. If that party wins, then the village can access 'development funds'. If their party is not in power, they basically get shut out for the next few years.

This perception was echoed on the radio yesterday. The candidate for vice president was talking about her recent visit to the district where I work. Historically, this district has favoured the current opposition party. The candidate was lamenting how there was practically "no development here and that the conditions were horrible". But if her party was elected, then "there would be development in this district".

Finally, I'm reading Tracy Kidder's Mountains beyond Mountains, an account of Dr Paul Farmer's work in Haiti, and I came across this line:

"Politics, I supposed, was one means by which Haitians avoided hopelessness".

Avoiding hopelessness? That’s a pretty strong incentive for doing everything you can to make sure your party wins. For the rural population (over 80% of Malawi), where their standard of living is very dependent on development programs, it means that politicians represent a source of great power. So that's what this is all about - throwing their weight behind politicians is one of the few ways to access power.

I've heard that "it's all about power" many times and although I can intellectually grasp it, I don't think I really understand what it means at a deeper level. I just came across it again in a blog where the author suggests that distribution of power in society is the ultimate cause of inefficient states, leading to poverty. I've never really been interested in politics nor have I really thought about 'power distributions' in society before. But it seems like this is central to understanding the world we live in. One more to the list of "things I want to learn about".

Would love to get some recommendations on books, authors, blogs that can enlighten me. Email me at enamrabbani (at) ewb (dot) ca or leave a comment below.