People crave genuine security, not handouts

2008/11/14

Since time immemorial, it has been said that the image of humans envisioned through the political sphere is rather ugly. I heard that is why modern political science is generally based on the view that humans are inherently evil.

For example, the Italian political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) made the pungent observation that when people are offered benefits they are all for it, but once they are expected to make a sacrifice, they adopt a defiant attitude and flee. I remember reading about his views many years ago in a book by political scientist Masao Maruyama (1914-1996).

However, the results of an Asahi Shimbun public opinion poll point to a somewhat different take on Machiavelli's view of human nature. As many as 63 percent of the respondents to the survey said the government's plan to hand out fixed-sum cash benefits to all households is an "unnecessary policy." At the same time, the ratio of people who supported the prime minister's proposal to raise the consumption tax rate was slightly higher than those who opposed it.

It would certainly be nice to receive some cash from the government but what the people really want more than immediate handouts is security in the true sense of the word. Am I too hasty to draw such a conclusion from the survey results? It is obvious that the policy is also aimed at winning public favor before an election. "If handouts are given to everyone/ It would not be vote-buying" is a satirical 17-syllable poem that appeared on the vernacular Asahi Shimbun's senryu column. I think it is so apt that it deserves a prize.

However, the wishy-washy way the government has been dealing with the program is deplorable. Unable to decide whether to set an income cap on recipients of the handouts, in the end, it left the decision to municipal governments that would be distributing them. The attitude is tantamount to saying, "We are paying the money so do what you like with it." The way it passed the buck illustrates the impoverished state of Japanese politics.

To explain the crux of government, British philosopher and politician Francis Bacon (1561-1626) likened money to manure and said it is only useful when it is spread widely. But this time, what crop will grow after manuring? The amount is a staggering 2 trillion yen. If the policy proves barren, the government would be unable to look Bacon in the eye.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 13(IHT/Asahi: November 14,2008)