MARKETING: A NEW INSTRUMENT FOR POLITICS

   Early this century, the great wealth surrounding us did not existed. Therefore the problems of poverty afflicting millions of people cannot be the fault of the 'rich nations' or of liberalism (as left wing thinkers believe). The fault lies with the 'method'. Which in some cases has resulted in riches and in many others has caused poverty. Briefly there is no contrast with the methods responsible for employment in the so-called 'capitalist' countries. We just need to 'imitate' them and transfer business enterprise methods to the social sphere.

   But not only. Taking money from the rich to give it to the poor is partly right (and already happens through taxation) but it is not enough. Because the rich get depressed and stop producing. Whereas the poor soon uses up the money transferred. And everything remains as before. In a word, the only 'redistribution' is like a cow being milked by many hands while eating no hay. It will never work by itself. In reality nowadays people don't just need to see 'distribution' of wealth but they need a grand 'method'of creating new jobs (that is, in addition to existing standards of living) and to creating new technologies, which will help them to contain the monstrosities resulting from 'too much technology'. We need to feed entire peoples. We must bring progress and culture where they are unknown. We have also to coordinate and manage our existing corporations, to progress toward manufacturing methods that are juster, cleaner and more environmentally friendly.

   Who is going to guide us along this way ? Communism has failed. The attempt to obtain justice and equality through 'law' alone turns out to be inadequate. Therefore what is our choice of instrument ? In practice the present method followed by single nations cannot work. To give an example that everybody knows, when the new Italian law on revenue stamps was published, after only a few days one saw on sale the new regulations with commentary by lawyers. On the contrary today and years later, the tax administration has not yet published the exact 'denominations'. Which have to be obtained with small 'denominations' no longer in use. Examples like this are still quite frequent and everyone says the old methods are no longer any good.

   We need to use iron if it proves to be better than bronze. And solidarity needs, in order to prevail, to adopt liberalism, the market and profit. We must also be allowed to say that our Creator uses this 'technique'. Good God has created true solidarity. But He (who is Omnipotent) did not say 'you must', did not say to the bees:'work only 35 hours rather than 40 to leave room for your sisters'. He did however think of useful egoism. The more the bee works, the more will the pollen be spread about. And thus more plants arise and with them new room for other bees. In nature solidarity does not arise 'through sacrifice' but through 'well directed profit', by our Creator.

   This model should be imitated. Offering prizes and corporate experience is what we need. However can cramped, politics that is expert only in law-making, be able to coordinate human beings so full of projects and imagination, such as the people we see today? In a word we need 'political marketing' that is based on those methods that have created our global consumer society. And which now, if properly used, will enable us to recover the ground lost to solidarity.

   Maybe we need to revise some of our ideas. Liberalism does not need 'absence of limitations'. Liberal government is rich in rules. But these are clear, straightforward and above all intended to protect the individual. This is the vision of Locke (1632-1704) the father of modern liberalism. In stark contrast with Rousseau (1712-1778) who thought government should hold a prevailing position with respect to the individual.

   The liberal system therefore 'must' intervene in society to create wealth and high standard living. And to achieve this without excessive coercion, it has a single choice: to place itself on the same level as citizens and govern society through the legal instrument of contracts. In practice we need to spread our high standard of living and order, through the same methods that the multinational corporations follow to spread the use of their products. Marketing is the essential instrument. Also because marketing does not just mean promoting sales through overpowering advertising. As it means 'doing as you must in contracts'. As there are no personal encounters, the trade-off between proposal and acceptance takes place through advertising and market research. In practical terms marketing is like a great creative force. So it is high time that politicians used its methods to create economic growth and not just as a 'fighting' instrument in the competition between political parties, but above all as an instrument for creating wealth, cooperation and justice between individual persons. (a.n.)