
The Man in the White Suit - the new Parliamentary uniform?
Do we really want politicians to be public paragons of virtue?
A good deal of what I read tends to work on the assumption that we do. Take this, for example:
“As technology evolves, the same public information laws create novel and in some cases previously unimaginable levels of transparency. In many cases, particularly those related to the conduct of top public officials, this seems to be a clearly good thing. In others, particularly those related to people who are not public figures, it may be more of a mixed blessing or even an outright problem.
I’m reminded of the “candidates” of ancient Rome—the Latin word candidatus literally means “clothed in white robes,” which would-be officeholders wore to symbolize the purity and fitness for office they claimed to possess. By putting themselves up for public office, they invited their fellow citizens to hold them to higher standards.”
I mentioned this on another forum, and my friend, Chris, commented that the whiteness of the robes were also a status symbol. They said “look at me – I live in a nice part of town and I’ve got servants and slaves” Continue reading
Filed under: Being a politician, Clerical representation, Transparency, What makes a good representative? | Tagged: The Man in the White Suit | 1 Comment »