Westside Costa Mesa

Wonks' Corner: A Series

Oct 04, 2000

by Sam'l Adams

The Civic Person
American citizens can get rather uppity when they are unhappy with their government. They tend to take things into their own hands when government doesn't suit their purposes.

In 1773, King George III learned this when we threw a tea party for him in Boston Harbor. In 1911, politicians in the thrall of powerful railroad interests learned this when we Californians created the powers of Initiative and Referendum.

Consumer Politics
But there don't have to be tax or control issues for citizens to be unhappy with the political process. It can happen even when government has been doing its job right. It can happen when citizens haven't been doing their job. Citizens need to act, singly and in groups, for the common good. When this civic sector of society has atrophied and failed to act, government has to step in to do a job for which it is ill suited.

The kind of politics we now practice has been called "consumer politics." That is, with our taxes we buy social product from the government, just as we buy physical product (cars) from GM, Ford or Toyota. The trouble with consumer politics is that if we don't like the product that City Hall offers, there's no other provider to get it from. We feel stuck, become disaffected, and just want government to get off our backs. But does this get us what we want?

Pratical Politics
Michael Briand observes in his 1999 book (Practical Politics: Five Principles for a Community That Works) that "expecting government to succeed by itself - without the active, deliberate support, assistance, and guidance of the public - is setting government up for failure, and ourselves for disappointment." Formal government can't do everything for us; we have to do some of it ourselves.

To remedy the deficiencies of consumer politics, Briand proposes something he calls "practical" politics. This politics is not really new; it is just a well-reasoned, modernized version of the same old kind of grassroots politics that did so well by America two centuries ago.

Can Westsiders do it?
Westsiders don't have to wonder if they have the right or authority to change things. The real question is, will we step up to the plate and play our part in the political process? Do we have what it takes to once again take charge of our future?

This wonk's reading of the tealeaves says the omens are good. There's a lot of grassroots interest for a betterWestside. Stay tuned.