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A Contrarian View to Retail Populism Politics: Understanding the Nature and Importance of Wisdom in Politics

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A Contrarian View to Retail Populism Politics: Understanding the Nature and Importance of Wisdom in Politics

By Gregory C.P. Matte

An incredibly small minority of people occupy supreme positions of responsibility, authority and consequence on the lives of neighbours, communities, regions, countries, nations and mankind as a whole. While monarchies, oligarchies and dictatorships offer their citizens few choices in the selection of their leader, the democratic process does. However, we have borne witness to an increasing rise in populism as a means to become elected and cling to power. However, the flaw in populism is the lack of a principle-based “compass” to guide the elected leader towards a strategic view and consistent (fair) approach to issues of importance to the people and interests these leaders represent. As such, in the quest towards retaining public favour, they pursue policies and take decisions that are “popular” based on inaccurate surveys or other incomplete feedback mechanisms. The usual outcome of populism over time is that such leaders eventually come to contradict themselves revealing the lack of consistency, judgement or strategic vision.

The following is an attempt to describe both the collective and individual quest towards a self-actual understanding of the “world” in which we all “exist”, and how wisdom is achieved as a means to guide voters and candidates towards the selection of wise, principle-centred leaders…something that the world seems to be desperately short of these days. The epistemology and taxonomical foundations of this description are purposefully meant to be descriptive and “open-ended” such that it may be modified and enriched by the observations of others. Ultimately, my own personal quest is simply that of a full and complete understanding of the truth regarding this complex ontological process.

In my own view, the construct of wisdom is built upon an exponentially increasing refinement of our “understanding” of the natural world (positivism) as well as our societal world (critical realism) through an ascending taxonomical hierarchy that follows:

5. data
4. information
3. knowledge
2. understanding
1. wisdom

Given that most subscribe to the popular notion that humanity has evolved into the “information age”, I personally harbour tremendous concern and regret in the (perhaps false) belief that the further pursuit of wisdom is both necessary and rare in modern society, certainly for those in positions of responsibility for the well-being of their fellow citizens and mankind. While most people today are focused on the tremendous benefits of the “information age”, and the many conveniences that this provides, we remain socially interconnected with our lives heavily influenced by the organizational constructs that guide us (i.e. democracy, monarchies, autocracies, etc.).
That said, society desperately requires the leadership of individuals who possess the wisdom and experience to gently guide us all through the accelerating process of change, while mitigating the ever-present threats of conflict pertaining to the distribution of precious resources (i.e. fresh water, food, land, etc), as well as the careless custodianship of our planet. John Rawls, and his “Theory of Justice”, postulated that while the natural distribution of talent and ability is unequal, and that the pursuit of equality within society is unachievable, those with the necessary leadership talents and wisdom have a duty to accept the burden of responsibility for others.

Having established this noble burden, and using King Solomon as an example of a philosopher king, I return to the establishment of the epistemology of wisdom in a full, ontological sense (intellectual as well as emotional).

Data, is the lowest form, from within a taxonomical perspective, of establishing an understanding of our world, let alone developing any wisdom pertaining to a sensible meaning. However, data is necessary to properly and effectively assess our world. The process of carefully collecting data, through rigorous research methodologies, allows for the establishment, testing and falsification of any hypothesis relating to our understanding of the world. Information, the next level, comes from such efforts, allowing for research and experimentation efforts to identify, for example, recurring trends related to identifiable conditions. Information unto itself can be quite powerful as it pertains to developing innovative technologies and capabilities (such as the internet, smart phones, autonomous vehicles, etc.).

Knowledge is the next level in the ascending order of epistemological growth towards wisdom. Knowledge occurs in the establishment of context to the information built upon the raw data. As a simple analogy, the observation that it’s currently raining might trigger an interest in measuring the rainfall. A measurement that concludes that we received 7.9 mm of rain over the past 24 hours could be seen as could be seen as raw “data”, whereas multiple samplings over several days, weeks or longer might identify trends pertaining to rainfall amounts, frequency of occurrence and other such observations that collectively provide trends, statistics and other forms of “information” that can be applied for practical purposes. Going one step beyond such a relatively linear process using data, and seeking to establish greater context, a correlation between the prevailing weather (i.e. thunder storms) and the occurrence of rain allows for the development of an expanded knowledge of weather, atmospherics and climatology.

Social leadership begins to take an increasingly important role as we rise through the epistemological taxonomy through to wisdom. The misuse of information and knowledge can also have erosive and even destructive consequences on society and mankind. The mastery of the chain reaction that allows for the fissile release of sub-atomic energy in the form of an atomic bomb is a dramatic, but very real example of this possibility. Such technical knowledge in the hands of an irrational dictator can have horrifying consequences.

Understanding, which is the next level upwards in the taxonomy, is achieved through an expansive and in-depth process of careful synthesis of knowledge in one or more domains. Understanding is often achieved through a collaborative process in which knowledgeable individuals share their different perspectives so as to achieve a more well-rounded, balanced and complete view. The development of the internet has facilitated and accelerated the possibilities of achieving understanding, as is often seen within specialized academic communities. Building upon our previous, simple analogy, knowledge could be the correlation of the rain and thunderstorms with the recurring climatological impact of the rainy season that occurs in the spring, or the monsoon season as experienced in different parts of the world, and which could be linked to changes in ocean currents as well as other natural phenomena.

Finally, we arrive at the highest level which is that of wisdom. Although wisdom is a rare quality, particularly as it pertains to the application across a broad range of domains, such as is necessary in a societal leadership position, it is essential to ensure the best decisions are made. Wisdom takes knowledge to the level of humanity and society; an empathetic perspective that requires a principle-centered, consistent approach to decisions that are guided by societies rules, norms and mores, as well as the necessary, broad and enriched understanding of the world. Continuing our simple analogy, wisdom could be the decision to collect rain water during the wet season to ensure an adequate supply for the community for the recurring dry season, while also establishing a fair system of distribution that prevents thirst for anyone in the community.

From Rawls’ perspective, few people are granted the necessary gifts to achieve wisdom, given that all men are not created equal, and that the pursuit of equality in society is a flawed theory and failed notion. For those individuals who are blessed with such gifts comes an obligation to share these gifts with others and society as a whole. Wise decisions are imperfect in that rarely can wise decisions satisfy the expectations and desires of all those affected by such decisions, particularly those who take a self-centered, short-term view on such matters. Regardless, wisdom truly is the culmination of the epistemological quest for knowledge and understanding through the rigours of data collection, information development, contextual knowledge and a synthesizing quest towards understanding across increasingly broader domains. Hopefully, if mankind survives itself and its natural tendencies towards cruelty, waste and destruction, perhaps it will enjoy the fruits of an upwards evolution beyond the “information age” towards more meaningful societies and a better world.

The author is a retired Brigadier-General, former CF-18 pilot and “Top Gun” Fighter Weapons Instructor. His operational experience includes Commander of 4 Wing Cold Lake, Commander of deployed CF-18 forces in the Balkans, as well as both peacekeeping and peacemaking missions overseas. He’s currently the Executive Director of a national non-profit program, and is in the process of completing a PhD in Public Policy at Carleton University

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