New Module

I started a new module on politcial communications today. The first session looked at the way Bill Clinton, and then Tony Blair, used commercial marketing strategies to win elections. Essentially it was a case of find out what the people want and promise it to them. It's a formula which has worked well for business based as it is on Freudian principles of selfishness. Obviously experience has taught us that this approach works very well to win elections but not in government. All individuals are contradictory and if political parties try to pander too much to individualism they too become contradictory, and unable to produce coherent policy. We're also now at point where there is a lot of public consciousness about the marketing techniques that have ben used to win election campaigns. What happens from now on is what this module looks at, as well as taking a look at how things might develop in other countries.