The politics of truth

Raul Castro addressed the Cuban National Assembly on December 18. He cited the commandment: "Thou shalt not bear false witness" (lie). This ninth commandment is well-known. What is a politician doing quoting it, and why is a politician who heads a state that was once officially atheist citing it? Raul was not delivering a Christian or Christmas message to Cubans. He was involved in serious business of state. He was talking about Cuba's coming five-year economic plan and he was saying that for the plan to work, Cubans in government, politics and society must tell the truth about their situation.

Raul stressed the need for strict compliance with the economic plan and the budget with no excuses, cover-ups, justifications and overspending when targets are not met. It would not serve Cuba's interest to deceive itself with lies to cover up failures.

Raul's message was not simply about economics. He emphasised the importance of certain moral values. He emphasised the importance of being truthful about Cuba's situation. He cited the ninth commandment above. He referred to three moral principles of Inca civilisation: Do not lie. Do not steal. Do not be lazy. He called for no less than a struggle to eradicate lies and deceit at all levels of government, party and society among cadres. He reminded the National Assembly of Fidel Castro's call "never to say a lie or violate ethical principles".

The UK Observer published a survey in September 2009. Each year, Ipsos MORI does a survey on trust in the professions. It found that only 13 per cent of the public thought politicians tell the truth. They beat out journalists who were the most mistrusted professionals the year before. Business leaders came fourth from the bottom among 16 professions. This is a humbling survey for us in Jamaica, especially at Christmas and new year when business persons are trying to sell religion as commerce while making commerce a religion; when politicians are held in low regard for not telling the truth about a number of major government scandals this year, and when the spin journalists put out stories that are sometimes not the truth or the whole truth.

Truth telling

Raul Castro indicated that truth telling will be the new moral position of Cuba's politics, beginning with the example of a major party congress coming next year. The congress will be open and transparent. Discussions will be honest. That new politics, he said, actually started with the publication on November 9 of the new guidelines for economic and social policies. He wants party, government and people to debate these guidelines openly and honestly.

This will be Cuba's new socialism and its version of democracy. As Raul put it, "This genuine democratic exercise will allow us to further enrich that document and, without excluding divergent opinions, achieve national consensus about the need and urgency of introducing strategic changes in the way the economy functions, with the purpose of making socialism in Cuba sustainable and irreversible."

It is Cuba's approach to freedom of opinion. Truth is the best way, he said, to achieve the best economic solution. He said, "The differences of opinion, preferably expressed in the right place, time and form, at the right moment and in the correct form, shall always be more desirable than the false unanimity based on pretence and opportunism. Moreover, it is a right nobody should be deprived of.

"The more ideas we are capable of inspiring in the analysis of a problem, the closer we shall come to its correct solution."

Western democracy has become deceitful because politicians and people treat freedom of speech as the right to lie freely. Surveys show that loss of trust is the main problem affecting western politics and governments. This includes telling lies on each other. Naturally, it includes telling even greater lies on non-capitalist democracies like Cuba. What if Cuba were to invent a new politics, the politics of truth telling? Would western countries tell lies about that, too?

Truth commissions

Raul seems to expect that the 11 groups that make up the Economic Commission of the party might be thought of as a truth commission. Those groups worked hard to establish the guidelines for economic and social policy. It made the economic situation the priority. It would have a role in ensuring that reporting and debate are honest and truthful.

A truthful socialism was not a rejection of the revolution. Raul repeated what he said in August 2009: "I was not elected president to restore capitalism in Cuba nor to surrender the revolution. I was elected to defend, maintain and continue improving socialism, not to destroy it." The new openness will see that information will be provided to explain all decisions, the excessive secrecy of the first 50 years will end, and the Party, youth arm and unions will end dogma.

Do our political parties have the courage to establish policy commissions that can verify and validate the claims being made about policies to produce growth, reduce unemployment, lessen poverty, and cut crime and all the nice promises that parties make, aided and abetted by their business and media backers?

The British themselves are struggling with the challenge of restoring faith in their Westminster system. Another way to think about it is restoring confidence in the political, media and business classes. It is time for a new political culture. Business advertisements and tactics of salesmanship are deceitful and make a mockery of Christianity and ethics in general. The political game is competitive and the competitive struggle for power, like the struggle for profits, makes a mockery of democracy. What is the good of freedom of speech when we use speech to lie freely? What is the value of public opinion when public opinion is being deceived in order to control what people think and who they should believe?

The 'whole truth'

Jamaica has gone through a year when a number of organisations of politics and civil society demanded the 'whole truth' and 'full disclosure'' concerning the events surrounding the Jamaica Labour Party-Coke-Manatt affair, to the point of asking that the prime minister resign. There is full truth to be told about those who hold dual citizenship and the circumstances under which they do. There are many questions that the police want answers to, and need to ask questions about, concerning the alleged links between a minister of government and those in whom the police have interest.

There are answers that the Office of the Contractor General wants about reported secret negotiations for Sandals Whitehouse. The public wants to know why the Jamaica Defence Force Up Park Camp is to be removed. The Opposition wants to know why certain politically affiliated persons are receiving contracts for roads and infrastructure, and others not so affiliated are not. This has been a year of lies and cover-up. We can criticise Cuban democracy, but if we cannot get the truth out of our own democracy, then what is there to be proud of? We badly need a politics of truth telling.

Robert Buddan lectures in the Department of Government, UWI, Mona. Email: Robert.Buddan@uwimona.edu.jm