In the amusingly titled "Economics Meets Politics" chapter of his memoir The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan recalls a media misstep during US president Gerald Ford's 1976 election campaign. Greenspan, then chairman of Ford's Council of Economic Advisors, had characterized the economic recovery then under way as advancing in fits and starts. Not realizing that his statement could be used as a weapon by Ford's political opponents, he also said that the recovery was currently paused.
Greenspan had, as an economist, made a completely accurate statement, but reporters made it into something more. During the presidential debates, they questioned Ford aggressively about the issue: "Mr. President, the country is now in something that your advisors call an economic pause. I think to most Americans that sounds like an antiseptic term for low growth, unemployment at a high level, declining take-home pay, lower factory earnings, more layoffs. Isn't that a really rotten record and doesn't your administration bear most of the blame for it?"
Ford went on to lose the election in spite of his vigorous defense of his record. Later data vindicated his position, showing that the US economy had not stalled at all. In fact, it had continued to grow at an accelerating rate for the next year.
Greenspan's misstep is an example of the terrifying power of polarization. In complex situations, even accurate data can be confusing. People with no real understanding of the matter latch on to a piece of it and interpret it in light of their own agendas. The public then begins to wonder how the numbers they see are being manipulated, resulting in a growing lack of trust. When a society lacks trust, when it becomes difficult to separate professional disagreements from political ones and no objective third parties exist to play referee, we find ourselves atop a ticking time bomb.
Is there any way to disarm it? Perhaps, but it requires tremendous determination.
Take the UK, for example, which has long kept the public informed about the operations of government by broadcasting parliamentary proceedings on TV. At the outset, Members of Parliament (MPs) naturally played to the cameras. To prevent this, Parliament decided to stop the broadcasting of "performances" by MPs who appeared to be grandstanding. This prevented a downward spiral in the political process, as MPs were forced to stop treating Parliament as a stage and instead present real information. If Taiwan were to adopt similar rules, we might need to "filter" not only legislative sessions, but also political rallies.
In the late 1980s, disillusionment with politics and the media-two pillars of a democratic system of government-caused election turnouts in the US to fall to record lows. With faith in the media plumbing the depths, US newspapers began advocating for "citizen journalism." This meant fostering and organizing public debate of public affairs, and encouraging the public to decide for itself what issues were relevant. These days, citizen journalism is a growing global trend. While it has not yet recorded many successes, it continues to look promising to a public fed up with the political bickering and corporate media currently on tap.
Taiwan faces a crucial election year in 2008. With that in mind, we hope that our cover story, "Rediscovering What's Right With Taiwan," will remind everyone that public debate and communication across party lines are the cornerstones of democracy.
Taiwan's business community is, in contrast to its political one, eminently practical. In this month's issue, we also report on ten SMEs selected by the China Credit Information Service. None are media darlings, but each deserves kudos for the success it has achieved in its field.
Finally, we would also like to note that deputy editor Chang Chiung-fang has received the Chinese Development Fund's cross-strait journalism award in the magazine category for her February 2007 article, "Taiwan Women and Their 'New Shanghai Dream.'" Other winners included Business Weekly's survey of 1,000 Greater China firms, and Global Views Monthly's survey of the competitiveness of 65 universities in Greater China. Taiwan Panorama is a publication that devotes its limited resources to writing moving articles on interesting topics. We are grateful that the critics have acknowledged our work and are glad to be able to share this wonderful news with our readers.
