Peoples Republic of South Devon

Are the Deeds the Person?

posted by Jess Sains

I was interested by a comment on my article last week, which was about the Plymouth pub being named after John Hawkins, one of the first slave traders. The commenter questioned whether we can judge an individual on one view or one action, furthermore they asked can we truly separate one “good” action from a life that may have been in many other respects dubious? This week, therefore I am wondering, can we?

When a student one of the areas of politics, and political philosophy, I found most fascinating was the question of whether political ‘movements’ have to be collective or can they be individual – at least in there inception – and, also, whether there can be parallels between so-call ‘left’ wing politics and ‘right’ wing politics. In this, I wondered over my four years of study, can politics almost be seen a circular: communism and fascism (or national socialism) believe in the collective, and anarchism and neo-libralism place great emphasise on the individual. Now, like I say, I did various papers and two thesis’s looking one way or another at that question and I have still not answered it to my own satisfaction, so I shall not try again here! But, I do want to examine the individual within the collective of their life and choices.

My father and I have always argued with my mother that one cannot judge the “art” of someone on their politics. In particular this was about D H Lawrence, whom some suggest had right-wing sympathies – can we, as lefties, condemn poor David due to this fact? Can we say his books are shite because of it? No, not logically, really. It is a very shallow, tongue-in-cheek sort of debate at best; mother only says it because we both like Lawrence’s novels.

But what of those with less precarious and debated moral characters? Or those that are just plain right-wing? I can say I wouldn’t have much time for a BNP candidate, but what if she or he was also a great drug and alcohol worker who got their job done and didn’t bring their politics to work? We work with people all the time that may make other life choices, have other views or live quite different lives. Unless I oppose completely what they say or do in certain contexts I rarely say anything to anyone in my private or public life; but my politics is still there, as is their’s.

Doesn’t politics influence everything?

The thing with art is, you can say it is ‘good’ but you will probably always have reservations about something that is politically influenced by something you don’t agree with: if Guernica glorified Franco would it still be held in such high esteem? But, then we can say a musical about a fascist President’s wife is still highly popular even after we have watched the economic melt-down in Argentina. But then, I personally can’t stand Evita but I can sit through Billy Elliot where the miners stand united and remain fresh-faced a young after 20 years… I like things not because of my politics, but I do feel my politics is a part of me, integral and influencing in almost all areas of life. I therefore cannot condone or praise a decision to name a pub after a slaver, nor do I praise the lives of any amount of political or historical figures, which, yes, does include some of those others might call “good” people. Churchill was a Tory and not much cop at leading a country when not at war; Francis Drake a slaver trader; Ernesto Guevara was a highly educated middle-class individual, not a revolutionary worker and he didn’t really treat his first family very well, either; Tony Benn supported the miners and had huge family homes by the sea…

If we get down to it we cannot possible judge a person on one action, can we? No, probably not. But some things are pretty big issues; the bad things done affect whole nations or continents and still have ramifications today. So, I do condone some people, yes, but what I don’t do is act hypocritically about it. Francis Drake was a bastard, too. So there.

April 5th, 2008

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