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ConstructingthePoliticalSpectacle
Constructing
THE
Political
Spectacle
MURRAY EDELMAN
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO AND LONDON
—
The UniversityofChicago Press,Chicago60637
The UniversityofChicagoPress, Ltd., London
© 1988 byThe UniversityofChicago
All rightsreserved. Published 1988
Printed inthe UnitedStatesofAmerica
0403 02 01 00999897 7 89 10
Chapter2 appeared in the UniversityofMiamiLawReview
42 (September 1987).
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Data
Edelman,MurrayJ. (MurrayJacob), 1919-
Constructingthepoliticalspectacle.
Includesindex.
1. Politicalpsychology. 2. Symbolism in
politics. 3. Soci—olinguistics. 4. UnitedStates
Socialconditions 1980- I. Title.
JA74.5.E39 1988 320'.01'9 87-16239
ISBN0-226-18399-8 (pbk.)
@
The paperusedinthispublication meetsthe minimum
requirementsoftheAmericanNationalStandardfor
—
InformationSciences PermanenceofPaperforPrinted
LibraryMaterials,ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Contents
Acknowledgments
vi
1 Some Premises about Politics 1
2 TheConstructionandUsesof
Social Problems 12
3 TheConstructionandUsesof
PoliticalLeaders 37
4 TheConstructionandUsesof
Political Enemies 66
5 TheAmbiguitiesofPoliticalNews 90
6 PoliticalLanguageand
PoliticalReality 103
7 The Political Spectacle asTactic
andasMystification 120
Index 131
v
Acknowledgments
Justasthepoliticalspectacleisaconstruction,soisanauthor;my
largest debts are owed to writers, teachers, and students who
helped shape this bookbyconstructingme, eveniftheyarenot
cited. Thecolleagueswhoshapeditmoredirectlythroughtheir
trenchant criticisms of all or parts ofthe manuscript include
Lance Bennett, James Farr, Martha Fineman, Gerda Lerner,
Michael Lipsky, Cathy May, Richard Merelman, Martha
Minow, Laurel Munger, Rozann Rothman, and Virginia
Sapiro.
A John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship furnished support
for my first book on political symbolism in the sixties, and a
second Guggenheim Fellowship provided some ofthe time to
write this one, as did agrantfrom the UniversityofWisconsin
ResearchBoard.
As a student of political language and symbolism, I am
indebted in adifferentway to the countless public officials and
representativesofpoliticalcauseswhospendtheirtimegivingme
moredatathanIwant,muchofitdisturbingoroutrageous.
Lori Schlinkert and Renee Gibson inscribed the manuscript
onfloppydisksandreviseditcompetentlyandpatiently.
vi
SomePremisesaboutPolitics
Thepervasivenessofliteracy, television, andradiointhe indus-
trializedworldmakesfrequentreportsofpoliticalnewsavailable
to mostofthe population, a marked change from the situation
thatprevaileduntilapproximatelytheSecondWorldWar.What
consequences for ideology, action, and quiescence flow from
preoccupation with political news as spectacle? How does the
spectaclegenerateinterpretations? Whatareits implicationsfor
democratic theory? Those are the questions addressed in this
book.
There is a conventional answer that can be captured in a
sentenceratherthanavolume: citizenswhoareinformedabout
politicaldevelopmentscanmoreeffectivelyprotectandpromote
theirowninterestsandthepublicinterest.Thatresponsetakesfor
grantedaworldoffactsthathaveadeterminablemeaninganda
worldofpeople who react rationallyto the facts theyknow. In
politics neither premise is tenable, a conclusion that history
continuallyreaffirmsandthatobserversofthepoliticalsceneare
tempted to ignore. To explore that conclusion is not likely to
generate an optimistic bookor a reassuringviewofthe human
condition; butI hope this bookwill provide a realistic appreci-
ation ofthe link between politics and well-being and a greater
chancethatpoliticalactioncanbeeffective.
The spectacle constituted by news reporting continuously
constructsandreconstructssocialproblems,crises,enemies,and
leaders and so creates a succession ofthreats and reassurances.
These constructed problems and personalities furnish the con-
tentofpoliticaljournalismandthedataforhistoricalandanalytic
politicalstudies.Theyalsoplayacentralroleinwinningsupport
andoppositionforpoliticalcausesandpolicies.
The latter role is usually masked by the assumption that
citizens,journalists, andscholars areobserversof"facts"whose
meaningscanbeaccuratelyascertainedbythosewhoareproperly
trained and motivated. That positivist view is accepted rather
than defended today. We are acutely aware that observers and
what they observe construct one other; that political develop-
1
( Chapter(hit
incursarcambiguousentitiesthatmeanwhatconcernedobserv-
ersconstruethemtomean;andthattherolesandself-conceptsof
theobserversthemselvesarealsoconstructions,createdatleastin
partbytheirinterpretedobservations.1
This study is an essay in applying that epistemological prin-
cipletopolitics.Ratherthanseeingpoliticalnewsasanaccountof
events to which people react, I treat political developments as
creationsofthepublicsconcernedwiththem.Whethereventsare
_noticed andwhattheymean dependuponobservers'situations
"and the languagethatreflects and interprets thosesituations. A
! socialproblem,apoliticalenemy,oraleaderisbothanentityand
a signifierwith a rangeofmeanings thatvaryinwayswe can at
least partly understand. Similarly, I treatpeoplewho engage in
politicalactionsasconstructionsintwosenses.First,theiractions
.
and their language create their subjectivity their sense ofwho
,
theyare.Second,peopleinvolvedinpoliticsaresymbolstoother
I
1 observers: theystandforideologies,values,ormoralstancesand
theybecomerolemodels, benchmarks,orsymbolsofthreatand
evil.
My focus, in short, is upon people and developments with
multiple and changing meanings to one another. That
perspectiveoffersadifficultanalyticchallengebecauseentitiesdo
notremainstablewhileyoustudythemandsubjectsandobjects
arecontinuouslyevolvingconstructionsofeachother.Historical
evidence and psychological theory nonetheless support these
assumptions. In every era and every national culture, political
controversy and maneuver have hinged upon conflicting inter-
pretations of current actions and developments: leaders are
perceived as tyrannical or benevolent, wars as just or aggres-
sive^economicpolicies assupportsofaclassorthepublicinter-
est, minorities as pathological or helpful. It is precisely such
differencesaboutthereferentsolfpoliticallysignificantsigns\that
constitutepoliticalandsocialhistory.
If political developments depended upon factual obser-
vations, false meaningswould bediscreditedintime andacorj.-
1. Tworecentbooks, one byaneminentphilosopherandtheotherbyan
eminentpsychologist,expoundtheconceptualframeworkIapplyhereinsome
detail: Nelson Goodman, OfMind and OtherMatters (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1983); Jerome Bruner,ActualMinds, Possible Worlds (Cam-
bridge:HarvardUniversityPress,1985).
