Layers of political reality

During the COVID-19 pandemic, political discussions and conflicts between politicians from federal and state levels in Australia and elsewhere, as well as bureaucrats acting as so-called medical advisors, were repeatedly displayed to increase the plausibility of this global performance. At the same time, the directors of this entire pilot have remained mainly invisible amid growing concerns about the vaccine’s potential damage, which have been discussed more frequently globally. However, the origin of COVID-19 remains unknown.

The last layer of political reality is the actual core behind all political appearances, party divisions, and democratic processes. This level is mysterious, impenetrable, inaccessible and unquestionable. It is where real political power lies and from which actual power cascades down through the other two layers. It is shrouded in secrecy, absolute control, and an uncompromising determination to execute long-term decisions that decide the destiny of nations, peoples, governments, and eras.

Inaccessibility to the core of this political reality is most disturbing. It may even reach a point where many feel betrayed, manipulated, and controlled, as is the case with COVID-19, for which no government, political party, or politician has ever taken responsibility and allowed for a full investigation. It feels like a humiliation ceremony where they repeatedly face insurmountable walls of power in absolute secrecy, which is impervious to any meaningful political accountability.

On the other hand, this reality shows that however hard one tries to change the world, the process always unfolds elsewhere, and the outcome is controlled by the invisible, the faceless, and the “absolute.” It is not a matter of a lack of political will, strategy, or resources in the first place; rather, it is the futility of trying to change things thoroughly because the innermost core does not allow it to happen. Nor does it allow itself to be affected, exposed, or removed from power.

It is where a lot of political criticism, despair, and realism take place, causing some people either to lose faith in policies or strengthen their resolve to change things for the better. In a highly negative sense, this is where political nihilism is activated. In such a framework, nihilism is not the absence of truth about political reality but its near unknowability; it is not about difficulties in attaining the common good through politics but its near impossibility; and it is not about searching for a better form of political reality but its near impermissibility.

It is the reason why many revolutions and movements in modern history have achieved some success at the first and second levels; however, they have never fully penetrated, impacted or overthrown the third level. Moreover, the success of any social and political movement depends on understanding how this political theatricality is produced and how it affects everything, from top to bottom and from inside out, as was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, understanding is not enough; it must be accompanied by decisive action to dismantle all these layers. It thereby returns political power to the hands of people who must be the real actors, directors, and scriptwriters of political reality in a democratic society, as it is their vital moral duty.