By: Miro Petek
Human beings are supposed to be rational creatures. Ever since Aristotle’s concept of zoon logikon, we have understood them as beings capable of using reason to judge the world and to recognise what is good and what is bad, what is just and what is not. Yet people often use reason to justify choices they made for entirely different reasons. Homo sapiens is supposed to be able to compare, weigh, and choose what is most beneficial. If they can pay ten euros instead of twelve for the same thing, they will choose ten. If someone reduces their tax burden or contributions, they will generally regard that as a good thing.
Slovenia has found itself in the midst of an interesting social paradox, as we are witnessing before our eyes an almost textbook example of a conflict between reason, self-interest, and political allegiance. The National Assembly has adopted the Law on Emergency Measures for Slovenia’s Development, and signatures are currently being collected for a referendum against it. Among other things, the law abolishes the long-term care contribution for pensioners and people with side businesses, introduces a dual-status arrangement for pensioners, provides tax relief, lowers VAT on certain products, and envisages a temporary reduction of VAT on energy products. It also amends regulations concerning labour relations, healthcare, and hospitality, among other areas. These are not political slogans or graffiti, but concrete changes, measures, and benefits written into the law.
Yet the social climate in Slovenia, shaped by dominant media outlets under the ideological influence of the political left, is such that people can be persuaded that a law is harmful even when it leaves them with more money and greater opportunities for development and progress. Here we arrive at a defining feature of Slovenian society: decades of ideological indoctrination that has survived and continued into the present day have left psychological scars that affect people’s judgement. The power of such indoctrination lies in its ability to persuade people to act against their own interests. If this referendum were to succeed, it would require a serious diagnosis of the state of public consciousness. How, after all, could a majority of Slovenia’s 660,000 pensioners vote against a law that relieves them of paying for something that does not yet exist?
The most persistent legacy of communist indoctrination is not the fools waving red stars at public gatherings. Street names can be changed, and even Kidričeva Street could one day regain its historical name. The greatest power of that indoctrination lies in convincing people that acting against their own interests is actually in their interest.
This is where an unusual political reflex emerges: a Slovenian citizen is prepared to defend a decision that costs them money simply because they do not want to admit that their political opponents might be right. A person is willing to lose their own money rather than accept that they may have trusted the wrong people for much of their life. When ideological deceivers run out of arguments, and when society is supposedly on the verge of returning to normality, they call upon the ageing Kučan or various media figures to draw the public back into a web of illusions.
Many Slovenians still believe that one political side represents good and the other evil. When a shop lowers its prices, we are pleased. If a telecommunications provider sends a lower bill, we are satisfied. If a bank reduces its fees, we do not protest. Yet, some people do protest when the current governing coalition proposes measures that benefit them. At the same time, they allow themselves to be persuaded to oppose what is in their own interests. Who can understand why ideological manipulation and political identity continue to triumph over reason?
Democracy is a wonderful thing, but apparently it is not suited to every kind of mind. It also has a demanding side: it requires people to resist ideological captivity and not allow it to determine for them what they see, what they believe, and what they understand to be their own interests.
