If ever there is a term that is used to repeatedly browbeat non-governmental parties in debates with public officials, it is the whole notion of national interest. This is a concept that is favoured by the bureaucracy. It is a moral pedestal of some sort which is used to portray opponents as being many things but not patriotic.
On the other hand, the notion of national interests as deployed by civil servants assumes that everything the state does is in the nation’s interest. That, as we all know, is a fallacy. And here is why: Are we to assume that everything that the government does is in the nation’s interest? The answer is that nine out of ten times, many of the policies, programmes, and actions the government takes do not serve the nation’s interests. So let us be clear about that.
There's more to this story
But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe.
Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it's also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers.
You can subscribe for one week, a month or a full year - the choice is yours.
Save 77% on an annual subscription. Click here to find out how.
Existing subscribers can log in to keep reading here.
