The World of Religions No. 48 – July/August 2011 —
As the saga of the DSK affair continues to make waves and spark many debates and questions, there is a lesson that Socrates passed on to the young Alcibiades that should be pondered: "To claim to govern the city, one must learn to govern oneself." If Dominique Strauss-Kahn, until this affair the favorite in the polls, were to be found guilty of sexual violence against a cleaning lady at the Sofitel in New York, we could not only pity the victim, but also breathe a great sigh of relief. Because if DSK, as some testimonies in France also seem to suggest, is a sexual compulsive capable of brutality, we could have elected to the top of the State either a sick person (if he cannot control himself), or a vicious person (if he does not want to control himself). When we see the shock that the news of his arrests provoked in our country, we hardly dare to ask ourselves what would have happened if such an affair had broken out a year later! The shock of the French, which borders on denial, is largely due to the hopes that were placed in DSK as a serious and responsible man to govern and worthily represent France in the world. This expectation came from a disappointment with Nicolas Sarkozy, judged harshly for his contradictions between his grand declarations on social justice and morality, and his personal attitude, particularly towards money. We therefore hoped for a more morally exemplary man. The fall of DSK, whatever the outcome of the trial, is all the harder to digest.
Yet it has the merit of putting the question of virtue in politics back into the public debate. For while this question is crucial in the United States, it is completely underplayed in France, where there is a tendency to completely separate private and public life, personality and competence. I think that the right attitude lies between these two extremes: too much moralism in the United States, not enough attention to the personal morality of politicians in France. For without falling into the American trap of "hunting for sin" among public figures, we must remember, as Socrates says to Alcibiades, that one can doubt the good qualities of governance of a man subject to his passions. The highest responsibilities require the acquisition of certain virtues: self-control, prudence, respect for truth and justice. How can a man who has not been able to acquire these elementary moral virtues for himself put them to good use in governing the city? When people behave badly at the highest levels of the State, how can we ask everyone to act in a good manner? Confucius said 2,500 years ago to the ruler of Ji Kang: "Seek goodness yourself and the people will improve. The virtue of the good man is like that of the wind. The virtue of the people is like that of grass, it bends in the direction of the wind" ( Analects , 12/19). Even if this statement sounds a little patronizing to our modern ears, it is not without truth.