Working people are the ubiquitous target for politicians. But, who are these "working people?"
In an article, which I wrote back in January, I argued that politics is dominated by what I call "safe speak", anodyne and vacuous phrases. I gave 6 examples of "safe speak". However, one that I didn't include, that has become the omnipresent rallying call of politicians for the 2015 election campaign is "we are the people of the working people".
This phrase about "being for working people" is the kind of "safe speak", I discussed in January. It is anodyne and vacuous because it is quite simply impossible to oppose it.
What kind of politician is going to stand up, and say "we do NOT support working people". Such an idea is so crazy and unpalatable that we can take it as given that the Party supports "working people", and is "on the side of working people".
However, this is where existentialism comes in. Everyone wants to identify themselves as one of these "hard working people", even the retired would wish to lump themselves into this, since they were "hard working people", and are now (in their opinion) enjoying a well-deserved rest from all that.
The reason why it is so attractive to label one's self as "a hard working person" is because the opposite would trigger off an existential dilemma: if I am not hard working, what is the point of my continued existence?
Thus, categorising one's self as part of the "working people" is a very comforting feeling as it gives a sense of purpose, worth and meaning to life.
Politicians who utilise the phrase, "hard working people", are delving deep into the human psyche, since the appeal is to everyone, and provides a dampening down of voters' existential angst, and ponderings about the meaninglessness of their continued existence.
It is very comforting to hear politicians valuing "working people", as it is re-assuring that continued existence is worthwhile.
Targeting the existential voter, however, will not win a Party the election, because all the parties adopt this kind of rhetoric to calm voters' existential angst.
