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Do All Political Careers Really End in Failure?

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date01 September 2023
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/20419058231198582
AuthorBill Jones
Date01 September 2023
SEPTEMBER 2023 • POLITICAL INSIGHT 25
Enoch Powell, the controversial
onetime Conservative minister,
delighted in making sweeping
‘lapidary’ statements. One, his
most famous, has become so accepted
that it has acquired the status of received
wisdom: ‘All political lives, unless they are
cut off in midstream at a happy juncture,
end in failure, because that is the nature of
politics and of human affairs.’
But how true is Powell’s oft-cited
dictum? Do all political careers end
in failure? Yes, it is often the case, in
democracies at least, that political careers
end when elections are lost and the
defeated retire into relative obscurity. But
does this really qualify as a failed career?
And does Powell’s sweeping generalisation
Do All Political Careers
Really End in Failure?
Bill Jones examines political history and argues that when it comes
to political careers failure is the exception, not the rule.
really encompass most politicians and their
projects?
Subjective and objective
judgments
Let’s assume Powell intended ‘failure’ to
mean ‘objectives unfulfilled’. Whether a
politician has achieved their objectives
involves both a subjective and an
objective judgement. Subjectively, many
politicians would – honestly – say that
their careers have been successful, even
© Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo
Political Insight September 2023.indd 25Political Insight September 2023.indd 25 14/08/2023 12:2414/08/2023 12:24

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