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akzente 2/15 21 IN FOCUS Threepenny Opera’ – which brought huge success for Brecht and caused a sensation in late 1920s Berlin – he used a shark as a metaphor for transparency: ‘Oh, the shark has pretty teeth, dear / And he shows them pearly white / Just a jack-knife has Macheath, dear / And he keeps it out of sight!’ But transparency is not about honour among thieves. Its purpose is to promote fair and equitable social rela- tions. One of democracy’s great strengths is that politi- cians must justify their decisions and initiatives publicly before a parliament. In countries where democratic insti- tutions are weak, transparency in politics is major progress in itself. In the case of the TTIP, negotiators have made some concessions to the critics. Although the talks are still tak- ing place behind closed doors, they have now published some of the original documents and various position pa- pers on the internet and are speaking more openly and more often about their goals, assuaging some of the doubts about this free trade agreement. Although the concept of transparency has existed since time immemorial, it was discovered fairly late in the day in the political context. Certainly, in the Greek city-states of antiquity, public debates helped to explain political decisions to citizens. And during the 500 years or so in which the Roman Empire was organised as a republic, there was a high level of political transparency. But these initial attempts never really took hold on a permanent basis. One remnant of those times lingers on, however, in the word ‘republic’, which comes from the Latin ‘res publica’, meaning ‘public matter’. In Rome, government matters were made public; in other words, they were transparent. Not enough people were involved in decision-making to qualify Ancient Rome as a democ racy by today’s standards. Nonetheless, this transpar- ency was accompanied by some fledgling elements of citizen participation, although the term was not yet in use. Up to the end of the 18th century, however, the term ‘transparency’ was used only in physics. In the natural sciences, an object is said to be transparent if light can pass through it. The word itself comes from the Latin ‘trans’, meaning ‘through’ or ‘across’, and ‘parere’, meaning ‘to be visible’ or ‘to be evident’. The more transparent an object, the more light it lets through. A means for keeping politicians in check During the French Revolution, bringing light into the dark corners of power – in other words, transparency – was the political order of the day. It was recognised that only if political decisions were clear to citizens would it be possible for them to have a say, voice their grievances, suggest improvements and submit their demands. It is no coincidence that the French call the Age of Enlight- enment as ‘le siècle des Lumières’ – the century of light. And the reverse also applies: political transparency makes for better decisions. It compels politicians to take account of citizens’ wishes and reins in politicians’ power. Their decisions are then the outcome of a broader consensus. Once the concept of transparency had entered poli tics, it made rapid headway in the nascent economic sci- ences as well. Perfect or full market transparency was soon accepted as one of the basic premises underlying the model of perfect competition: in a completely transparent market in which full information is freely available about all the traded goods, their quality, scarcity and all their other properties, the forces of supply and demand can operate unhindered, at least in theory. In economic theory, then, transparency benefits the economy. Market transparency means that no market participant has an advantage over others. In politics and economics, the term ‘transparency’ never described a physical state but was always linked to the notion of ‘Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself.’ Friedrich Nietzsche, German writer and philosopher » photo:GettyImages/JustinPumfrey(page20) Transparent architecture: glass offices and glittering façades are a symbol of modernity and openness. An unconventional website on which India’s citizens can share their personal bribe-related experiences. Publicising these cases is intended to fight corruption. www.ipaidabribe.com akzente 2/1521