Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainYooh
These are all fair arguments, and they are expected. I think we should not use interchangeably bad/unsuccessful/lame politicians with people who simply should not be in politics in the first place. You wouldn't trust a person without a medical degree to operate on your heart. Why should the society be afraid to apply the same principle in selecting its politicians? A true democracy must be smart enough and strong enough to set the criteria for whose who want to lead the people on people's dime. We already have some criteria in place for qualification. So, it is just a matter of making them better, because as of now, we get whomever can ride the wave in.
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There is an issue with what we think/expect politicians to do and what we think the bureaucracy does. In our democracy, politicians are the peoples' representatives - they represent the views of the voters; however, that should not overrule the deference to data/science/morality in their decision making.
A good politician listens to their constituents to understand their issues and problems. They should then synthesize those issues and problems into actionable items. Perhaps, like most of the population, the politician doesn't understand or know the details of the perfect policy, but the bureaucracy and policy advisors should be utilized to create a plan that seeks the solution.
Unfortunately representative democracy is bending under the stress of the complex nature our society now operates. No candidate or elected official is considered an expert on any topic - let alone one topic. The bureaucracy and the policy makers are one avenue, other experts or panel experts are others. Technically, special interest groups are to offer another avenue that politicians should then balance to produce a policy that works efficiently with minimal consequences to those not directly applicable.
The above is entirely corrupted in the current system. Few Politicians do not run on this basis anymore at any level. It's a show and it's merely an avenue to personal gain through post political life.
In the end, we elect these people