I spent the best years of my youth in politics - human rights movements, bureaucratic positions, and as a policy advisor to my national government [see photo]. Here are three lessons I imbibed that might help you to better understand the times we are caught up in.
Lesson number one is that the 80/20 rule applies to politics and politicians - that is 80% of the work is done by 20% of the participants. The twist today is that the 20% are becoming less and less competent. This spread of incompetence is rife because the competent staff who formerly worked for our leaders have left the building [see the reports on the exit of the most competent staff from the Office of the US Vice President].
Lesson number two is weak leaders rely upon mantras to message their supporters [they ignore or vilify their critics]. The support of weak leadership comes primarily from the media, corporates, 80`% bureaucrats, academia, and social movements. Weak leaders will always complicate issues that are primarily simple. Weak leaders are the result of "The Abilene Paradox" wherein a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of many. Many people who cast a paradoxical vote know, and foretell, about disasters that flow from the decisions, and decision-makers, they empower.
Lesson number three politics is weak when the policy agenda is driven by [unelected] bureaucrats. Weak politicians are force-fed gobbly gook which they suck up like a vacuum cleaner. If these weak politicians have good personal staff then they come to different conclusions to those they are being force-fed; BUT, they need the support of their weak colleagues and their sponsors if they are to get re-elected. What happens in effect is that "group think" prevails across the collective of media, corporates, bureaucracies, courts, etc.
These weak collectives chant the dictum that we are not wrong but we need more people and money to implement our problematic solutions to the issues. Thus weak governments rely on more spending, borrowing, and taxing.
Richard.
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