A Piece of My Writing

TruthfulDeceit · Aug 12, 2008

I have a blog I update sometimes, but when I'm high I like to write my thoughts on the political system. This is one part of a two-part piece I wrote about the differences between government and politics.

To many people, government and politics can be used interchangeably. It is a terrible misconception, one that causes a great deal of problems in our society. However, it is a common problem. The fact is most people do not realize that government was born out of necessity, while politics was born out of greed and power-mongering. While government will always remain the centerpiece to any successful society, politics must be crushed in order for societies to prevail and expand. But in order to understand why this must happen, we must first examine the major differences between government and politics.

Government is loosely defined as “the governing body of persons in a state, community, etc.” In other words, a leader or collection of leaders over a group of people. The most important part of this definition is the word “persons”. Without people, government would not exist. A lone man on a deserted island is not a government strictly because he is the only one and therefore in command. A pair of people cannot form a government because there is nothing to rule over. So when does government come in to play? As the most important word, persons, implies, it is a numbers game.

As was already stated, a single person cannot form a government. In small groups, groups of two to ten people for example, government is not needed. The group is small enough that the members can simply discuss matters amongst themselves and come to a most-popular conclusion. In slightly larger groups, say groups ranging in size from ten to one hundred people, government begins to form, but is still not a necessity or even present at all times. The group is still small enough that everyone can vote on whatever they have an opinion on and consensus can easily be formed through these votes.

Government really starts to take shape once the groups hit the midrange in size, ranging from one hundred to one thousand people. It is at this point that votes become too time-consuming to be effective. Having every member of the society vote on every important decision would bring efficiency to zero. And so government is formed. The person or people that can best understand the needs of the group are put in the position to decide how those needs will be attended too. Corruption in this stage of government is zero. There is no desire for power, just an underlying need for it. At this stage, the equation is balanced. The desire for power is exactly equal to the need for power. The leaders serve because someone must and they are best suited for the job, not because they will achieve more power in a higher position. A well known example of this was George Washington, our first president. He turned down the presidency multiple times because he did not feel he was best suited for the position. That is government in its finest form.

Once the society reaches large numbers of people, one thousand or more, simply being the best is not good enough. There is an old saying that follows the idea that there is always someone better then you, and this holds especially true at high population levels. There are simply too many outstanding people that could potentially run the government that society could not effectively choose one. And so politics shows its ugly head and its ugly purpose: to unbalance the equation of power and need that was balanced in the mid size populations.
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Hope you enjoy/find it interesting. I'll post the rest later.

bkadoctaj · Aug 12, 2008

TruthfulDeceit said:

I have a blog I update sometimes, but when I'm high I like to write my thoughts on the political system. This is one part of a two-part piece I wrote about the differences between government and politics.

Hope you enjoy/find it interesting. I'll post the rest later.
Click to expand...

Very nice. Can you explain society now? Why do people clump up into certain groups? What is the basis and origin of these groups? And why are they inherently competitive? If they are not inherently competitive, what is their future: cooperation?

TruthfulDeceit · Aug 14, 2008

Thanks.

This is my follow up.

So what exactly is politics? One of my favorite modern movies, V for Vendetta, has a quote in it: “Artists use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up.” This quote could not be more true. In small numbers, it is easy to establish the most qualified person to lead. However, when the population grows to large amounts, many people posses similar qualifications. The one with the best should be chosen, however, this is rarely the case due to politics. As a simple and recent example of this fact, take a look at our last president, George W. Bush and his competition, Al Gore. Keep in mind I am simply touching on qualifications, not policy.

George W. Bush has what I would classify as two major qualifications. First, he graduated from an Ivy League school, Yale University. Second, he served as the governor of Texas for a little less than six years. Compare this to the man he defeated during his first term, Al Gore. Gore graduated from Harvard University, also an Ivy League college. He served three terms in the House of Representatives, as well as 18 years as a Senator. He then served for 8 years as the vice president under Bill Clinton before running for president in 2000 against Bush.

By all standard measures, Gore was much more qualified to run the country then Bush. He served in two state-elected national positions, where as Bush only served as a state-elected governor. He also served as vice president for 8 years, which is as close to being president as possible without actually serving. His qualifications dwarf those of Bush, yet Bush won the election. In a logical and productive system, this would not happen.

How did someone with so much more experience lose the race (debates about this specific race aside)? Politics. Bush fought a political race and did so much better then Gore. He was able to convince the public that he was much better then reality would indicate. He managed to cover the truth by telling lies that portrayed, and furthermore convinced the public, that he was the more qualified person to lead the country.

These problems are not specific to this race alone. In the history of our country we have seen 43 different presidents. We have had great presidents; we have had terrible presidents; and everything in between. However, very few presidents have actually been the most qualified to run the country. Sadly, politics has played a major role in the development of our country since before the Constitution was even signed. It is just unavoidable with large amounts of people casting their votes.

In order for our country to remain a world power, increase influence abroad, provide stability inside and outside of our country, and become economically stable, we need to eliminate politics from our government. Leaders need to be elected based on qualifications alone, not the lies and propaganda they spread in order to gain power. But in a society where politics has become as commonplace as high gas prices, how can anyone expect a fair and productive election, let alone the removal of lies and deception from the political process?
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bkadoctaj · Aug 14, 2008

TruthfulDeceit said:

Thanks.

This is my follow up.
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Someone should write a book: Politics and Perspective.

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