Why I Hate Politics.
Democratic decisionmaking is often based on inaccurate information.
March 13, 2009.
Like many Americans I have a love-hate relationship with politics. Political power with access to great sources of public wealth can change societies and build great things. It also be used to modify man's relationship with other men and the natural world to make our society a better place.
A Democratic Problem...
The problem is we live in a democracy. Democracies offer the public as a whole a voice in the political process, at least through lens of our laws and regulations. The problem is the public is rarely fully informed of the issues facing them as individuals. This is not the public's' fault per se, as information is often very costly to obtain. It often takes a lot of time for an individual to fully research the facts surrounding an issue. In some cases, facts may be obfuscated by the power of ideology.
Many people in our democracy do take a great deal of time trying to understand the facts of the issues facing our nation. Yet, even they are limited in their perspectives. Ideology, based on past experiences, hides reality even when people try hard to be objective. Most people only really have the time to become experts in a few subject matters, and suffer from gross misunderstandings of other important of topics.
...with Limited Information
So much of politics ultimately comes down to those few people that have limited information. Most people who are familiar with the issues have long made up their minds. Politics becomes the most simplistic of messages, often appealing the crudest nature of the human animal. That message already distorted by nature of historical institutions and structures that political decision making and message coming out, gets further distorted by the media.
... and Good People
While most politicians are truly caring individuals that work hard to make our world a better place, the political system we all live in is dehumanizing and raw. It does not allow for people to fully explain their public policy choices or character flaws, instead preferring 30-second sound bites and literature with three bullet points.
