What is government? Government is an institution which has the power to govern and see to it that the welfare of the people is guarded. What is politics? Politics is the science of seeking power to govern the people. There should be clear distinction between government and politics and that is the purpose of this article.
Only in a democracy does one need politics to govern. But it is also true that there is no perfect system in the world for government to function without politics. Even Plato’s contempt for democracy is justifiable. He said a republic would be better. But I would like to have a very spirited debate with him about that. For me, as long as man exists and man’s ultimate desire is to seek power to control other men; there will never be a perfect system. Government in essence works for the public interest. But it is people who manipulate the functioning of a government and corrupt it. A state cannot function without government and a government cannot function without people. In choosing the people for the task of managing the government is where we fail.
Politics is a social science which deals with the behavior of people and society. In a group, people are weak because they are easily swayed to the popular rhetoric. Individually, people are able to reason and analyze before they choose. This is why rallies and meetings in huge numbers are much more popular than one to one meetings. Politicians are skilled craftsman. Not everyone has the ability to move a crowd, so don’t be fooled when I say a crowd can be easily manipulated. One of the greatest orator and politician of the modern era was Hitler. Don’t get the wrong idea! I am not praising him as a human being; I am rather praising the politician. His words had the power to bring the world to its knees. And that is the mark of a true politician. Power is the ultimate high. People crave it, because they will attain control over how a country or state or even a city functions.
Therefore, it is not government that has failed, but the people who we have chosen to take care of us. One of our biggest mistakes is that we elect the politicians and tell them to do the things that they promised. But we rarely ever hold them accountable for their failures. We never question, as to why they have failed us. As long as we remain idle and let people who are not qualified, govern us; democracy and government will always fail.