Training in politics

[docorion]

I know quite a few of my friends eschew politics. Some just aren't interested; others feel the whole field is somehow "dirty" or "tainted" because scandals in politics get a lot of press, and are often frankly sordid

Comments

[randysmith]

Huh. Neat. My primary reaction is "Go you!" (I consider politics well worth doing, and a necessary not-horribly evil until and unless we figure out the "Who's the right benevolent dictator?" question). But I'll also give voice to my secondary reaction below (not you specific--I'd reference this to any friend of mine going into politics, and try hard to keep it in mind myself if I did).

Have you read the economist article summarizing recent research as to the effects of power on people's psychology? If you're a subscriber, it's here:

http://www.economist.com/science-technology/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15328544

The quick summary is that the more powerful you feel, the less morally you act (tested by randomizing homogeneous groups of people into two sub-groups, and priming each subgroup in the way the experimenters wanted). The framing of the experimenters was that there was a feeling of "the rules don't apply to me" that rose and shrank with perception of power or powerlessness (it was negative in the powerless position--the rules were applied more harshly to oneself than to others). I found this fascinating fodder for self-musing (there are ways in which I can see those patterns in myself, and ways in which they don't (based on my biased view) quite seem to apply) as well as for understanding people dynamics in many situations. Anyway, something I'd like all (proto-) politicians to be aware of :-}.