Agree or Disagree: Politics are the bane of humanity's existence?

[Anonymous]

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[nightdrot]

Disagree. As Aristotle pointed out, politics is about answering the questions - which he dubbed the first questions of politics - "How ought we to live? What kind of a people do we wish to be?"

Grant that on any given day and in any given moment in history it may not seem that way. However, even amidst the rancor and the noise of the moment, the reason for that noise is because people are debating what the good society ought to look like and to build a country that conduces to living a life of virture.

Americans were bathed in the philosophy of the Enlightenment and its radical individualism and notions of freedom. The Enlightenment philosophers believed that man, left to his own devices, is spontaneously rational and social.

It is that presumption of human virtue that often causes Americans to denigrate politics and to think it "the bane of humanity's existence." However, the paradox is that in societies where politics is, in effect, banned, all society becomes nothing but political. See also Communism in the USSR. Naziism in Germany. Fascism in Italy.

In these places - as in China, North Korea and Cuba today (to cite but three examples) - politics was and is forbidden. The state takes it upon itself to answer political questions and all other forms of political debate are banned. Thus there is no politics - and as little freedom. The irreducible reality being that politics and freedom are inextricably intertwined.

The more interesting aspect of this being that not only is the no politics in such places, there is as little human happiness. As Aristotle also noted, humans are political animals and however much they may not be conscious of it, it conduces to their happiness and sense of themselves.

To be sure, politics can sometimes be grating and it is not always practiced well. In an ideal world, politics would be a sober and serious debate minus all the vitriol and backbiting and occasional corruption. Such is life practiced among imperfect and - more importantly, imperfectible - beings.

Like so much else in life, the only thing worse than having too much politics or too much freedom or anything similar, is having too little. Thus, all man can do is to strive to practice politics as best he can and endure what he must of its inevitable flaws. Such is life among mere mortals.

[Aether1]

Like it or not congresses, parliaments make the world go around.

[kyleelyn199723]

Disagree