What is your image of politics as a whole?

[EinzingerIsGod]

This was an introductory exercise we did in my politcs class. It's a simple question, but it can be hard to answer. What is your image of politics?

I'll condense my answer for the purpose of time. I think politics has the potential to do so much good worldwide. But often times it's used by polititians for personal gain. This isn't even to say that the majority of polititians are corrupt, but when they are given the powers they posses, corruption hits harder than the corrupt actions of those with less influence on people's everyday life.

[John Paul Harrison]

Just another white-collar job.

[Trojan Kahn]

politics is for old people~

[Schyma]

Used to be very good until I got thrown on the ground then ran away while my friend got the **** beat out of him. :angry:

Long story....

[loathed]

Honestly...

i couldnt give a ****...

no, really...

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

politics is a useful source of stability for a volatile species

revolution leads to revolution and the more revolutions you have the higher the chance of violence

whatever your politics somebody loses out. despite smokescreens of "fairness" from both the left and the right anyone with a political opinion is fundamentally selfish, ME INCLUDED

[A Spoonful Supreme]

without politics the world would erupt into chaos

[MyShrimpDied]

Disgust

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

i dont know

[PerpetualBurn]

Somewhere between page 3 of a seedy tabloid and the Private Eye.

[The Jester]

without politics the world would erupt into chaos

without politics the world would probably be living in peace.

[Volume8]

without politics the world would probably be living in peace.

"Im political because i don't like politics"

What you have said there is complete and utter bullshlt, Like most creatures human beings have adapted to their resulting situations and surroundings and over the centuries have evolved along with society, Human beings require structure much like any other creature as otherwise the world would descend into chaos.

If you go all the way back to the bronze age, Society was not as evolved but the structure within villiages remained the same, A cheif who organises the workers and lays down the laws. Granted due to the vast overpopulation of the globe and grosse expance of industries our world has become a lot more complicated but the few simple rules remain the same.
Civilisation is constantly undergoing changes and certainly in the western world during the past 30 or so years the structures and rules of the past have changed dramatically, Now more than ever people an live in a certain degree of equality, Yet changes do not come without their problems and as always when the structure of any given society becomes unstable the people residing within lash out, hence the immergence of growing hate crimes towards immigrants, the appearance of more right winged government parties e.t.c.

We require politics of some description to ensure the existance of stability and social evolution, And im not just talking about politicians, but radicals and people fighting for their own personal ideology, all these factors play a big part but change cannot be instaneous and without structure.

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

without politics the world would probably be living in peace.
without politics there probably wouldn't be many people left alive to enjoy it.

[Smokey D]

Politics is the history of two great forces -- the conflicts between our purposes and our endeavours to co-operate to pursue these more effectively.

[LittlePound]

politics are a waste of time.
Instead of just getting the job done, and doing it right, politics waste time and delay anything getting done until it doesn't need to be done anymore....

[John Paul Harrison]

politics are a waste of time.
Instead of just getting the job done, and doing it right, politics waste time and delay anything getting done until it doesn't need to be done anymore....

Is it always obvious what the right thing to do is? I think not.

[sexymuffin]

politics is just a part of our society that we need to help us with certain things and we need to stay out of our bussiness for other things. What we need and don't need from our government is where all the debate comes from.

[Eliminator]

Is it always obvious what the right thing to do is? I think not.

It is when God is on your side. :mad:

[The Jester]

without politics there probably wouldn't be many people left alive to enjoy it.

maybe, but those people would probably be very happy.

[A Spoonful Supreme]

without politics the world would probably be living in peace.
haha ur a fking idiot then u cant trust human nature politics is like padding

[croniun]

Something that's good and necessary in and of itself but something that has become more of a necessary wasteland.

[Samuel]

politics are a waste of time.
Instead of just getting the job done, and doing it right, politics waste time and delay anything getting done until it doesn't need to be done anymore....
Yet another LP post that made my day.

[John Paul Harrison]

It is when God is on your side. :mad:

Maybe you can help out a Jew. Where did Jesus stand on campaign finance reform?

[LittlePound]

when did Jesus say that we should have campaigns.....He mainly said things like "blessed are the weak" and "blessed are the poor". Most people who run in campaigns don't appear to weak or poor. So Jesus would probably tell them, like he did the rich young ruler, to sell all that they have and follow him.

[Reaganista]

dammit jesus told you people to render unto caesar what is caesar's
and you are not of this world and all that
stop running in elections

[LittlePound]

yeah, becuase by "render unto ceaser what is ceasers" obviously tells christians that they shouldn't run in elections. Right....I was under the impression that him saying that had something to do with the Jews paying taxes to Rome...but i guess i could be wrong.

[Reaganista]

it means you shouldn't challenge authority

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

maybe, but those people would be very happy.

Ok so basically you're saying that mass death would be ok for a few people to be happier (even though i doubt they would anyway, if they knew the price of their happiness)

or is this another thing you can't expand on because we're too stupid or something

[The Jester]

Ok so basically you're saying that mass death would be ok for a few people to be happier (even though i doubt they would anyway, if they knew the price of their happiness)


Nope, not at all. You're the one with the theory that without politics there would be nobody left alive, so the burden is on you.

[John Paul Harrison]

.

I didn't imply that Jesus dictated whether or not his followers could run for office. I was trying to point out that we can't directly translate the Bible into law.

Jesus preached love and mercy toward all, and morally speaking that's sensible. But how can you incorporate that into the federal budget? Do you show mercy toward the poor by putting them on welfare, or raising the minimum wage?

I think Christianity works on a personal level, but gets tarnished when tied up in political bickering.

[The Jester]

haha ur a fking idiot then u cant trust human nature politics is like padding

if you could 1) spell and 2) use proper grammar the point of your insult might actually be conveyed more fluently.

[HipHopDontStop]

If you beleive that the "right thing to do" is dictated by one's religous belief and not one's feeling of morality/moral obligation or conforming/not conforming to the norms and values of one's society then you must agree with the terrorist acts done in the name of Islam, and not with the American anti-terrorist action (and I don't mean the logistics of this, i.e invading Iraq etc, I mean the fundamental ideal of freedom and democracy etc)

edit: adressed to Eliminator "when God is on your side"

[Chrysostom]

I can't shake the image of politics as a shady, corrupt line of work in which there are no longer any statesmen, just greedy, self-serving bastards who'll say anything to anyone to get what they want. It's totally about personal gain, not the prosperity of the country.

[slack]

What is your image of politics?A necessary evil.

I don't have a lot of faith in elected officials, and I feel like something needs to change, but I don't know what exactly.

/pointless

[Amit]

Is it always obvious what the right thing to do is? I think not.

it is when you got the 100% accurate A+++ strategy guide (the holey bibel)

[John Paul Harrison]

And the Lord sayeth unto thee,

Establish thy tariffs and deregulate environmental standard, so thou shalt stimulate thy's own market may prosper.

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

Nope, not at all. You're the one with the theory that without politics there would be nobody left alive, so the burden is on you.

I said the people would die

you said sure maybe BUT they'd be happy

this implies to me that you think it's ok



if you'd said "NO, they wouldn't die"

maybe we'd have a discussion

[LittlePound]

I didn't imply that Jesus dictated whether or not his followers could run for office. I was trying to point out that we can't directly translate the Bible into law.

Jesus preached love and mercy toward all, and morally speaking that's sensible. But how can you incorporate that into the federal budget? Do you show mercy toward the poor by putting them on welfare, or raising the minimum wage?

I think Christianity works on a personal level, but gets tarnished when tied up in political bickering.
that is why in the ideal/perfect world, there wouldn't be politics.

[griftadan]

its useful when you're trying to screw people over.

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

that is why in the ideal/perfect world, there wouldn't be religion.

when two things conflict it's all very well saying we'd be better off without the one we've dedicated our life to, but it doesn't mean a lot...

[The Jester]

without politics there probably wouldn't be many people left alive to enjoy it.

^^ this is what you said. A completely ambiguous statement. Why would there not be many people left alive?

I said, maybe, but they'd probably be very happy. Notice the use of the word 'maybe'... in this context I am implying 'Wtf are you talking about'? So sure, whatever, I'm sure they'd probably be very happy. Notice the word 'probably' here, implying an uncertain possibility.

Maybe if you stop making assumptions and state your position with clarity we might have a useful discussion.

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

the 100% accurate A+++ strategy guide (the holey bibel)ahahaha 123

[LittlePound]

when two things conflict it's all very well saying we'd be better off without the one we've dedicated our life to, but it doesn't mean a lot...
Even in your misquote of me, changing politicis to religion, you would stand correct. In the ideal/perfect world, there would be no such thing as religion. There would be humans worshipping God and it would their Lifestyle. The only reason we have "religion" is becuase we now have several different ways to worship several different deities and we needed a word that catagorized them all together.

[PerpetualBurn]

In the ideal/perfect world, there would be no such thing as religion. There would be humans worshipping God and it would their Lifestyle.

These two statements contradict each other entirely.

[LittlePound]

no they don't, apparently you skipped over the explanation for that. Try reading it again.

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

^^ this is what you said. A completely ambiguous statement. Why would there not be many people left alive?

I said, maybe, but they'd probably be very happy. Notice the use of the word 'maybe'... in this context I am implying 'Wtf are you talking about'? So sure, whatever, I'm sure they'd probably be very happy. Notice the word 'probably' here, implying an uncertain possibility.

Maybe if you stop making assumptions and state your position with clarity we might have a useful discussion.

ok then


If politics instantaneously disappeared many millions of people would starve to death, many millions killed by murderes, looters, etc.

politics is the foundation upon which our sustainable society is built

justice is a part of politics

a world without politics is anarchy

are you an anarchist?

[PerpetualBurn]

no they don't, apparently you skipped over the explanation for that. Try reading it againWorshipping and believing in Christianity is religious.

You don't want religion.

But you want Christianity.

You're a complete idiot.

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

Even in your misquote of me, changing politicis to religion, you would stand correct.

OH REALLY?


because that REALLY WASN'T MY POINT OR ANYTHING




I changed it to point out that the two sides of the argument were equal and interchangeable. Like being pro or anti scub.

[Amit]

^^ this is what you said. A completely ambiguous statement. Why would there not be many people left alive?

lolol

jester is funny

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

lolol

jester is funny

"Fitting" just doesn't do itself justice as the opposite of "irony".

[Against Miik!]

At this point in time, nothing is more important than politics. Everything, from the economy to the environment to the wars is a political issue. How some people can be so apathetic towards just about everything really scares me.

That being said, just about all politicians are corrupt. Its not me being a conspiracy theorist or complaining. I'm just saying, every politician, with the exception of Ross Perot, will not to what is good for the people, but rather those with the money.

[Smokey D]

Politics is any system or arrangement by which power relationships are organised. It can never disappear, nor be a morally good or bad thing. It simply is.

How people conduct politics, on the other hand, is can be reasonably good or very bad.

[The Jester]

politics is the foundation upon which our sustainable society is built


Aren't politics the struggle of conflict as you put it? How can a society be sustained on a foundation of conflicts?


justice is a part of politics


And what would justice be? What is justice to one may not be justice to another.

[Smokey D]

One of the roles of politics is to determine what is acceptable as justice.

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

Aren't politics the struggle of conflict as you put it? How can a society be sustained on a foundation of conflicts?

Take a look at the world and find out, because it is

democracy, for example, needs a conflict between politicians



And what would justice be? What is justice to one may not be justice to another.

the concept of justice (of enforced karma) is not subjective; merely the specifics

[Amit]

you will be hard pressed to find a surviving religion that does not say anything about crime, punishment, and judgement

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

No dude, I don't think the deaths of millions of people is funny, but I think politics doesn't make the world a better place either.

So enforce your karma on me all you want, I think politics are a necessary evil.

contradiction?

If it makes the world a worse place it's clearly not neccessary

I believe I'm arguing that it does make the world a better place, on average


the enforced karma comment was simply me making it clear what i meant by justice

[The Jester]

What would the world be without politics?

That was a rhetorical question. Bye bye.

[The Jester]

I guess socratic irony doesn't work very well on teh internets.

Or people have serious reading comprehension problems.

[Amit]

no you are clearly too smart and ingenius for us

[The Jester]

no you are clearly too smart and ingenius for us


lol

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

OK the jester you turn internet debate into personal debate so unless you actually have a point (oh i forget your points are more than we can handle so you don't need to post them to win arguments) then i don't know why you're still posting

[spitfirejunky]

no they don't, apparently you skipped over the explanation for that. Try reading it again.

A religion by definition is the reverence of a supernatural being (God). So yeah, they do.

[Volumnius Flush]

Politics is the perfect arena for philanthropists, people who like helping those less fortunate, enforcing the law and keeping the streets safe, and for those who have a genuine dedication to the furtherment of the human condition.

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

Politics is the perfect arena for philanthropists, people who like helping those less fortunate, enforcing the law and keeping the streets safe, and for those who have a genuine dedication to the furtherment of the human condition.

Nah, those are scientists.

[Reaganista]

lol