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A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. This includes people who hold decision making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'etat, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest, right of inheritance (see also: divine right), or other means.
Definitions Who is considered a politician (broadest sense)? Who is not considered a politician? Examples Common offices for politicians include: A person running for any of these offices in an election (a candidate) is also often described as a politician. The term "career politician" is sometimes used to describe an individual who has not held positions unrelated to politics, as opposed to a businessman who is later elected to office. Criticism Although politics has historically been considered an honorable profession, many people today, even in democratic countries, have a poor opinion of politicians as a class. They are sometimes seen as unscrupulous, willing to say anything to get elected even if it is not in keeping with their principles or intentions. They may also be suspected of using government assets or privileges for their own interests, rather than the interests of the people. Indeed, incidents of political corruption are not uncommon. In many countries, such as the United States of America, politicians have long been composed of people who are either themselves wealthy, or dependent on the upper classes for election. In many democratic industrial countries, the wealthy and well-educated have higher voter turn outs and more money to spend on campaign donations and public relations, whereas the poor, who often believe they cannot affect change, are under-represented in voter turn outs. This effect is generally isolated to countries that do not have compulsory voting. Recently in the United States, lobbyists, and employees of organizations who spend time lobbying have come under criticism. Current lobbying laws are under reform, mainly because of a large number of soft money donations to politicians. Even with these lobbying laws in place, corruption can still take place. The image of the politician receiving free meals, movie tickets, airplane rides while giving breaks to the businesses who provide these things is one common to the American people. Another major criticism of politicians, and politics on the whole, is the perceived failure of most politicians to understand economics. Political positions have no educational requirement—and many politicians have little, if any, formal training in business. Yet politicians have responsibility over making managerial decisions that require a solid understanding of economics, finance, and public administration. Many of the practices of the United States national government that have been criticized - such as carrying a large national debt, funding wars on borrowed money, failure to tax consumption of scarce goods, poor execution of environmental regulations, and the redistribution of wealth to support failing industrial sectors, are the result of either financial mismanagement or politics trumping economics. Many politicians seem to ignore long term national economic health in order to provide constituent service, or pursue a politically attractive goal. One example is that many politicians in the United States can be seen making speeches in which they appear to believe practices such as price fixing can lead to economic growth, demonstrating a lack of understanding in the basic economic principle of price. Politicians can also be criticized for becoming "career politicians." A politician who makes politics the source of their income, yet has to face re-election every few years is less likely to make bold decisions or side with an unpopular bill. This fear of "rocking the boat" leads to a stagnant political climate, in which it becomes hard to address injustices and create change. Another source of possible corruption is gerrymandering to redraw district lines to favor incumbent politicians. A party in power can often secure the positions of incumbent party members by redrawing electoral districts to comprise voters more likely to reelect the incumbent politician, effectively negating opposition. See also | ||||||||
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