Between the post and the comments we have a slippage from :
a) the human tendency to sort ourselves into ‘us’ vs ‘them’, presumably for reasons which had selective advantage (group solidarity and heightened stimulation levels)
b) our capacity to keep the positive aspects of a diluted form of this tendency, without having to pay the price of all out warfare, by choosing (deservedly highly paid) sports teams to be our ‘champions’ (in the sense of the word where a ‘champion’ was designated to represent a warring group in single combat) in facing ‘them’
c) the transfer of this ‘champion’ role from sports teams to elected politicians, typified by the Blues & the Greens
d) the confusion between the ‘champion’ role and the ‘delegate’ role, to which I could add the ‘mandated’ role, in our actual political systems.
e) then all the usual mutterings about politicians.
OK so we’re tribal, and IMO we’re confused in what we want from our politicians. So what ? Where do we go from here ?
Eliezer suggests a further development in the theory of democratic government, that of considering our elected representatives as ‘employees’. I disagree. The role of employer supposes an autonomously chosen set of strategies which it is imposed on the employee to execute. How do you get to set the strategic agenda without first being a politician (or, better, a politician’s ‘éminence grise’. Or spouse) ?
Between the post and the comments we have a slippage from : a) the human tendency to sort ourselves into ‘us’ vs ‘them’, presumably for reasons which had selective advantage (group solidarity and heightened stimulation levels) b) our capacity to keep the positive aspects of a diluted form of this tendency, without having to pay the price of all out warfare, by choosing (deservedly highly paid) sports teams to be our ‘champions’ (in the sense of the word where a ‘champion’ was designated to represent a warring group in single combat) in facing ‘them’ c) the transfer of this ‘champion’ role from sports teams to elected politicians, typified by the Blues & the Greens d) the confusion between the ‘champion’ role and the ‘delegate’ role, to which I could add the ‘mandated’ role, in our actual political systems. e) then all the usual mutterings about politicians.
OK so we’re tribal, and IMO we’re confused in what we want from our politicians. So what ? Where do we go from here ?
Eliezer suggests a further development in the theory of democratic government, that of considering our elected representatives as ‘employees’. I disagree. The role of employer supposes an autonomously chosen set of strategies which it is imposed on the employee to execute. How do you get to set the strategic agenda without first being a politician (or, better, a politician’s ‘éminence grise’. Or spouse) ?