What do you think politics is about?

[SJC55]

People usually fall into two camps in what they think poltics is about:

1. Those who believe politics is about personal beliefs and choices.

2. Those who believe politics is about power and economics, the struggle between the haves and the have nots.

I believe that politics is about the latter, Number 2, and that politicians and other power brokers use Number 1 to divide and conquer.

[Goldstein1984]

1. I share your beliefs

Welcome

[Booster]

2. I would have to agree with you. I don't really think it was always

that way, but it sure is now. Welcome to DU.

[LWolf]

3. Me? #2.

Your theory about #1? Yes, it's one of the tools used to divide and conquer.

[QC]

4. There is a third camp, too: those for whom politics is a team sport,

and all that matters is whether their team wins.

[SJC55]

5. Yes, but those people..

...aren't usually very smart. ;)

[QC]

17. Yes, they are stupid, but loud and numerous. n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Welcome.

And I share your view.

[Laelth]

7. Allocation and distribution of resources. All the rest is show. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[RKP5637]

8. Yep, agree with you! n/t

[Selatius]

9. The most cynical definition I know:

Politics is the illusion created by the powerful to make the powerless think they have a choice. As long as people perceive they have a choice, they will largely accept the system, even if the choice were given between two nearly identical, restricted outcomes where all other outcomes are prohibited.

It is only when choice is taken away that the system is in danger of collapsing. Witness, for example, the massive rioting that erupted in Iran when their last election was so blatantly rigged that even the moderates and some conservatives who were supporters of the regime had to object. Now, the regime will have to spend enormous amounts of money and manpower to keep the population from rebelling again.

[SJC55]

11. Sounds exactly like what is happening...

...in the good ole US of A. :(

[agent46]

22. The classic American idea of choice!

Coke or Pepsi?

:evilgrin:

[Ozymanithrax]

10. Politics is the mechanism individuals use to organize themselves in groups.

Politics occurs in all groups, family, office, national, etc.

[yella_dawg]

12. Politics is one variety of circus in "Bread and Circuses".

Politics is one variety of circus in "Bread and Circuses".

A distraction. A farce. A pointless exercise to focus the attention of the populace.

[lunatica]

13. I think politics is about power. Getting it and keeping it.

It's about winning. About getting what you want. About having power over others, be it people or countries. It's about getting what you want at the expense of others.

[Hydra]

14. Everything boils down to economics

Wars, politics, modes of travel, thought processes, everything boils down to the money behind it.

regarding #1, as mentioned above, politics is about the illusion of choice. They tell us the acceptable(to them) choices and we are allowed to choose one.

[frazzled]

15. Politics and governing are two different things.

Politics is about winning and losing, and people do that mainly through appealing to people's beliefs.
Governing is about getting things done and running the country. In our case, it's a huge country with a lot of moving parts and a lot of different beliefs, and a lot of politicking that gets in the way of actual governing.

Politics is what you see on MSNBC and Fox. Governing is the boring stuff that nobody wants to pay attention to.

[NHLrocks]

16. its about making yourself look good at the expense of others

[LoZoccolo]

18. #2, informs my pragmatism.

I would say that the two things you list aren't completely distinct, because it often involves someone's beliefs about power and economics.

[Taitertots]

19. Politics is about manufactured consent

Getting people to consent to subjugation for the wealthy.

It is about manipulating people's beliefs and choices for the benefit of the Haves. Getting half the people to fight for red and half the people to fight for blue, when in the end they are doing it to get a purple government.

[Riftaxe]

20. Another vote for #2 here,

probably a reflection cynicism learned from life's lessons.

[defendandprotect]

21. They say: "Politics is the shadow cast over government by corporations" . . .

And I agree with #2 --

As I used to tell people when I was out campaigning for Democrats . . .

"Politics effects your life every moment of your life" --

so you'd better know what the hell is really going on!!

[applegrove]

23. I would agree it is about #2. But I don't agree the Democrats use

the "personal beliefs and choices" of people to divide and conquer. The GOP does but not the democrats. The democrats try to fulfill the beliefs of their base. As much as they can.

[Greyhound]

24. How old are you? Specificity is not required, but to believe that the Democratic Party

does not engage in this is pretty naive. There are endless examples of this since the nation began.

[applegrove]

26. They've delivered on health care, banking reform and the stimulus. These are all

real issues democrats had. They made the bills as strong as possible but that also could pass. My point is that democrats do what they say they are going to do...as much as is possible. They don't have a real agenda (less taxes on the wealthy) and a whole host of false agenda items (gays, god, abortion)that they don't deliver on but use in elections like the GOP does. I'm new to US politics it is true. I've been at this discussion forum since 2005. But the democrats are not a bullshit party like the GOP. They just are not. For sure obama is not to the far left of the party. But he didn't run as someone on the far left of the democrats. They are emphathetic to the bases needs and act on that. The republicans ignore the base's needs when they get power and do stuff for only rich people.

[Greyhound]

27. The accomplishments you list are highly debatable and not the point of the thread.

The Democratic Party, and by extension Democrats, has always used personal beliefs, prejudice, and fear of the "other" to garner power.

The attempts to "achieve the possible" serve as nothing more than than fig leaves for candidates to hide behind in their pursuit of holding and increasing power. The fact that the options that best serve the citizens of this country are disallowed from all discussion is proof of their intent.

"Ignore what they say, watch what they do".

[KonaKane]

25. Doing the business of The People

That's about the size of it.