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> I don't think a smart and good-intentioned person today goes into politics here. I don't think this is a localised phenomenon. PG mentioned in one of his ess

> I don't think a smart and good-intentioned person today goes into politics here. I don't think this is a localised phenomenon. PG mentioned in one of his essays that following the industrial revolution and the rise of modern-day capitalism, a lot of the driven individuals who would have gone into politics, now decide to go into business. Here in the UK, we had a lot of noise made about political reform this year after a fraught, tense election. Talking with friends about it though, we feel that nothing is likely to change until the type of politicians we have changes, and that seems unlikely to happen. All the people we think would make good politicians don't want to go into politics, and we end up with a situation where we just get career politicians who grow up with a particular way of thinking and a particular mindset regarding politics. All the clever, driven people are busy running startups. Who'd take politics over that?

Maro 16y ago
I'd think there a couple of smart guys at places like Harvard who go into politics. I went to a wealthy middle class neighbourhood High School in California and there were some very smart guys there (top of the class) who were planning to go to an Ivy League college and then go into politics.
- CWuestefeld 16y ago
  I don't doubt it, but being intelligent is only a part of it, maybe a small part. There are also leadership skills, communication, vision, and just plain luck with being the right person for the time. I don't think anyone will say that Pres. Obama is not brilliant. Many people might argue about his goals, but I don't think that anyone could argue in good faith that he has failed spectacularly at bringing about the change that he promised. (not to pick on Democrats alone; GOP politicians have obviously failed every bit as much, even though some of them have brilliant minds as well)
  - bd_at_rivenhill 16y ago
    The real problem is that you have to "play ball" with entrenched institutions, both public and private, in order to get anything done. Political parties exist to perpetuate their franchise and prevent outsiders from being elected on their own terms, and they are much more effective at executing this task than they are at governing well.
JabavuAdams 16y ago
> All the clever, driven people are busy running startups. No. Don't fall into the "my profession is smarter than everyone else trap". There are very many very smart people with something to contribute to governance who have no interest in running startups. I used to feel this way, and it's actually part of the problem. It makes it ok for techies to disengage, politically. We've had a case here in the Toronto mayoral election where I now wish that I'd done some organizing, instead of just voting. Voting is not enough when the issues really matter. Your opponents know this, and will use it against you. I would recommend following and getting involved in local politics. Yes, bureaucracy is frustrating, but you have to deal with that in business too. Not all companies are < 20 person shops. Don't disengage. Your opponents won't. UPDATE> We're used to hearing sermons on the importance of voting. The thing is -- your individual vote doesn't matter. What matters much more is how well you can organize others to vote in support of your goals.
- NickPollard 16y ago
  I did not say my profession is smarter than everyone else. I was merely using startups as a familiar example that was pitched towards the audience (of HN) as one of many things that people find more interesting than politics. Apologies if that was unclear. I'm sure there are a great many able-minded potential good politicians in many other sectors of business, as well as other areas like charity-work or the armed forces. The point is not 'which non-political area are they in', the point is 'they're in ANY non-political area'.
  - arethuza 16y ago
    You are right about "career politicians" though - I have immense respect for the older generations of conviction politicians, you might not agree with them but at least you knew that they were basing their policies on some fundamental personal beliefs. These days UK politics looks more like an extended and expensive reality TV contest where people say/do anything to get into and maintain power purely for the sake of it.
    - eru 16y ago
arethuza 16y ago
"All the clever, driven people are busy running startups." I know a few engineers, academic scientists, lawyers, medics and people in the armed forces who meet both of those criteria to a level at least equaled by any start-up founder I have ever met.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
krschultz 16y ago
I've worked at startups, currently founding my own, and some day I aspire to running for office. Luckily they don't overlap too much, you can't really be elected to federal offices in your 20s. Now will an engineer beat a lawyer? (because odds are, my future campaign will be against a lawyer), who knows.

Maro 16y ago

I'd think there a couple of smart guys at places like Harvard who go into politics. I went to a wealthy middle class neighbourhood High School in California and there were some very smart guys there (top of the class) who were planning to go to an Ivy League college and then go into politics.

CWuestefeld 16y ago
I don't doubt it, but being intelligent is only a part of it, maybe a small part. There are also leadership skills, communication, vision, and just plain luck with being the right person for the time. I don't think anyone will say that Pres. Obama is not brilliant. Many people might argue about his goals, but I don't think that anyone could argue in good faith that he has failed spectacularly at bringing about the change that he promised. (not to pick on Democrats alone; GOP politicians have obviously failed every bit as much, even though some of them have brilliant minds as well)
- bd_at_rivenhill 16y ago
  The real problem is that you have to "play ball" with entrenched institutions, both public and private, in order to get anything done. Political parties exist to perpetuate their franchise and prevent outsiders from being elected on their own terms, and they are much more effective at executing this task than they are at governing well.

JabavuAdams 16y ago

> All the clever, driven people are busy running startups. No. Don't fall into the "my profession is smarter than everyone else trap". There are very many very smart people with something to contribute to governance who have no interest in running startups. I used to feel this way, and it's actually part of the problem. It makes it ok for techies to disengage, politically. We've had a case here in the Toronto mayoral election where I now wish that I'd done some organizing, instead of just voting. Voting is not enough when the issues really matter. Your opponents know this, and will use it against you. I would recommend following and getting involved in local politics. Yes, bureaucracy is frustrating, but you have to deal with that in business too. Not all companies are < 20 person shops. Don't disengage. Your opponents won't. UPDATE> We're used to hearing sermons on the importance of voting. The thing is -- your individual vote doesn't matter. What matters much more is how well you can organize others to vote in support of your goals.

NickPollard 16y ago
I did not say my profession is smarter than everyone else. I was merely using startups as a familiar example that was pitched towards the audience (of HN) as one of many things that people find more interesting than politics. Apologies if that was unclear. I'm sure there are a great many able-minded potential good politicians in many other sectors of business, as well as other areas like charity-work or the armed forces. The point is not 'which non-political area are they in', the point is 'they're in ANY non-political area'.
- arethuza 16y ago
  You are right about "career politicians" though - I have immense respect for the older generations of conviction politicians, you might not agree with them but at least you knew that they were basing their policies on some fundamental personal beliefs. These days UK politics looks more like an extended and expensive reality TV contest where people say/do anything to get into and maintain power purely for the sake of it.
  - eru 16y ago

arethuza 16y ago

"All the clever, driven people are busy running startups." I know a few engineers, academic scientists, lawyers, medics and people in the armed forces who meet both of those criteria to a level at least equaled by any start-up founder I have ever met.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

krschultz 16y ago

I've worked at startups, currently founding my own, and some day I aspire to running for office. Luckily they don't overlap too much, you can't really be elected to federal offices in your 20s. Now will an engineer beat a lawyer? (because odds are, my future campaign will be against a lawyer), who knows.