3 ms·
Rational behavior from a politician means doing whatever it takes to get yourself reelected. First, foremost, full stop. People who don't do this don't get ele
by philipov 5y ago
Rational behavior from a politician means doing whatever it takes to get yourself reelected. First, foremost, full stop.
People who don't do this don't get elected and are removed from the system. Whether their legislation is effective or not matters only as far as it will affect their chances of reelection.
- acidburnNSA 5y agoAh sure so you're commenting on the concept of elected leaders in general as a means of government as opposed to the higher-level actions people as a whole take to solve problems. Ok fair enough.
- philipov 5y agoNot elected leaders in general, just elected leaders in our specific ecosystem of incentives for those leaders. For them to be acting irrationally, it would be necessary to show that genuinely solving problems is what they're trying to do, but people who put that above the negotiations and compromises necessary to be reelected do not survive or get promoted to higher offices. If we want to change the outcomes, we need to change what it takes for someone to be elected. And that will not happen as long as people believe that anyone who disagrees with them or behaves suboptimally just isn't thinking rationally.