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As a cynical and slacker-esque GenXer, my take is that capable people, people with drive and resources, choose instead to follow all the broadening paths to wea
by nytesky 2y ago
As a cynical and slacker-esque GenXer, my take is that capable people, people with drive and resources, choose instead to follow all the broadening paths to wealth (and by extension power) rather than pursue politics.
Before the dot.com, the ways to relatively rapid wealth were mostly, finance, law, and maybe medicine (and that was less rapid) — starting a company and acquiring capital was much more limited. Going into politics was actually a decent option if you were smart but a little less connected to get into finance and didn’t want debt of law/med school.
Additionally, with the rise of the internet, being political which requires a lot more public speaking than most other careers, offers way more chance for missteps and life altering embarrassments.
To summarize: GenX basically said “talk to the hand” to politics.
- rurp 2y agoI don't know, I'm skeptical that a politics career is less dependent on connections than finance. Not that finance isn't, but a huge portion of successful politicians come from well connected families. The money needed to run even a lower level campaign is far more than most average folks have a way to access. Things might have even gone the other way and gotten slightly more accessible over the past couple decades. The internet has given a platform to many people to build a brand on, and made it easier to collect small dollar donations.