"Buddy, I often ask, where are all the statesmen? We only have politicians now."
It could just be that because we are more focused upon the present, we forget the high levels of greed, corruption and incompetance that existed all through history, I guess....
Or, it may be that things move in phases, cycles... and we truly *are* in a bad patch now, even worse then the average.
(It's hard for me to make my mind up over the question of 'are our politics WORSE now than the average'... but I DO BELIEVE that the modern era --- characterized by the rise to dominance of the 'two Party' system in the 20th. Century --- has brought about some fundimental and long-lived changes that we did not suffer from before.)
It is natural for two dominant Parties to act like an oligopoly, and manipulate the political rules jointly so as to raise high barriers to entry, a high 'ring fence' around their protected political turfs, to keep competition from new political Parties, new political ideas, out of the system.
This is just as natural a development as it was for the trade guilds (forerunners of today's trade unions) in medieval times to enact rules and regulations around their operations and their memberships to keep competition out and prices high. Most 'professional' organizations (doctors, lawyers, etc., etc.) function in the same manner, one of their primary reasons for being is the protection and enhancement of the profit-making potential of membership in the organization. |
