Do Politicians Add Value?
There are several ways of dating public recognition in different countries of the utter uselessness of the western political class. The non-reaction to the financial crisis of 2008 is one. In Britain, the tragicomic self-harming episode of the Brexit negotiations was a key moment perhaps. In France the non-Presidency of François Hollande (2012-17) following the cheaply sordid reign of Sarkozy (2007-12). But in any event, no western political system was left standing after the catastrophic mishandling of the Covid crisis and of the crisis in Ukraine that followed. So it seems evident that we are governed by imbeciles, doesn’t it, and that those imbeciles have hollowed out and destroyed the capacity of the states that support them in office? Aurelian.
Our problems are solved
Every problem our society faces–from retirement, to inequality, housing and foreign relations–has been solved by at least one other society.
Japan figured out how to keep streets safe, China figured out how to make education everyone’s priority, Singapore how to be the healthiest.. Australia figured out how to be equitable but then abandoned it: today, only China still ties GDP to wages, yet its businesses thrive and employees own homes.
Do we need politicians?
Housing, safe streets, education, health, longevity, retirement.. there is no lack of workable, affordable solutions to our problems – but our problems fester. Why? Could elected politicians be the problem? For two thousand years, China’s society has thrived without without politicians and the effects are clear:
Reduced Partisanship
Stability and Continuity
Expertise and Meritocracy
Long-term Perspective
Reduced Corruption
Efficiency in Administration
Focus on Public Service
Enhanced Trust in Government
Better Use of Resources
Reduction in Political Patronage
China’s civil servants are always copying others’ best practices. In 2013, President Xi
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wanted dozens of government retirement programs to join a national, portable pension program. He sweetened his offer with a trillion dollars from the treasury but, when local officials still proved reluctant, People’s Daily appealed to national pride, “In developed countries like America, whose Gini index reaches .41, income disparities are eased through gradually increasing taxation on the wealthy and improving welfare systems to help the poor. China should learn from America’s experience.”
In fact, China had already been studying America’s Social Security program for decades and had even hosted Social Security officials at seminars. The civil service, in other words, was operating on best practices: adopting, implementing, and continuously refining processes and methods that get results.
First the monarchs, now the politicians
To compete with Chinese clean tech, Wood Mackenzie says the West must spend $6 trillion by 2050 – almost exactly what politicians have spent on wars since 9/11 – and adopt best practices throughout. The chances that elected politicians would commit to such a constructive, peacetime program are almost as remote as the chances they’ll pull it off.
Elected politicians do not operate on best practices and never have. So why not eliminate them, as we eliminated monarchs a century ago?
Experimental results are encouraging: Somalia and Iraq went without politicians for years with no ill effects. Iceland functioned smoothly in 2009 after its ‘Pots and Pans Revolution’. Northern Ireland and Germany in 2017. Spain in 2016. Belgium went 589 days without an elected government in in 2010-2011. Unprepared civil servants all ran their countries competently.
Western society has outgrown representative democracy. It’s time for goals, KPIs, metrics and deliverables. If we really wants to compete with China we have no choice but to dispense with elected politicians.
