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Comment by kobayashi | Hacker News Reader

Having worked in federal politics, I can confirm that the notion that "democracy is fundamentally broken" is something far more frequently heard from those who have little-to-no experience in politics, than those who have seen the good and bad of politics' inner workings. In fact, I've never heard it from somebody who works in politics, and those are some of the most jaded people I've ever come across.

IMHO, democracy is definitely not broken, and it's biggest threat stems from those who peddle in FUD relating to government & democracy. Essentially, things aren't as bad as most would like you to believe, and individuals getting involved in politics are the ones with the biggest influence in politics. It's far more accessible than many would have you believe, especially because politics runs on the hard work of young people, who then become insiders, write policy, and affect change.

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Well, it makes sense that successful people working in a legal field would not think that field is broken - otherwise how would they rationalise dedicating their life to it?

I'd expect cosmetic plastic surgeons, patent lawyers, payday loan providers, NSA employees, beauty magazine writers, oil company execs, planned parenthood employees, NRA employees, parking wardens and censorship software writers to believe their work had a genuine positive impact on society too.

The question of whether a field is broken (not working how people would like it to work) is different from the question of whether it's valuable.

There's a question of whether lawyers are a net good for society, and I would expect a lawyer to think 'yes' whether or not that's true. But there's also a question of, how much of a lawyer's job involves being friendly with the judge?

I'd expect a lawyer to know the true answer to that, independently of whether or not [she thinks] lawyers are a net good.

(At least, I'd trust the lawyer more than I'd trust a randomer.)

> But there's also a question of, how much of a lawyer's job involves being friendly with the judge?

> I'd expect a lawyer to know the true answer to that, independently of whether or not [she thinks] lawyers are a net good.

A lot depends on your relationship with that lawyer. If they're your brother or wife, or your long-time friend, then you'd probably get the true answer. If they're just a colleague, you'd probably get the official answer.

Well said.

People working in politics, in my experience, usually understand the strengths and weaknesses of democracy quite well. If they don't, and just have an idealistic view of a utopian version of democracy, then they're likely to fail and quickly get pushed out.

So, is the politicking of democracy perfect? No. But the view that democracy is fundamentally broken misses the good aspects that it can and does provide, and seems like naive radicalism.

There are two issues I still have with this.

1. Obviously, people working in politics believe in it as a vehicle of change, by means of self-selection. A person who doesn't believe in politics will go somewhere else.

2. I wonder just how much real influence can an individual have, especially as they gain more power. Power is gained through deals and friendships, and the more you entangle yourself in the exchange of favours, the more autonomy you lose. I theorize that the people at the top positions are mostly just puppets with no real power and autonomy - because a person that looks uncontrollable will not be allowed by their party to reach higher positions.

1: And it's a shame when people don't "believe in politics", because if one isn't a lunatic, then that individual, if involved, can and will make a difference. There's a saying that's especially true in politics - half the battle is just showing up. Well, it's commonly known that if one wants to be influential, it starts with staying later than the other people and stacking chairs, stuffing envelopes, and knocking on doors. Now, that's not sufficient to obtain success, but it is necessary. However, when we tell people that they can't make a difference because they don't have money, we're lying to citizens and suppressing their democratic influence. Can we criticize aspects of democracy? Absolutely. Should we say it's fundamentally broken? Absolutely not.

2: That's theorizing without experience or evidence.

What's that quote? ~"it's impossible to get a man to understand something when his income depends on not understanding it."

That seems like an aphorism, but it's just overly simplistic and naive. People in politics depend upon understanding the system. If they don't they then quickly get forced out of influential circles.

Perhaps you have never heard this from people who works in politics precisely because they are part of the cozy system they are in and being fed from it.

Perhaps, but like I said, they're extremely jaded people. Nobody in politics has a rose-colored view of democracy, thinking it's a perfect form of governance. But at the same time, you can see the value it has and you can actually see change occur. Democracy isn't broken because getting involved actually has a tremendous affect on the inner workings of politics. Telling people democracy is broken actually works to break it, because people stay home and don't get involved, which is the lifeblood of democracy.

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