At any given time in history it is relatively easy to find politicians who have fallen out of favor with the people they are charged with representing or leading.
In the United States congressional disapproval seems higher than ever.
Many people instinctively distrust politicians and many otherwise well qualified people are put off pursuing public service entirely once they observe what those who seek elected office must endure to win an election.
Given all of this can there be any good benefits to the study of politics? Since the essence of politics is the act of coming together in civil society to solve the problems in that society it seems that there certainly practical benefits to the study of this much maligned subject.
Cooperation:An important element of politics is the act of cooperation.
This can be difficult at times when the parties involved disagree on fundamental issues of principle.
But, there are some things that cannot be accomplished alone and we must work together to get them done.
How this cooperation gets organized is a central focus of politics.
Compromise: What makes politics so frustrating is the need for compromise.
But, when people differ on basic principles and ideals getting things done requires compromise.
Rather than look on this necessity as a flaw of politics we should look on it as an indication of our liberty.
Compromise is rarely needed in societies ruled by dictators since they can demand conformity and impose their will without consulting others.
The moment we bring other people into the process we introduce the need to compromise.
This is an indispensable feature of a free society.
Problem Solving: Of course, the goal of coming together to cooperate and compromise is to solve problems.
As a method of problem solving, politics seems impractical and inefficient.
But, again we must remember that with liberty comes the ability to disagree and this means that we cannot use the power of politics to impose our will on others.
As the Framers of our government recognized, our government is ultimately based on the consent of the governed.
The solutions we arrive at for our problems are also ultimately based on this same consent.
A truly informed electorate is necessary to make our political system work at its best and this includes a working knowledge of the system we have.
The direct benefits of this come from being better informed voters.
But, as with the other subjects we have examined there are also indirect benefits to the study of politics.
Our national politics is just a macrocosm of our daily lives where the same need to cooperate, compromise, and solve problems exists.
Recognizing this will benefit both realms of life and give us a greater appreciation for the importance of politics.