Master Aleksandr Ruslanovich and Lady Morwenna Westerne :
Politics are the art or science of government or governing,
especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and
the administration and control of its internal and external affairs.
And they're only evil when the politicking becomes more important than
what is being politicked over.
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Mistress Caitlin Davies :
Master Justin du Coeur :
No, not all politics are evil; indeed, in a healthy and functioning
group (which I think we are), evil politics tend to be fairly uncommon.
Evil politics usually arise when a few things happen:
That's roughly the order that these things tend to take. It's why I
consider Great Council an important part of the health of Carolingia --
while it doesn't necessarily let everyone do what they want to do, it
*does* provide a common forum for communication, which tends to help.
It's also why I regard the heavy overlap between the many dozens of
interest groups in the Barony as vital: it makes it much more difficult
for things to break down into simple factions. So long as folks know
each other, and continue to talk reasonably, it's far less likely that
the atmosphere will get truly poisonous.
Lord Diego Mundoz :
Lady Emmanuelle de Chenonceaux :
Master Seamus Donn :
Mistress Gwendolyn of Middlemarch :
Lord Kali Harlansson of Gotland :
Seigneur Jehan du Lac :
Master John McGuire :
No, much of politics is benign or well intentioned. Unfortunately many are
not aware of how their good intentions can be and are interpretted
differently by others.
Shi Hua Fu and Lady Yelizaveta Medvedeva :
Definitely, not all politics are evil! Politics, good politics, is
talking things out in private, bringing your concerns to people who can
do something about them. Networking is politics. Politics is smoothing
the way for compromise. Politics is how we work things out.
"Politics" is basically the art of resolving differences between people.
It happens all the time, sometimes for strong reasons (genuine
differences of priorities), sometimes not (simple personal grudges).
It's a fact of life among humans.
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For the most part, I consider politics a tool, which can
be used for good or evil.
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Evil? No? Ubiquitous, certainly. "Politics" enter every arena of human interaction, and can be a focus for dicourse.
Wherever there are two or more opinions, there are politics. It is inevitable. Politics can be evil, like many things. But given its prevelence to the human
experience, I don't think you can say all politics are evil. People will always have different opinions. It is only through discussing them that things can be achieved without
problems. If that's politics, so be it.
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Politics is influencing or shaping policy. There are
many different kind of politics; it is a tool that can
be used in many different ways for different goals.
All politics are not evil.
"Politics" is talking about how to get things done; "evil politics" is
talking at the expense of getting things done, or non-constructively
criticizing how other people are getting things done. Not the same thing.
Don't let evil politics drive out good.
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well, if you believe Aristotle the polis is the great creation of
mankind, the whole point of civilization. At its best, politics is the
art of compromise and negotiation necessary to get things done in a
civil society. It has a bad rap because people associate it with
factionalism, favoritism, and an old-cronyism that preclude merit as
the basis of success. Certainly it can be that, but the skill it takes
to work with others who are very different from oneself in order to
accomplish a shared goal is also politics. There is not one effective
ruler in history who was not also good at politics. That said, I
believe in rewarding merit, in avoiding factions, in setting an
example that is free of favoritism or partiality. I do believe
strongly in principles, that there are lines that cannot be crossed no
matter what the political pressure (see the "pay for play"
question). However, ideologues are not usually helpful to building the
consensus necessary to getting things done for the common good, and I
generally avoid extremist positions.
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People working as individuals or a group to get their way within a political
system.
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Some politics are necessary in order to perform checks and balances
and make sure we're all still doing the right things. However, there
are some people who pursue politics simply for the sake of argument or
to see what can be stirred up. Those are aspects that we don't enjoy.
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