From a forum I post on:

Should politicians adhere to higher morals than the average citizen? Why?

As to your previous post, I did not articulate my thoughts on this topic as I thought they could be deduced from reading the first link I posted. This is a difficult subject to dive into and it really begs the question: what are the roles of government, and how should a people accomplish those roles?

Most people would agree that government’s fundamental role is to protect the people and to administer justice, to become a “living god” – but in what way? Most people would say that government should behave in a sober, indifferent, wise way – such traits seem to lead to harmony and wellbeing in a principality. How should these behaviors be delivered? A democracy or republic seems to be the ideal.

Democracy is flawed because it requires that the people voting are virtuous. A people without virtue and wisdom deliver faulty judgments. It is unrealistic to expect the masses to behave in a sound, wise, informed way – but we can expect certain individuals to behave in a virtuous way. This logic lead to the formation of republics, government in which the people are represented by individuals who value civic virtue and duty above all things.

The unfortunate consequence of republics is that a disconnect between civic life and private life is formed – and the people no longer tend to be concerned with exercising a civic body. The representatives become more mediocre as time passes and find themselves prone to pander to the increasingly distant masses. It is the responsibility of education to ensure that the people remain active and passionately involved in the political process and that the ideals of the republic are perennially renewed in the hearts and minds of the people. A “career” in politics should become as desirable to people as is buying iPhones so that the statesmen in office remain faithful to the needs of the public. This inclination has to be born out of a proper education, something which is surely lacking in the upbringing of most children. Politics should not be a matter of dynasty, it should be a ever-renewing wellspring of virtue.

Looking around today it is clear to see that our republic is in collapse as the “good” of politics has turned from selfless duty in serving the public trust to self-advancement and self-indulgence. Our representatives have degenerated from virtuous philosophers to smirking, condescending, mall culture sophists, sycophants, cowards and demagogues who openly ignore the rule of law and commonly use “bread and circuses” to dazzle and seduce an increasingly bovine and depraved public. The people have become so ignorant, intellectually stagnant and so weak-willed that they allow their rights to be fleeced, do not concern themselves with the operations of state and seem obsessed chiefly with buying things or enfeebling themselves with drugs to distract themselves from their own self-created misery.

The solution is fundamental reforms in education and a public outcry to deliver justice upon traitors who violate the rule of law.