Who is better suited to rule a country? Who is better for the country? And are the choices oppositional?
What a heavy way to start the day, but I think it’s worth asking? What are the options? In my opinion, Military class would head the list in much of recent Asian history. Europe and the Middle East I think fall under the heading of Monarchy until recently. What world powers can you name which have been ruled by the Peasant Class?
What other classes would be suitable for ruling? Merchant Class is that bulge in the middle comprised of those who operate businesses. They are neither peasant nor aristocracy and include professionals. Most of us fall into the peasant class.
In my opinion, the Military as a ruling class is a dead iguana rotting in the weeds . Useless in today’s world, the only thing they bring is war. We need a strong military and leaders at the top. A few good generals are enough to run a strong military. We do not need them involved in running our government.
Aristocracy, huh, today we have to count musicans, actors and athletes as the aristocracy in the U.S. That is based on the amount of press and cash given to them for no apparent reason other than adulation. Try this one on for size– adulation ad·u·late [aj-uh-leyt] to show excessive admiration or devotion to; flatter or admire servilely. I could go on with defition of servilely, it does not reflect admirably toward the adulator. One state elected an actor. There may be second thoughts as to the sanity of that move. TV people would like to include themselves in the adulated crowd but most are held in contempt these days. Placing anyone in the adulated class asks for ruin.
The Merchant Class are a group of individuals ranging from the local store owner to doctors and lawyers and such. I am not sure but my suspicion is that many of the presidents were lawyers at some point. That is a hunch and not founded in any fact. But do lawyers make good presidents? Do good merchants make good presidents. There are valid arguments for/against both.
I think my discussions with my son, that majored in history in college, centered around the belief that service to government was a sacrifice made by people from the states. Not meant to be a career but a representation of the state in which they lived.
Which brings another point, representing the state in which you live– carpetbagger was the term for northerners that moved to financially and politically rape the South after the war. Abolitionist was the name for those who moved from the NorthEast to Kansas to help make Kansas a free state. What is the name for a politician that moves to a state to run for election?
The question was raised in the debate last night. Who is better able to lead a country a military man or a merchant? The qualifications of the supposed military man is for another rant.
I think the bigger question is why do we need a political class?
