How to become a politician?

[varkolaka122]

Hi Forum,

I have finished the life purpose course and I found out that I want to enter politics in some manner. I don't have a strategy yet and asking you people is a great first step

I am a Bulgarian who finished pharmacy in Germany and I don't like working a pharmacy store. I wanted to ask some uestions to gather ideas and start making a plan

1. Should I enter local, national, or supranational politics(European Union, Pharmacists without borthers, WHO etc)?

2. Is it better to stay in Germany or go back to Bulgaria? Where can I create more change?

3. Is entering a party a good idea or a non-profit organization?

4. Is direct action_Extinction Rebellion, Deep Ecological Resistance, PETA etc the most authentic way to participate in society?

5. Should one do a mix of pairlamantary politics and non pairlamentary politics?

6. Is it best to work and save money for 3 to 4 years and then start?

7. What is the best way to build patience, because change comes after 10 to 15 years and it can be devastating waiting for so long?

8. What are good books, youtubechannels, journals and lectures on the topic? Podcast are very helpful too.

9. Are strategy games like Democracy, Realpolitics, Anno 1800 helpful to play?

10. Is it a good idea to work earn well and donate to causes I support?

I hope we start a lively discussion. If you too have aspirations to act politically please do write and if you also have additional questions write them down that would be helpful for the rest of the forum.

Happy new year!

 

[trenton]

I do have some aspirations to act politically, but I ran into some problems.  I am from the United States, so it is difficult for me to say what you should do in Germany or Bulgaria because the college systems in those countries might be different.

There were several reasons why I was interested in politics.  The first was the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number.  I felt that in order to detect the greatest good for the greatest number, I would have to observe my own corruption constantly.  This would help to build me into the best person I could be, making me more effective at finding the best course of action for a country.

The second reason is because I think the truth reduces suffering.  If I become a corrupt politician, I could mislead many people and contribute to the confusion of mankind.  One thing I observed about myself is that I am never actually happy when I am being ideological about anything.  There could be some truth to what I am saying, but I could hurt myself and others if I turn an educational perspective into a universal prescription.  Some people will react badly.  One reason I become dishonest is because I don't know how else to represent myself in a comprehensible way.

The first problem I ran into was how to become a politician.  Nearly 40% of Americans are unsure about the value of their college degree.  Some of them don't even use the degree and work in customer service anyway.  Jobs in politics can be very competitive, and require a lot of education.  I was worried that I might fail and was discouraged from pursuing this education further because it is a gamble that I will get a job in this field.  College can also be very expensive and take a lot of time for a master's degree.  If I failed, I would be worse off than when I started working at Kroger anyway.

The consequences of being discouraged from politics are noticeable.  In order to be any good at politics, I need a lot of education, but it is a gamble that my education would be worth it.  I thus see less value in learning about politics even though I find it interesting to learn about what major decisions were made and how to predict the consequences.  The reasons I had for pursuing politics are no longer being appreciated as deeply as they could be, and I could become part of the problem if I don't know what kind of changes need to be made to our government.  Being an under educated voter in the United States is part of the problem.  I am a little more educated than some Americans, but it is not enough.

The specific type of politics I would be interested in would be the field that best reflects the greatest good for the greatest number.  I was discouraged from studying war because diplomacy failed to dissuade Kim Jong Un from building nuclear weapons.  This make me doubt how effective I would be at stopping wars.  The field I am most interested in is public policy because it is where I can focus on making the lives of many people as easy as possible.  I want to detect the consequences of different policies and select the best one.  This work would be meaningful to me.

To answer some of your questions, it may be necessary to start in local politics to gain experience.  I would reason that you should do this in Bulgaria because working in Germany places a limit on you that you can otherwise avoid.  I assume that you have purchased the book list from this website already.  I found some useful books on it that I read.  Part of it relates to politics, but it is not the entire list.  The rest of your questions I am not as confident in my answers.

One question I have is what is college like in Germany and Bulgaria?  If these colleges are different from the United States, it could be less expensive to become a politician.  This could work on your favor.  The jobs will probably be competitive still, so it might not eliminate the gamble entirely for this major life decision.

[trenton]

One last note.  I heard that monopoly is good at teaching businessmen how to make money.  I never heard of the strategy games you mentioned, but I like strategy games like chess.  These games look like they might be fun, but I never heard of using them to teach politics.

[Rilles]

Join some political organization and work your way up the ladder. I dono. Start ranting and raving in a beerhall.

Edited January 4, 2021 by Rilles

[NatureB]

I whole heartedly recommend Andrew Yang's podcast YangSpeaks. I see him as having Yellow stage values (from a SD perspective). He was named Time Magazines Most Influential Person in 2020 for his run for president and progressing his flagship proposal UBI, Universal Basic Income.

Read the books on Leo's book list about politics. The Chomsky one is mentally liberating and insightful. I understand the world so much more after that sibgle book.

Do some activism and find the one cause you love the most. Good luck!

[Gidiot]

Join a political organization or intern for a politician/ work in their office if you can’t do that then become politically active and work around elections and never give up on your beliefs, universities and cities are a good place to start and political outreach is always there. You could look into movement for a people’s party or the other non profits you mentioned