From: m1pkd00@fed.frb.gov (Prasad K. Dharmasena)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.sri-lanka
Subject: Re: The future
Date: 16 Nov 92 16:52:32 GMT
Reply-To: m1pkd00@fed.frb.gov (Prasad K. Dharmasena)
Organization: Federal Reserve Board, Wash, DC


Sanjiva Weerawarana <saw@cs.purdue.edu> writes:

> And what about term limits? Wouldn't that stop these people from trying to
> ensure that no one else can possibly get elected in place of them?

>    So, if we had term limits, a politician may actually be interested in
> solving the problem rather than just letting it go on for political gain!

Yes, term limits would be nice.  That way we can get rid of some career
politicians.  But there are two sides to the issue.  Side One:  If the
term limits are in effect, the MP/PM/President doesn't have to spend 
government money trying to "buy" the votes for his re-election.  We *hope*
that he/she would concentrate more on real work.  Side Two: If the term
limits are in effect, the MP/PM/President knows that he/she is NOT going to
be re-elected as per the law, therefore, there's no incentive for him/her
to do any really work.

Well, even without term limits, they aren't doing any real work, so might 
as well have the term limits.  BTW, we do have term limits.  They are 
called elections.  But the elecions are in held Chicago style where even 
the dead vote.... early and often.

> Politics must be looked at as a way to
> give something back to your country; hence, an hono(u)r rather than a job.

Yes, it should be looked at as such.  But honor alone can't attract the
best qualified people to do the job.  That's why it should pay enough 
for someone who is educated enough to want to run for office.  But this
hasn't happened in Sri Lanka; I mean the "educated enough" running for
the office part.... not the paying enough part.  Even though we take voting 
and elections pretty seriously in that part of the world, we (as a group) 
do not vote for qualified people.  We vote for the party.  Or party votes 
for itself.

As Arthur C. Clarke said in one of his novels ("Distant Earth," I think
it was -- a sci-fi novel based on Sri Lanka) and I paraphrase here: 
"... a president should be Selected from a group of people who are capable
of doing the job, but who do not want to do it.  He should be dragged 
into the office while kicking and screaming.  When he does a marvelous 
job in the position which was forcibly given, he deserves a vacation, 
not a second term..."

And as Douglas Adams said in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (well,
it's not quite required reading for Politics 101 :-)) "Anyone who is 
capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be 
allowed to do the job."

[Note that both of the above books are futuristic Sci-Fi novels.  Are
we dreaming of that perfect society, Utopia?  (Not to be confused with
Utopia in NY City; talk about oxymorons. :-))]

prasad
++ Politician, n.:
        From the Greek "poly" ("many") and the French "tete" ("head" or
   "face," as in "tete-a-tete": head to head or face to face).  Hence
   "polytetien", a person of two or more faces.
		-- Martin Pitt ++
--
Prasad Dharmasena     Internet: <pkd@fed.FRB.GOV>     UUCP: <uunet!fed!pkd>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.sri-lanka,soc.culture.tamil