In a representative government, the leaders need be no worse than the people who elect them wish them to be.
Beavers build their houses of brush and of trees that they cut down.
They drag the brush and logs into the middle of a stream or lake. Their basic food is the bark of the aspen or birch. The North American continent was heavily populated with beavers until the coming of the settlers and trappers who cleared much of the forest area and trapped the beaver for its valuable fur. One can tell from Horace Walpole's histories that he was no cloistered intellectual, for in his writings we find evidence of an acquaintance with the practical arts of government. Borrowing occurs most frequently.