A lot of people would describe people who want to be the president as people who shouldn’t be president, but I’ve never heard someone describe someone who would describe someone who wants to be mayor as that. When does the office reach a level of influence that it begins to attract individuals driven by a craving for power?
In one of my 300 level poli sci classes, literally one of the first things the professor said is that in politics, everyone running for office is a power-hungry narcissist. It’s only a slight exaggeration.
That type of person is at every level of politics. I’d wager that if you could get data on the real motivations of every person who has ever run for office, you’d probably see the same amount of those people at every level, from school board to president.
I mean it’s basically the entire system… You see the same in the business and entertainment world. America is run by power hungry narcissists and built by the humble.
Viva la revolucion. Never settle.
Not just America. People who want power always seek it. I have yet to see a proposed system that could eliminate the ability to gain and abuse power.
School board is the lowest level of government that I’ve observed narcissistic nazi psychopaths. Well, the lady at the counter at the driver’s license place, too. But she’s not elected.
Would HOA president/board members be above or below School board?
I don’t think there’s a minimum level where people flip the switch from “good” to “bad”, just varying degrees of access and power over things someone might care about, which can have an effect on the people who choose to seek or are tempted by those things.
To give you an example: moderating a forum is a very small amount of power, but for the person who is very invested in a community or a topic or a site and wants to essentially keep it on ice and under their control, moderating can quickly spiral into their own little kingdom.
For another person, running for governor is the next logical step after having been a community organizer and feeling as though they can do more for their community in that position. Have you ever encountered a problem that you know you have a good response for but you see no one else (or worse, the wrong people) doing anything about it?
I think the main thing that sets the power hungry apart from those climbing the ladder of power is where does their sense of entitlement come from? Does it come from their imagined, top down view of the world, or does it come from a variety of sources and communities who speak to and then through someone who is angered and saddened that their voices are not heard?
This is spot on. It happens at all levels. Here is an example of people being ousted for trying to take over a local conservation district.
https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article226566134.html
I’m honestly shocked you’ve never heard a candidate for mayor called power hungry. If you spend more time in political spaces you will definitely hear it. I’ve heard people sling the claim of power hungry at people going for schoolboard, many times. I think the perception at a national level translates to when people engage at the local level, when and if they ever do. So, like, immediately I guess?
You see this even for something as simple as being a mod on a small forum.
I guess it’s because my mayor doesn’t do much.
This tendency seems to be commonplace in humans. Big sisters/brothers like to tell their younger siblings what to do. You give people any power, there would be some who are bound to abuse it. That’s why there is philosophy about anarchism.
