Politicians have not always been associated with diplomatic chicanery, amoral pragmatism and self-aggrandization, the way they tend to be now. There was a time when leaders like Abraham Lincoln sounded the clarion call for democracy, and pleaded as Woodrow Wilson did in his Fourteen Points for world peace and mutual respect. Since the twin horrors of World War I and World War II, as well as various crises like Vietnam, however, the masses have become increasingly disillusioned. Eurostat surveys found that when asked whose interests European governments were serving, an overwhelming majority replied they were serving their own. Voter turnout throughout the democratic world has reached an all-time low, reflecting a sense that politics is increasingly characterized by self-serving amorality. Indeed, the term "politics" can be discussed on many levels, including the domestic as well as international. To take an objective view with regards to the question of whether politics is about noble aspirations or pragmatic self-interest, we must bear in mind that it is not easy to generalize because of the plethora of situations that exist today.
Playa América
English: Maher Arar campaign button for the Securi...
Civilian volunteer takes photo during Continuing P...Furthermore, we have to question: has politics been burdened with an unfair responsibility too heavy to bear?
On the international level, we still see a whole range of idealistic concepts being sounded and propounded. If anything, the level of idealism in international politics seems to have increased. From the signing of the International Declaration of Human Rights at the San Francisco Conference in 1945, a welter of protocols and conventions regarding any issue from genocide to women's rights have been created. With the United Nations at the forefront of this "humanitarian revolution", the issue of fundamental human rights cannot be avoided in politics today. This idealism in international politics has an inevitable effect on the domestic arena, as politicians increasingly support such...