I don't know anything about politics

[ALawPoker]

[ QUOTE ]
What are the first five books I should read?

I realize that we're supposed to keep one-line posts to a minimum, but as I said, I don't really know anything. I'd like to learn though.

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't need to read books. You just need to take Ferris Bueller's advice, and stop and look around once in a while.

This is what's important to understand first:

-"Politics" is human behavior.

-Politicians have a lot to personally gain by winning elections.

-The strategy of a politician (or at least the ones who tend to win) is to do and say whatever is required to win. Politicians that do not have an effective strategy will tend to die out.

-The average Joe does not make expert decisions on difficult decision X, Y, and Z, because he A.) is not necessarily an expert on the matter and B.) does not necessarily have a vested interest in the result. His opinion on most things that the politician speaks of will be naturally haphazard.

-In democracy, the average Joe votes for people he thinks offer the best solution to problems.

-What each party stands for becomes a loose reflection of the Joes' collective ideas, in a strategic attempt to win more support than the other side.


The rest is just details. Before you learn too much, it's good to make sure you have a grasp of what drives the mechanism.

[lehighguy]

It depends what your interest is. Tracking the latest movements of the heard is both depressing and boring for me. I enjoy studying what policies and government forms might actually work even if there is no hope for them in my lifetime.