ABSTRACT
Crooked politicians are far worse than common thieves. The rule of crooks eventually becomes a species of tyranny and, as Aristotle says, it is better to kill a tyrant than to kill a thief. Aristotle believed that democracy is the best kind of government. In spite of the advantages or supposed advantages of that version of democracy Aristotle noticed that some of the men eligible to serve in government were too busy to spend time on politics. In ordinary life breach of trust leads to hatred and contempt. Politicians get away with their misdeeds because, unlike mechanics and baby-sitters, they don’t live next door to the voters. Candidates for political office are self-selected in the first place, then selected by political parties and then elected by constituencies which between them represent everyone of voting age, whether or not all the electors actually bother to vote.
