Politician

For other uses, see The Politician (disambiguation)

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A politician, political leader, or political figure (from Greek "polis") is someone who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, inheritance, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest, divine right, or other means. Politics is not limited to governance through public office. Political offices may also be held in corporations, and other entities that are governed by self-defined political processes.

Considered a politician

• People who are politically active, especially in party politics. A person holding or seeking political office whether elected or appointed, whether professionally or otherwise. Positions range from Homeowner associations and block watches to executive, legislative and judicial offices of state and national governments. Some law enforcement officers, such as sheriffs, are considered to be politicians.

• Politician can be a term used in a derogatory manner to belittle a statesman.

Public choice theory

Public choice theory involves the use of modern economic tools to study problems that are traditionally in the province of political science. (A more general term is "political economy", an earlier name for "economics" that evokes its practical and theoretical origins but should not be mistaken for the Marxian use of the same term.)

In particular, it studies the behavior of voters, politicians, and government officials as (mostly) self-interested agents and their interactions in the social system either as such or under alternative constitutional rules. These can be represented a number of ways, including standard constrained utility maximization, game theory, or decision theory. Public choice analysis has roots in positive analysis ("what is") but is often used for normative purposes ("what ought to be"), to identify a problem or suggest how a system could be improved by changes in constitutional rules. A key formulation of public choice theory is in terms of rational choice, the agent-based proportioning of scarce means to given ends. An overlapping formulation with a different focus is positive political theory. Another related field is social choice theory.

There are also Austrian variants of public choice theory (suggested by Mises, Hayek, Kirzner, Lopez, and Boettke) in which it is assumed that bureaucrats and politicians are benevolent but have access to limited information.

See also

• Mandate (politics)
• Party platform
• Political party
• Political spectrum

References

• Welch, Susan, John Gruhl, John Comer, and Susan M. Rigdon. Understanding American Government. 8th ed. Belmont, USA: Thompson Wadsworth, 2006
• "Merriam Webster Online Dictionary" Definition of politician 5 June 2006

External links

• Current political leaders
• List of American Politicians by Year Born or Died