why is the world run by idiots?

[White_Hawk]

A sort of serious/un-serious question.
why do world leaders do all the crap they do?
why to the leaders of global company's and banks do stupid things?
I know were all human but COMMON...
leave your thoughts and creative answers please.

 

[Garth Gaffney]

Because they're the ones with all the money and/or charisma.

 

[Doctor Glocktor]

Because idiots tend to be extremely sociable.

In the real world, its not what you know, but who you know.

 

[jpblade666]

Because they're humans and humans make mistakes, especially when you have money and power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

I always thought of it as "Why do I rule over idiots" from the rulers perspective.

 

[spartan231490]

Because there are more stupid people than smart people, so statistically, it's just more likely.

 

[Thaluikhain]

IMHO, it's a mixture of:

A) Because the general public, IE, us, keeps voting for them and supporting them into power.

B) They aren't idiots, it's just that the general public finds it easier to abuse them rather than research the issue so they can actually understand why the decision was made.

C) Every decision is going to hurt someone, and that someone is going to be very vocal about why it is a massive disaster for the country, as they equate themselves with everyone else.

D) Nobody cares about all the vital but boring decisions world leaders have to make until they get one wrong.

 

[Jordi]

What in particular do you think is stupid? I think most people in power are smarter than average (not that that's saying much). Sometimes they will do stupid stuff because like any other human they will make mistakes. But I think there is also a whole lot of shortsightedness going on because sometimes the consequences just won't affect the people making the decisions very much.

For example, look at the banking crisis (at least in the Netherlands, I don't know as much details about the rest of the world): banks were basically screwing up while getting huge bonuses for their employees. All of those employees had incentives to continue down the untenable path that they had chosen. And then when the banks started to go bankrupt, the government saved them.
Another example would be someone I know (who works at an IT company) offering some kind of city manager to save them 100,000 euro or something. The guy said he wasn't interested in savings. Why? Because it's not his money. And because if he saves money now, his budget for next year will be cut, and he will be less important.
People make "stupid" decisions, because it either doesn't affect them, or it affects them positively.

Another thing that I think politicians are very guilty of is not explaining stuff properly. I'm sure the things they have to deal with are complicated, but generally they don't even make an effort to explain, or when they do they dumb it down so far that it just looks incredibly stupid when they screw it up later.

 

[White_Hawk]

Because there are more stupid people than smart people, so statistically, it's just more likely.

Now that cant be right, to become a politician or highly paid business man/woman you have to have so many qualifications and years of experience. Perhaps those things alienate them from the rest of the population?

 

[CWestfall]

To err is human.

'Sides, if you don't like it, vote for another guy. If they suck too, run for office. Simple.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Hey, you think politicians and businessmen are bad? Could you see it getting any better in the hands of your average Joe on the street?

 

[Froken Keke]

Because everyone is an idiot.
You too.
And me.

 

[Kryzantine]

Because idiots chose them?

I wouldn't say the world is run by idiots, only run by people who look like idiots when their idealism is challenged by cold, hard reality. The first and last time an American president actually accomplished their goals was... James K Polk. Everyone else probably made it into office and then promptly learned that their goals were not possible without endangering the country, either from itself or from a foreign threat.

Actual decisions are cold, calculated moves by whoever is in power - keep in mind that the leaders of the free world have many advisers. Sure, Bush was an idiot, but to compensate, it's not like all the power rested with him. He had Dick Cheney, he had Condy Rice, he had Rumsfeld, those people held power over him and held power over this country. Obama isn't leaning as heavily on his advisers, but he still uses them - Hilary Clinton is almost always consulted on foreign matters, even things like the bin Laden operation. These people generally know what they're doing, it's just that what they do doesn't always align with what we want them to do.

 

[Valate_v1legacy]

1. They're smarter than you think, and probably smarter than you or I in those matters. Even George W. Bush had a 160+ IQ. (I know, I'm like "wtf" also.)

2. If you think they're doing it wrong, convince other people who agree to do something about it. Keep it nonviolent and it should be mildly successful.

 

[Kae]

Because everyone is stupid, except for me of course.

 

[LobsterFeng]

Do you have any better ideas?

 

[BabyRaptor]

Because most human beings are easily lied to sheep. Be it political persuasion, religious beliefs, "morals"...Whatever, everypony has one way to get to them and lead them by the nose.

Politicians are people who've learned the art of fleecing the flock. Sadly, most of them aren't too good at much else.

Captcha: pubjob ethics

 

[legion431]

Because idiots all have one thing in common, greed.

 

[badgersprite]

It's not that they're stupid, per se. It's that they just don't give a fuck as long as they're getting paid. Like a lot of other jobs in the end, really.