noctivcgus:
“Objectivity isn’t near impossible: it is impossible. All of us have our biases, our own set of ideals, our own perceptions, and politicians should run on those platforms, on their own views, rather than anyone else’s. But just because objectivity is impossible doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t strive to be open-minded, be able to find compromise. Or change our minds. The unlearning process can be hard, sure, but it can also be what’s best for society as a whole, which is what politicians are supposed to look out for.” But what they were supposed to do and what they did do were quite different. “That doesn’t mean that corruption can’t be slowly eradicated bit by bit. Shacklebolt made a lot of strides with that during his tenure in office.” Him, along with his father and Aunt Hermione had put in a lot of work to reduce the pureblood bias that had run rampant at the Ministry. Progress was not impossible. “Well, I wouldn’t reject a proposal just because I would have nothing to stand to gain from it. I just need to hear more about his proposition and how he plans to implement it. Does he plan on just opening the flood gates and having the two worlds integrate entirely or will it be done in increments and over time? Does he plan to just replace the Statute of Secrecy with a different kind of provision to decide our relationship with the Muggle world? His proposal would, after all, not just affect the United Kingdom, but all the world. Has he discussed this with other Ministers? These are the kind fo things I would need to know before I can properly consider what I think of the plan.”
“Even if you erode corruption -- which while their may have been progress in recent years I think it would be overly optimistic and mildly ignorant to think it can be eradicated completely -- it doesn’t change the fact that this lack of objectivity means politics will never be fair. There can be two politicians, neither of whom are corrupt and both believe that they doing something for the good of society as a whole, however the one that wins will be the one who knows how to take advantage of this best. Whoever can identify and appeal to these inherent cogitative biases and manipulative a crowd better. The one who wins doesn’t necessarily win because he will be the best for society, but because people have been made to think he will be. Even if people are not corrupt, politics is a game of power that relies on the support of the public, who are both fallible and easily manipulated if you have the right knowledge. Being truly open-minded seems like an ideal that’s difficult to attain.” Psychology fascinated Ada, studying the mind to understand it. What it’s weak points were, how it functioned and what made it tick. Fascination aside, as someone who considered a strategist, she figured these mechanisms of the mind were useful to understand and even more useful if she could use them as a tool. “There is a lack of depth to his plan that raises more questions than it does answers. This plan would make many jobs redundant? Anybody working in sectors involving Muggles knowing about magic would no longer have a job. Has he considered the economic impacts of his reform? If Trunsk doesn’t make radical changes to the structure of the wizarding world as it is before allowing the Muggles in, there is potential for everything to just dissolve into chaos. Already there is very little place in society for non-magical wizards -- they can’t even go to Wizarding institutions except as caretakers. What place is there for Muggles?”
