I’ve never been that interested in political systems, and honestly, I’m not an expert in the area either. But over the past few years, I’ve felt like something is seriously wrong. It seems to me that the system is rotten to the core. I’ve come to realize that most politicians, with a few exceptions, aren’t genuinely interested in the well-being of the people they’re supposed to serve. Instead, politics seems to be dominated by people who are power-hungry, corrupt, immoral, and deceitful.
To change this, I think the incentive structure in politics needs a complete overhaul. I have a few ideas I want to share.
It might sound naive to think that honesty and compassion could lead to a successful political career, especially when politicians are constantly dealing with powerful lobby groups and corporate influences that push their own agendas and have the money to back them up. But why should we care? Despite these pressures, we shouldn’t have to accept a lack of integrity from our leaders.
I truly believe we need leaders with good character and morals—people who put the public’s interests above their own benefits and desire for power.
To achieve this, the incentive structure in politics must be reformed.
By improving the incentives, we can attract candidates with stronger character and a better fit for public service, while making it too risky for corruptible individuals to get into politics. Politics should be a tough place for those people, and that needs to be made clear.
1. Increase Penalties for Misconduct
First, one way to do this is to eliminate immunity for politicians and introduce harsher penalties. The consequences for breaking the law, engaging in corruption, or behaving unethically should be more severe for politicians than for ordinary citizens. Why? Because politicians should act like leaders, not bosses. They should lead by example and follow the same rules they set for everyone else.
2. Ensure Transparency in Decision-Making
Second, I believe the decision-making process in politics should be completely transparent and permanently documented so the public can verify things at any time. Politics should happen on an open stage, accessible to everyone 24/7. All proceedings should always be available for review afterward to ensure accountability and clarity. Decisions should never be made behind closed doors; everything should be out in the open.
3. Use Technology for Accountability, Not Surveillance
We’re seeing things like digital IDs, social credit scores, and intrusive laws that expand government surveillance, control, and regulation of speech. These are making people more transparent and eroding privacy, paving the way for an unprecedented surveillance state. Today’s technology is incredibly advanced, so let’s use it for the people’s benefit instead of against them. We should use this technology to monitor and evaluate political processes, not to invade the privacy of ordinary citizens. This would also solve the problem of biased government-aligned mainstream media because everything would be transparent. As a result, politicians would be held accountable for everything, attracting only those who are courageous, visionary, and genuinely ambitious to do good for society.
4. Abolish the Party System
Finally, I suggest we abolish the party system. To me, it’s outdated and doesn’t fit a modern democracy. Politicians should be accountable only to their conscience and the interests of the people, not to a political party. Parties often fail to represent the diverse opinions of individuals and end up reducing the complex spectrum of society into just a few broad factions, which isn’t truly representative. Instead, politicians should be directly elected and removed by the people through a voting system that uses today’s technology. Rather than voting every four or five years for a party that covers a range of issues—where you might agree with some things but not others—we should be able to vote conveniently on specific topics that matter to us.
