Too many smart people make the mistake of saying that politicians "lack courage." Usually when they say this, they mean something like the following: 1) There's a significant public policy problem on the agenda; and 2) The politician has to choose between policy X, which is normatively desirable but unpopular, and policy Y, which is normatively sub-optimal but popular; and
On Courage
On Courage
On Courage
Too many smart people make the mistake of saying that politicians "lack courage." Usually when they say this, they mean something like the following: 1) There's a significant public policy problem on the agenda; and 2) The politician has to choose between policy X, which is normatively desirable but unpopular, and policy Y, which is normatively sub-optimal but popular; and