{"id":6551,"date":"2025-05-11T18:06:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T15:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/?p=6551"},"modified":"2025-05-11T18:06:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T15:06:55","slug":"are-we-electing-leaders-who-live-for-politics-or-who-live-from-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/?p=6551","title":{"rendered":"ARE WE ELECTING LEADERS WHO LIVE \u201cFOR\u201d POLITICS OR WHO LIVE \u201cFROM\u201d POLITICS?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The situation that prevails at this time in the socio-political system of the country, both at the highest level and largely at its lower-level structures as well, leads to the search for and presentation of well-documented scientific analyses related to its main characteristics and also the causes that shaped these conditions. An important source for such an approach is the German sociologist and political economist Max Weber<\/strong>, and more specifically, his concise analysis of the political system in a lecture he gave to his students shortly after the end of World War I, in 1918, titled: \u201cPolitics as a Vocation\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We present key points from its content: \u00abPolitical leaders of all levels of power are divided into two main categories: those who live \u201cfor\u201d politics and those who live \u201coff\u201d politics. The politician who lives \u201cfor\u201d politics makes this activity synonymous with \u201cthe content of his life\u201d. He moves through life either enjoying the sense of power he exercises, or deriving his inner balance and the feeling of self-worth from the awareness that his life acquires meaning by serving a \u201cpurpose\u201d. With this inner meaning, every sincere person who lives \u201cfor\u201d a purpose also lives \u201cfrom\u201d that purpose. Whoever lives \u201coff\u201d politics as a profession, strives to make it a permanent source of income, whoever lives \u201cfor\u201d politics does not do so. On the basis of this distinction, the concept of a \u201ccalling\u201d to power is also formed for those who exhibit characteristics of individuals who possess the charisma of a \u201cleader\u201d, that is, individuals who belong to the category of those who live \u201cfor\u201d politics. The devotion created by the charisma of the \u201cleader\u201d means that people do not obey him because of customs or decrees, but because they believe in him. The leader himself lives for his purpose and \u201ccares\u201d for his work\u00bb.<\/em> <\/em>It should be noted that the concept of leader in the text extends throughout the social spectrum, including the states and their individual administrative and self-governing structures, the religious expressions and the trade union associations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The elements that emerge from this content, linked to the events of more than a century that has passed since then, are confirmed by the recorded results that were created in states and in other structures of power. The few leaders who responded to the moral \u201ccalling\u201d that was validated through the electoral process and functioned “for” politics during the exercise of the power that was entrusted to them, led countries – or their respective institutional structures – to prosperity and qualitative reform. The opposite occurred with those leaders whose actions, as recorded by history, lead to the conclusion that they lived “off” politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These historical observations should be strongly considered during critical periods when the population groups are called upon to elect the leaders who will guide them into the future, especially when the time context points to difficult economic conditions that threaten social cohesion and the smooth functioning of social institutions. Unfortunately, we are currently living in such a period, and the evaluation of leaderships based on Max Weber\u2019s criterion, is emerging as a necessity for every citizen who participates in any form of institutional expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The category of those who live “off” politics has evolved over time, has taken on various forms, and has spread into the wider social sphere, so that its intentions are not perceived. It attempts, through the confusion it creates, to be perceived as its opposite, in order to enjoy the social acceptance necessary for its dominance.To achieve this goal, it creates subordinate systems of decentralized power in which it integrates a swarm of individuals who operate in the same way – that is, they live “off” politics – while simultaneously attempting to blur citizens\u2019 vision, as they try to distinguish those politicians who, through the \u201ccalling\u201d, seek to embody the characteristics of the leader who lives “for” politics: <\/strong>someone who offers his\/her natural and intellectual abilities, for the benefit of the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An insightful observation of the current political landscape will certainly lead the informed citizens to a clear distinction between those who are involved in politics and to their classification into one of the two opposing categories of leaders according to Max Weber – and to determine their support accordingly. Especially in decentralized forms of power, such as local government, due to the proximity between the observer and the observed, the distinction is easier and the subsequent classification can lead to choices that result in effectiveness and social prosperity\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE EDITORIAL BOARD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The situation that prevails at this time in the socio-political system of the country, both at the highest level and largely at its lower-level structures as well, leads to the search for and presentation of well-documented scientific analyses related to its main characteristics and also the causes that shaped these conditions. An important source for … \u03a3\u03c5\u03bd\u03ad\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b1\u03bd\u03ac\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b7\u03c2 ARE WE ELECTING LEADERS WHO LIVE \u201cFOR\u201d POLITICS OR WHO LIVE \u201cFROM\u201d POLITICS?<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[392],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-main-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6552,"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551\/revisions\/6552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maniatiki.gr\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}