Epicurus 
Epicurus in the Louvre (photo: . Eric Gaba / wiki)
"is the way being active in politics and want to have no power," says Epicurus, and: "The wise will not assume a political office, if not for some reason have to. " (2003 survival forms, fragments, Epicurus, ed. Rainer Nickel, p. 21)
Yes, the one can certainly agree. Politics is a dubious business, and it pushed particularly the vain, ambitious, fanatical, and his imperious to politics and power.
often particularly from this point:
"For everyone who are self inn'res
not know to govern, reigned only too happy
The neighbor will ". Goethe, Faust II, 7015ff.
The political landscape is always a bottom, politics is always an evil. This must be kept as small as possible. Indeed, there is the rule of open banditry. It has experienced since Gilgamesh.
The Epicurean and each other are also, therefore, pointed, before the election:
You must rise or fall,
You have to prevail and win
or serve and lose, suffer or triumph
be
anvil or hammer!
(Goethe, A Andres)
This is sometimes even for entire populations. So no one can deny all the political, without taking a big risk. But he should check exactly what it is possible and how things are, "sine ira et studio, without anger or interest, without emotion, and always the" audiatur et altera pars "connected, hearing all sides, for all what is said can be said otherwise.
feelings are vague guide, fear and anger, fear and outrage quickly seduced to poor analysis and are suitable to keep bad things to bad or even worse: a Shah, a Khomeini are.
When these days of street riots is fashionable to call even old men said: "Outraged ! You, "then, take care to resort to
Epicurus perhaps, to the essays of Francis Bacon
, and also to
Max Weber's lecture." Politics as a Vocation "where he says:" It is quite true and a ... Basic fact of history that the final result of political action often: no, absolutely regularly, completely in unadäquatem, often stands in an almost paradoxical relationship with its original meaning "
