Politics is supposed to be a means of solving problems that do not have their origins in politics but instead arise from what Hobbes called the “state of nature.” How do we go about protecting ourselves from marauding bandits? How do we prevent our crops from being stolen by the people across the river? How can we solve disputes about property or injuries without resorting to vendettas and blood feuds? If we build a wall around our village to protect us, how should the expense be borne? These are the original problems of politics.
Eventually, politics reaches a point of sufficient entrenchment where it begins to create severe problems of its own, which is where we find ourselves at the moment.
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