Paper

Moral Philosophy

March 1, 2013

Political Dynasty

After reading several articles and debates about political dynasty, I have so many thoughts to contemplate with before arriving with my judgment about the moral issues contained in the said topic. First of all, I thought that it would be difficult to justify if the government will deprive or deny someone from his/ her democratic right to seek elective office just because of his/her family. If I am to put myself in the shoes of a politician’s daughter, it would seem unfair for me if I would be deprived of running for a position despite of my capabilities and eagerness to work as a politician. Moreover, it would appear that if the government and the people believe that we have to stop voting for dynasties, we are in effect saying that we do not trust the people to make the right choices. Therefore, it defies the very essence of being democratic or having equal right to choose and vote as a rational man. 

Looking at it as a whole, I see this issue as a matter of pros and cons. One clear benefit is that the political experience and wisdom of a good politician is easily passed down to his children. Growing up in a political household is a great training exercise and the political legacies and traditions can be lived on by the next generation who would probably success the position of his/her predecessor. Moreover, politics is about networking, and inheriting one is a big advantage. This effect can be seen in many democracies around the globe. The Roosevelt family gave the US two of its outstanding presidents; the Kennedy’s have produced several important leaders; the 2007-2011 speaker of the House in the US, Nancy Pelosi, learned politics from her father. In Germany, the former education minister, Ursula von der Leyen, is the daughter of a well-known provincial leader. In the Philippines, there are also few good political dynasties, but a lot of political dynasty in our country seemed to...