The levels of education and income of a person play a very important role in his life. A person’s income and education shape one’s life in many ways, particularly by influencing how a person participates in politics and voting. Using one’s level of education and income, people can be classified into the three following types: Politicians, or people who occupy positions of political power; Political Activists, who are political party supporters with strong political viewpoints or opinions on political issues; and Politically Disinterested are people who refrain from political involvement of any kind.
The more advanced a person’s education and the higher his income, the more likely he will be involved in a greater level of political activity and the higher political position he is likely to attain. Politicians normally have a very high level of education, because they graduated from pre-eminent institutions of higher learning, such as Harvard, Yale or Stanford, or other well-recognized universities.
Without university education, political figures would not be able to get elected as a Representative, Senator, Governor, or other high political offices, nor become a leader of a major political party, nor even aspire to become President of the United States. These kinds of offices require an excellent education, because the people who occupy them must have the necessary knowledge, experience and judgment to pass and execute laws and make decisions which shape the economy and life of the country.
Politicians need to have very good knowledge on many subjects in order to rule the country in the most efficient way. Political figures also need either substantial personal income or large donations from wealthy supporters in order to run election campaigns for their offices. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for a person, who is poor, to be able to survive during a very long and expensive campaign. Moreover, because the cost of university education is very high, few people with median income can generally afford education at an elite educational institution.
In order to be elected, politicians today need to have higher than average incomes and outstanding education. Political Activists are different from politicians, because, although they are deeply interested in politics, they do not run for office nor get elected to a political office. Generally speaking, they form the foundation of a particular political party by developing policies and working as staff members, and typically, they are very loyal supporters and voters for their party.
Political activists discuss politics whenever and wherever they can, for example, when they are out in the restaurant celebrating somebody’s birthday, or if they meet a friend in the street and have a drink with him, or if they invite somebody to their house. Politically active people love to follow and discuss political events and personalities all of the time and oftentimes try to persuade people of their political viewpoints. They buy newspapers and read them very carefully in order to make sure they know what is happening in the world of politics.
When elections take place, political activists encourage others to vote and participate in the election, because they believe that each person’s vote might make a difference in an election. According to political activists, a single vote might not make a difference, but when all votes are added up, the sum effect is crucial, and result in that party’s candidate being elected. With certain exceptions, in order to have both the time and the money to devote to unpaid political activity, political activists generally have higher incomes and better educations than average people.
Politically involved people are willing to devote and invest such large amounts of time, money and effort in political activity, because they stand to benefit, or conversely suffer, from government laws, regulations and policies which are implemented by politicians and their government. Political activists want to have a say in their government, because their incomes and livelihoods are affected by the people who are elected. Because many politically involved people studied political science at the university, they are quite knowledgeable in the field.
Many political activists might even want to become leaders of parties and attain political office, but lack the high incomes needed to run for election. The education which those people got from college helps them greatly in making a right choice at the elections. They understand the programs of candidates very well and make very rational decisions when voting. Due to their education and average levels of income, political activists are generally able to participate in the political process by working and supporting political parties and encouraging other people to vote.
Politically Disinterested people do not care about politics, because they believe they cannot influence or affect the outcome of elections with their votes, or do not have a vested interest in the government. Typically, the Politically Disinterested, or the “political underclass” as they are commonly referred, don’t believe that any group of politicians, nor any political party, will make a great difference in their lives. With lower incomes, they may be factory or farm workers, or even be receiving government support payments and benefits.
No matter which party is in power, the lives of these people at the lower end of the income and education level will remain largely unaffected by political leadership. Politically Disinterested people do not really care which political party is in power, and they do not want to vote nor take part in election campaigns, because they view it as a futile endeavor. Such people are, for the most part, not well educated, so in many cases, they would not even recognize the names of political parties.
Because education plays a major role in a person’s career, generally they are on the lower end of the wage and income scale. Oftentimes, these Politically Disinterested people blame government for all of their hardships, and think that the reason for their poverty is bad government. The classification of people as either, Politicians, Political Activists, or Politically Disinterested people, by levels of income and education is a very efficient tool for measuring a person’s propensity to become involved in politics.
In many cases, one can discern a direct connection between a person’s income and education on the one hand, and the way he represents his political views, on the other hand. People with higher incomes and better educations are normally either politically active or become politicians themselves. People with low incomes and little education think that government does not provide any benefits to them because they remain poor and uneducated, and as a consequence, they do not participate in elections nor want to participate in political parties.