Nov 23, 2019

Robin Hood Paradox: The unavoidable conflict of interest among all politicians

In today's world, politics is played around issues - some public representative stands for the LGBT rights in her constituency, another may be fighting for minority rights, someone else may be fighting for labor laws, nationalism, etc. Whatever we get to know about them is through media who's narrative is extremely biased and manipulative because most media outlets always have some skin in the game, be they in the mainstream media or social media.




Forget politicians, even a labor union leader is a politician of sorts and so is the one who heads an NGO or a special interests group. Now, do you know what's common among all these politicians and leaders? Here comes the important concept of Robin Hood Paradox! It is the ultimate litmus test which will help you determine how trustworthy is the candidate you support and whether or not you are supporting the right one.

Every politician including the labor union leader fights for somebody's issues and plays a Robin Hood of sorts, but therein lies the paradox! If the workers in a factory become happy and all their problems get solved, wouldn't the leader's career simply be over? If LGBT people in a city or region get all their rights, who would give importance to the leader later on? Thus, every leader and politician has a vested interest in their owned problem not getting solved. This is what I call the Robin Hood Paradox.

One can say that its literally non-existent in an ideal world where everyone is honest and sincere, but we don't live in such a world, do we? We live in a world where the state of morals and corruption among humans is getting worse day after day.

Hence, its always helpful to run your favorite candidate by the Robin Hood test. Whatever the media says about him is irrelevant. The media may paint someone a saint one day and the devil on the next depending on their whims. But you can gauge your candidate on the Robin Hood test by asking a few questions:

  1. How consistent is the candidate in solving your problems?
  2. Are all promises made in the past fulfilled?
  3. How is the honesty and integrity level of that candidate?
  4. How is the honesty and integrity of the party your candidate represents?

The media may not always answer these important questions, so sometimes you may have to do your own research. So, do it and determine for yourself whom you should support and whom you shouldn't.

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