Relational

The etiology of our civic illness looks a lot like the dysfunctions of a family divided by addiction. The vector of this illness is the view that elections are games with rules to guard against unfairness, and with resignation to game-playing and manipulation. We need to find a way to realign the incentives and rewards of electoral politics so that people who are good at governing make it into the top decisionmaking roles, instead of those roles going to the best manipulators.