I have always wondered why people run for public office. What motivates them to go through the grueling, tiresome, expensive, and heartbreaking campaign in their quest to win a public office, be it for a local, regional, or national elective positions. Having reached a certain age and having plenty of relatives and friends who are or were in elective positions, and having interacted with many politicians, I have some ideas on some of the reasons and motives that make people run for public office in the Philippines in particular, and in other democratic countries. And in one of my undergraduate degrees, my minor was Psychology and I use to ace all the psychology subjects, particularly Abnormal Psychology, without implying that politics is an abnormal social condition.
Motivation in the simplest layman terms is the reason for people's action. It is what prompts a person to act in a certain way, why a person does something, the "whys" of behavior. It is a "noun" as it is an abstract thing. "Drives" and "needs" which are mostly biological and short term in nature are components of motivation, but the desire to run for public office is broader and longer in perspective.
With five presidential candidates, six vice-presidential canditates, hundreds for senators, congressmen, mayors, board members, and councilors, who all want to serve the people and country, there might be something that they see that we do not see. There is public distrust on politicians because people do not really believe all of them, that they are running to serve the people and country. So let us delve into what people privately believe why politicians are running for office.
In a developing democracy like the Philippines, in Latin America, in Africa, and in even slightly developed economies like Malaysia and Thailand, where the track record in graft and corruption is dismal, most people believe that most politicians are running for the money or wealth. It is either to create wealth or to preserve wealth. In developed Democracies like the US, England, Germany and the like, this motivation is less pronounced but is still there due to the interaction of big business and politics. Depending on the extent of the involvement of the government on the country's economic activity, government expenditures and investments will account for 15 to 25 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product. And being in political power means being able partake or at the least direct the flow of these investments and expenditures. Political power is really the motive behind the wealth reasons. This is not bad per se, because if the politicians' desires are really to improve the lives of the people, he will direct the flow of investments and expenditures to socially, economically and culturally enriching projects that will benefit the people. But if the politicians are purely driven by personal and family interests, these will be bad for the country. So we see a lot of politicians being accused of graft and corruption all over the world, some of them convicted and serving jail terms.
Prestige and personal gratification are consequential or corollary motivations of politicians in running for public office. It comes with the territory and we should allow them these, as long as they really serve the people. It becomes unpleasant when they don't and parades as if they do.
If we go over the surveys on the satisfaction ratings of government offices, government officials, and perceived corruption, it would seem that no more than 20% of the people believe that elected politicians are there to really serve the people. Hopefully, as our democracy matures and our economy continue to grow, and we elect better public officials more people will believe in the nobler motives of politicians running for public office.
Ill motives are not just of the elected public officials but also of appointed officials, but as the elected officials are held more accountable by the people and by the Ombudsman, the appointed officials will also toe the line. In less democratic countries like China, Russia, Vietnam and some middle-eastern countries, these will be harder to do, so they are also struggling in their graft and corruption campaign.
The democratic form of government is still the better form of government in unveiling the true motivation of politicians, whether elected or appointed.
Some years ago a friend took me to task for quoting a Greek saying, "Most men who are unhappily married eventually run for public office," as he objected and disagreed with it. I still say it could be true, and remember it only says "most" not all. Some happily married men also run for public office, and some unhappily married men do not run at all from their wives.