Perhaps a better caption could have been politicians and economics but a fair sense of judgement prevailed. The subject is one of an incredible juxtaposition. The words apparently contrast each other.

Politics and economics together can be a phrase – actually an oxymoron, where the two words are opposite to each other. The simplest school definition of the subject of economics is that, it is a social science, where enquiries are made on how various societies effectively use the scarce resources to produce for equitable distribution of goods and services; essentially, a study of scarcity relating to production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

Politics, on the other hand, is described as activities that are associated with the governance of a geographic area where power relationship between individuals and institutions is established. Political scientists define it as the struggle between many interested and vested groups over ’power ’and the ‘scarce resources’.

The almost divine definition of politics by Aristotle’s hierarchical method of philosophy refers to politics as the study of communities involving higher priority than ethics, that concerns individuals.

In the present day and time any reference to ethics in politics must be considered a crime against ‘truth’. Those who spend time, either by way of election or selection in devising common aims and objectives between people, so that they can afford to live in peace and harmony are called “politicians”.

The use of power by a single person or by a group of people (say the Cabinet or the National Assembly) is a fundamental outcome of any electoral process. The voluntary or involuntary submission to the power that directs, either through inspiration or through popular acceptability is considered the ‘art of politics’.

Economic policy of any nation is a direct reflection of the political ideology of the people of a society who are willing to accept the precepts of the ideology. In turn, political ideology relates to certain well-defined sets of ethical ideas, doctrines and principles, inclusive of the myth that aims to establish a stable social order.

With the basic definition and understanding in place, the provocative question that emerges is, do politicians meet the criteria to be entrusted with economics of a nation? I recall reading an apt statement somewhere that ’economics is too serious a business to be left alone for the politicians to manage“.

Regionally, or maybe even globally, there would be handful of politicians who may qualify to have a sound and fair understanding of economics. Margaret Thatcher was one of them. With a degree in chemistry from Oxford, she sought a job with........

© Business Recorder