There was a certain politeness about Waleed Aly’s critique of our political system in his article this week, “Politics: the ugly game where the melee rules”. It was a politeness that the system, and those who exploit it, don’t deserve.

The historian and moralist, Lord Acton (1834-1902) is given the credit for the much quoted, “All power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

I find this a more appropriate reference than Waleed’s allusion to the AFL and ARL melee. Yes, football teams have a governing body to regulate imbalances in the game and keep it interesting for the followers. Politics doesn’t, unless the regulator is we the people, who only get to pass judgement once every three years.

Read more at: The Australian Independent Media Network