--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A system that rewards politicians skilled…" description: "\"A system that rewards politicians skilled at campaigning - which is the art of creating an illusion - and that puts hundreds of billions of coerced tax..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-stossel-5146_advantage_a-system-that-rewards-politicians-skille_1983433.jpg" --- # A system that rewards politicians skilled at campaigning… ![“A system that rewards politicians skilled at campaigning - which is the art of creating an illusion - and that puts hundreds of billions of coerced taxpayer dollars at the disposal of the winners will tend to attract men and women with a comparative advantage in manipulation.” quote by John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-stossel-5146_advantage_a-system-that-rewards-politicians-skille_1983433.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-stossel-5146_advantage_a-system-that-rewards-politicians-skille_1983433.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-stossel-5146_advantage_a-system-that-rewards-politicians-skille_1983433.jpg) > “A system that rewards politicians skilled at campaigning - which is the art of creating an illusion - and that puts hundreds of billions of coerced taxpayer dollars at the disposal of the winners will tend to attract men and women with a comparative advantage in manipulation.” [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political systems that reward campaign skill foster manipulation, attracting those adept at illusion rather than governance. **In simple terms:** Campaign skill breeds manipulation in politics. Key Takeaway Demand transparency and merit‑based rewards. Themes politics manipulation campaigning governance ethics Mood skeptical critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - elections - policy design - media scrutiny - public accountability Key Concepts illusion comparative advantage public funds Questions to Reflect On - How can we redesign incentives? - What safeguards prevent exploitation? A Different Perspective Not all politicians are manipulators. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Campaigning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigning/) [Comparative advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparative-advantage/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Manipulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manipulation/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Taxpayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxpayers/) [Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winner/) ## Related quotes > [Natural politicians are skilled actors, recreating reality, adjusting and ad-libbing, synthesizing the scenes, saying the same thing over and over again and making it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-maraniss/natural-politicians-are-skilled-actors-recreating-reality-adjusting/) [David Maraniss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-maraniss/) > [In a world where technology and capital are highly transferable, there is a real risk that comparative advantage comes to be defined as whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/in-a-world-where-technology-and-capital-are-highly-transferable-there/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [In many societies the domestic social costs of adjustment to changing patterns of comparative advantage are believed to outweigh the advantages of further trade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/in-many-societies-the-domestic-social-costs-of-adjustment-to-changing/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [Litmus test: If you can't describe Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage and explain why people find it counterintuitive, you don't know enough about economics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/litmus-test-if-you-can-t-describe-ricardo-s-law-of-comparative/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [Thousands of important and intelligent men have never been able to grasp the principle of comparative advantage or believe it even after it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/thousands-of-important-and-intelligent-men-have-never-been-able-to/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [We need to move from comparative advantage to perpetual advantage...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-mckeown/we-need-to-move-from-comparative-advantage-to-perpetual-advantage/) [Max McKeown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-mckeown/) > [The ability to work with systems of general equilibrium is perhaps one of the most important skills of the economist - a skill which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/the-ability-to-work-with-systems-of-general-equilibrium-is-perhaps/) [Kenneth E. 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