# The Science and Art of Politics explained — Getting Married

> Chapter companion for Getting Married by George Bernard Shaw.

## What happens

This chapter explores the nature of political science as skilled work, distinguishing between the devising of institutions (statesmanship) and their execution (officialdom). It argues that democracy is appropriate for determining goals but disastrous for determining methods, advocating for an aristocracy of the best in governance and reform.

## Key lines

> Democracy as to the thing to be done may be inevitable (hence the vital need for a democracy of supermen); but democracy as to the way to do it is like letting the passengers drive the train: it can only end in collision and wreck.

While the people should decide what goals to pursue, they should not dictate the methods; letting them do so would be as dangerous as letting passengers steer a train.

_This metaphor underscores the author's distinction between democratic ends and aristocratic means._

> A statesman who confines himself to popular legislation—or, for the matter of that, a playwright who confines himself to popular plays—is like a blind man’s dog who goes wherever the blind man pulls him, on the ground that both of them want to go to the same place.

A leader who only follows public opinion is no leader at all, merely a tool, just as a playwright who only writes what is popular is not an artist but a servant of the crowd.

_This analogy criticizes populism and emphasizes the need for independent judgment in leadership._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/getting_married_se/chapters/the-science-and-art-of-politics
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/getting_married_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/getting_married_se/chapters