have to be politicians. Even the most clear-sighted and capable policymakers must constantly divert their attention from the immediate problems they are dealing with to fight the objections of other policymakers, and the political systems they must navigate are often dysfunctional. While the economic machine is more powerful than any political system in the long run (ineffective politicians will be replaced and incapable political systems will change), the interaction between the two is what drives economic cycles in the here and now—and it’s often not pretty to watch.
