My view of politicians having met quite a number, is the they are overall, not very imaginative and not very smart.

Non the less they feel obliged to do what they are voted in to do and yet are so often actually incapable of doing: create policy and law.

Clearly I'm not the first to get both these points and indeed the "opportunity" presented by their regular alignment. This is where money steps in. Nearly all the law and policy we have thrust upon us: environmental, social, foreign, etc is brought to our often thick, avaricious or quite gullible representatives to subsequently be presented to us as official "policy" by a well remunerated army of paid lobbyists...over 90% of whom work for big business and effectively represent the concerns off the wealthy. Brussels has 29,000 alone: think of that. In the Parliament there are only 720 members so that's over forty individuals paid for full time by the rich to infuence every policy maker and indeed not only that but are given privileged Parliamentary access to do so.

In the US I reckon it It'll be substantially higher.

One of the major sources of wealth is of course the energy sector and another is the military Industrial complex.

So no surprise then that even in the overt face of the prospect of a stupid war we continue despite what sense dictates and even faced with the undeniable prospect of ecological ruin the think tank/ lobbyists find grand ruses to subvert or indeed benefit financially from any political intent (carbon credits come to mind...).

I have also lost count of the number of "Institutes" set up by now deceased red-in-tooth-and-claw capitalist billionaires to lobby forever for neocon policies after their own demise.

Thus alas it is not only the wealthy but the dead wealthy (literaly) who write policy for the living. Needless to say, recognising new developments such as pending ecological disaster is not possible for such automated "legacy" systems.

The issue is thus systemic. The entire political body geared to take easy input from military industrial & carbon based wealth sources cannot produce any other result but to continue over the cliff.
- It can only be remedied by removing the ultra- corrupt anti-democratic lobby system... but even if that were possible- and I think not, where then would our thick representatives get "policy"? What replaces the forty plus "free" lobbyists/ think-tanker assigned every representative?

Anywise, that in my view is the "Achilles heel". In the face of impending doom it would seem such a little matter to reorientate government towards the well being of the many rather than the wealth of a few, but alas, It's the never-ending story of politics...and because of the lobby itself the people rarely win.