The Heseltine Hammond Sindrome

When businessmen go into politics it is almost always disastrous. The very skills that make them so successful in the marketplace or what passes for it, make them a total disaster in politics. Entrepreneurs by definition have Big Ideas, they create business empires and are hugely successful and wealthy so doing.

But translating such skills into politics leads to more politics, grandiose adventures and schemes -the Heseltine sindrome where huge sums of money can be commandeered for vanity projects -they love things like the Hs2 monstrosity and similar ventures - and since it is not their money they can become even more ambitious and expansive, more reckless with no cost to them when  the whole thing crumbles to dust leaving losses and debts for someone else to shoulder ie the taxpayers who are the pawns in the big shot businessman cum politician's maniacal projections.

When businessmen express opinions on politics they are almost invariably the most statist of all, it is almost as if they take a holiday from reality, no longer having to persuade people to go into partnership they have the brute power of state coercion at their disposal where the gun and dictat take the place of reason and mutual self interest.

Thus state power corrupts even the most noble the minute they get their feet under the table and go native and politics for the businessman is therefor a a siren call they would do well to resist - for everyone's sake.