"Politics is the art of preventing people from busying themselves with what is their own business"

In this quote, Paul Valery recommends that politics, instead of being a noble pursuit dedicated to serving society's interests, is instead a method for avoiding individuals from concentrating on their own lives and undertakings. Rather of allowing people to tend to their own services, interests, and objectives, politics distracts and diverts them, producing a society filled with people who are more interested in the actions of their federal government than their own individual affairs. Valery's message is perhaps a cautionary one, warning us of the threats of becoming too preoccupied with politics and losing sight of the value of our lives and aspirations.