“Why a Mechanic Might Understand Systems Better Than a Politician”
Politicians love to talk about “fixing broken systems.”
But if you’ve ever worked under a hood, inside a panel, or behind a wall, you know something they often don’t:
You can’t fix a system you don’t understand.
And that’s why your local mechanic may grasp real-world systems better than most people in power.
Systems Thinking: A Tradesperson’s Superpower
Mechanics don’t get paid for guesswork.
They get paid to:
- Diagnose complex problems
- Understand how parts interact
- Spot pressure points, chain reactions, and unintended consequences
That’s called systems thinking, and it’s daily life in the trades.
Now compare that to politics:
- Quick fixes without root cause analysis
- Decisions made in isolation
- Focus on optics, not outcomes
The difference? Mechanics are accountable to function.
Politicians are often accountable to perception.
How Trades Build Better Thinkers
1. Feedback is Immediate
You don’t need a vote or committee to know if a brake line was bled wrong. The system tells you.
2. Mistakes Have Real Costs
A misdiagnosed engine or HVAC unit costs time, money, and trust. You learn fast, or fail fast.
3. You Think in Loops, Not Lines
Tradespeople naturally grasp:
- Inputs → processes → outputs
- Flow, pressure, timing, resistance
- And how one failure can cascade across an entire system
That’s real systems logic, not just slogans.
The Political Disconnect
When politicians draft laws without understanding real systems, we get:
- Overregulation that ignores workflow
- Infrastructure plans that ignore load or logistics
- Budgets that assume “just replace it” is a strategy
It’s like telling a mechanic:
“Don’t worry about the gasket, just make the engine quieter.”
Short-term optics. Long-term failure.
Craftsmen don’t get to blame the last guy, blame the weather, or write press releases.
They fix the problem, or they don’t get paid.
And that builds a thinking discipline most professions never develop.
Want smarter policy? Want better leadership?
Maybe we need fewer lawyers and career politicians, and more electricians, welders, and mechanics at the table.
Because they know what it takes to:
- Build something that works
- Maintain it under pressure
- And improve it with limited resources
Have you ever solved a complex system problem that made you think, “Congress would’ve botched this”?
They seem to forget that applied logic is patriotism in action.