My title echoes a lecture given almost a century ago by the great German social theorist Max Weber, in which he argued that in modern constitutional states nearly everyone is engaged in politics at least by avocation - if only through voting and discussing the issues with one's friends.
Granted, if politics is, as many believe, only about getting and keeping power, it would be silly to think of politics as a "calling" in any meaningful sense. And if politics is only about power, there is no particular reason why principled people should choose public service over other pursuits, or why men and women in private life should take much interest in civic matters.
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