The word politics comes from the Greek word “polis” which means the community as a whole, an idealistic society. Politicians govern the world, but their government does not contribute to ensuring equal living conditions for all citizens. Throughout history, politics has played a crucial role in the lives of minorities and in many cases hindered their ability to live equally in a world of prejudice. Politics upsets the balance between socioeconomic classes in the world due to the restrictions that arise from the disproportionate protection of minority interests. There is no equality for minorities politically, socially and economically because political decisions overwhelmingly determine how they live. In Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton shows this central problem for minorities by having his characters in the novel reveal how blacks truly lived in 1948 during this time of segregation and political inequality. Minority ethnic groups are fewer in number than other ethnic groups. in the population and are often underrepresented in government. The minority group differs based on each country's demographics and time period. Politicians manipulate laws and regulations to oppress certain minority groups. As seen in Cry, the Beloved Country, politicians' only concern is creating legislation that benefits the needs of a select group. Recently, many states in the United States have adopted new voter ID requirements. This new law requires identification to be presented when voting. If someone doesn't have it, they have to pay to get an ID just for the right to vote. From a meeting in Washington it emerged that "the laws are aimed at preventing African Americans in particular from voting because...... on paper ......there are blacks who are forced to leave their homeland. Later in the second book, the land refers to the partition of South Africa by the whites. The land is not impoverished, but well cared for; the openness and vitality of the land offers a stark contrast to the depiction contained in the first book. Paton symbolically portrays the destruction of apartheid in land ownership. Examples from Alan Paton's history and novel show the social injustices that result from the misrepresentation of ethnic groups in government. Minorities will continue to suffer political injustice day after day. In an ideal world, governments would implement policies aligned with the needs of its constituents. Until this ideology becomes reality, atrocities such as apartheid and economic discrimination will continue to affect minority groups governed by fundamentally misguided governments..