Philosophers don't have a particularly good record when it comes to giving practical advice to politicians...Plato didn't manage to pull it off; Machiavelli never weasled his way back into a position of power after being dismissed (though most politicians read The Prince, whether or not they admit to it - and if they've read it closely, they shouldn't admit to it); Rousseau had a go at giving advice, but again it didn't really work; there are a number of philosophers in the British House of Lords, some of whom make very useful contributions to government, and quite a few British MPs have studied some philosophy (often PPE at Oxford), but on the whole philosophers underperform when it comes to impacting on the political world.
You can listen to a very interesting podcast of Philip Pettit on The Philosophers' Zone, talking about his involvement with the Spanish government (this is a surprise!). Listen to Philip Pettit here (there's a transcript too if you don't want to listen).
Also, I interviewed Mary Warnock on Philosophy and Public Life for Philosophy Bites.
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