The majority of Congress is not lawyers. That said, my theory is that because the U.S. is a low-cohesion, heterogeneous society, we're uniquely structured around the conflict-resolution process of litigation. The U.S. resolves through lawsuits disputes in areas such as labor, environment, civil rights, product safety, land use rights, social justice, and employment rights, which are handled through the political process in other countries. Unsurprisingly, people who have an interest in these issues, which are the bread-and-butter of Democratic politics in particular, are likely to go get law degrees.
A really good example of this phenomenon is playing out right now with the Apple/FBI case. Over in Europe, they're going to pass laws that govern what companies must do to assist with law enforcement investigations. Here, it'll play out in the courts first, and Congress might not even take action if they're happy with the legal outcomes.
> Unsurprisingly, people who have an interest in these issues, which are the bread-and-butter of Democratic politics in particular, are likely to go get law degrees.
I'd argue the reverse. Many people have interests in these issues, but if they wish to pursue careers in politics, their only option is to go through the $100,000 law degree pipeline. Why would someone who wants to work on environmental issues be any more likely to study law rather than wildlife biology, except that the latter won't make you the social connections and money you need to have any crack at a political career?
>The U.S. resolves through lawsuits disputes in areas such as labor, environment, civil rights, product safety, land use rights, social justice, and employment rights, which are handled through the political process in other countries.
That's like saying the primary job of a surgeon is to prop up the medical narcotics industry by stabbing people with knives without actually killing them. Maybe in a way it's kind of true, but if enough people accept it, they stop caring about whether surgery does more harm than good.
There's more diversity in the German parliament (Bundestag), still 46% of members studied either law or economics, only 28 (4.5%) of members studied STEM subjects.
Here in Norway after the war we have had prime ministers who have been a teacher, farmer, road worker, electrician, medical doctor and ordained priest to name a few less common professions by American or Chinese standards. Interestingly before the 1900s when Norway had just two parties similar to the republicans and democrats all but one prime minister was a lawyer. As more parties got created and new groups of people represented in politics diversity also increased.
The problem for Norway may well be that while there is a whole lot of diversity up top, the bureaucratic structure has ossified.
It has gotten to be a decade now, but when last a right wing government was replaced with a (on paper) left wing one, the former finance minister was asked if he had faith in his replacement. His response was that while he could not comment on her abilities as a finance minister, he had full faith in her staff. This because it was the very same staff he had been working with.
A few years into the new government, another minister resigned. And afterwards she made a statement that there was a unstated agreement between the finance ministry, the oil and energy ministry, and the office of the prime minister about how the nation was to be run (the implied agreement was that oil and gas extraction was to be given priority above all else). And as a minister you needed to be very stubborn and thick skinned to break with that.
Note that this agreement was not between the ministers, but between the bureaucrats that worked there no matter who was nominally in charge.
Bernie Sanders doesn't have a law degree.
Apart from Dr "I probably take too much of my good stuff" Carson, I can't think of a GOP candidate who didn't have a law degree, or an undergraduate humanities/liberal arts/social sciences degree.
Mitt Romney and Donald Trump both have business degrees. I'm not saying I do or do not support them but they are not social science/humanities/liberal arts. Unless you count business as liberal arts.
You definitely see more diversity in Europe where you have Angela Merkel with a physics PhD.