Force, Not Money, Is the Root of All EvilI've said for a long time that the way to reduce corruption in government is not more laws, but less government power. If there's no power for the money to chase, well, there's no reason for the money and corruption.
A popular sentiment among activists from across the political spectrum is that we ought to get money out of politics. Money is the root of all evil, we’re told. The Citizens United case is thought the bane of democracy, and evoked in calls for comprehensive campaign finance reform.
In truth, money is not the problem. Restricting the flow of money into politics only redirects cronyism. It doesn’t stop it.
The real problem is what is for sale. Government is force. That is its essential and exclusive quality. Government has the unique capacity to lawfully coerce behavior. When that capacity is unmoored from justice, it becomes available to the highest bidder. That is what has happened in America. Lobbyists and donors are lined up to purchase the initiation of force against their economic and political competitors. Winners get to wield a club with which to bludgeon others into submission. Losers are S.O.L.
That is why constitutionally limited government is so important, and why Tea Partiers are so enamored with the Founding and all its historical trappings. Limiting the state’s power to strictly defined roles prevents regulatory capture and other forms of cronyism.
If Occupiers really want to defang corporate lobbyists, they should defang Washington. Some of them may eventually come to realize that. link
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You aren't kidding. Very true indeed.
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