American "Democracy" For Sale
Without knowing for certain, it's a safe bet that no other advanced industrial country allows an unlimited, unregulated amount of money into politics. At least not overtly (Italy being somewhat problematic). As in so many comparative areas, internationally we are an extreme political outlier. Barely a democracy. But within the context of American life today's Supreme Court decision makes perfect sense: corporations effectively run the country so why impose any constraints on them?
In a perverse way this decision is a helpful one because it frames the problem so starkly. Too many reformers insist on complaining about the quality of citizen participation in politics when even with all the good will in the world it is almost impossible for politicians not to sell out. They behave the way they do because of the incentives they face. We've got a dysfunctional government that borders upon being politically illegitimate; the only way out is to change its structure to bring it — kicking and screaming, if necessary — from the eighteenth century into the twenty first.
Posted by George Kenney on January 21, 2010 12:26 PM 
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Comments
The Supreme Court has effectively kicked us from the eighteenth century back to the fourteenth. We are living under corporate feudalism where every facet of our life is or soon will be under the control of our corporate lords and masters. They can take our land whenever they want to erect more shopping malls, our tax money pays for their ego-driven crusades in foreign lands, none of us can feed our families without some degree of subordination to their rule, and the emblems of our rulers are thrust in our faces wherever we look.
Posted by: Charles D
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January 21, 2010 1:53 PM
Back in the nineteenth century when the courts decided that corporations had the same rights as individuals did, a poison was introduced to the body politic, that will likely kill our Republic soon if this damnable philosophy isn't contained. A corporation is like a individual, with the power of the Gods, compared to ordinary people. They have infinite money and resources, can hire political influencers, 24 hours a day to get their point across, and are protected from any one in the company hierarchy from blame, and responsibility. They operate outside of the nation states ability to bring them to heel. They are reaching the point of seriously threatening our democracy. I am generally a conservative, but find this ruling ruinous for the country, if it is allowed to stand like this.
[See my podcast with Ted Nace for more, including a free, downloadable history of corporations. g.]
Posted by: brierrabbit3030 | January 21, 2010 11:52 PM
America keeps getting scarier. Umair Haque has written a nice ironic response to the Supreme Court decision over on his Harvard blog...
Posted by: Richard
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January 22, 2010 12:36 PM
Good-bye America. This is much worse than 911 in its eventual and inevitable effects.
Posted by: Tim | January 23, 2010 12:23 AM