If political philosophy x requires incorruptible politicians to work, it’s not serious.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Paul Krugman just wrote this about libertarianism but it applies to all political systems.

It as pointless to abstractly hope for politicians of greater character as it is to demand more ethical corporate behavior. Players in a system operate at the edges of their imposed boundaries. Cheetahs and gazelles both run about as fast as mammals can run because they are in an arms race with no exterior regulation. Corporations are incapable of good citizenship except insofar as good citizenship is the most profitable course. And politicians are as venal, corrupt and dumb as the rules of the road permit.

The desires of the citizenry are a boundary on politicians, but a limited one. Voters weed out some of the most egregious corruption but the voters are unwilling to go too far in policing the situation. (It would require being single-issue clean government voters and that's too much to ask. I am going to vote for people who agree with me on abortion and civil rights, even if they take more PAC money than their opponent.)

Why Libertarianism Doesn’t Work, Part N
Paul Krugman
May 14, 2010, 1:40 pm


Thinking about BP and the Gulf: in this old interview, Milton Friedman says that there’s no need for product safety regulation, because corporations know that if they do harm they’ll be sued.

Interviewer: So tort law takes care of a lot of this ..

Friedman: Absolutely, absolutely.

Meanwhile, in the real world:

In the wake of last month’s catastrophic Gulf Coast oil spill, Sen. Lisa Murkowski blocked a bill that would have raised the maximum liability for oil companies after a spill from a paltry $75 million to $10 billion. The Republican lawmaker said the bill, introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), would have unfairly hurt smaller oil companies by raising the costs of oil production. The legislation is “not where we need to be right now” she said.

And don’t say that we just need better politicians. If libertarianism requires incorruptible politicians to work, it’s not serious.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/why-libertarianism-doesnt-work-part-n/

[arcadian]

1. Corporations already disregard ethics and morality

Just wait until they decide that the "corporate good guy" face they put on is no longer profitable.

[90-percent]

5. corporate good guy face

The actual "corporate goodness" of any given corporation is inversely proportional to the amount of PR advertising they run touting their "goodness" with paid advertising.

"At XYZ Corporation, our people are our most important product". At least until a scandal breaks and then we all find out how they exploit workers unjustly as a matter of corporate policy. Or sell products that hurt people. Etc.

-90% Jimmy

[pruple]

2. K&R

good post

[unpossibles]

3. I agree that Libertarianism requires not just incorruptible politicians, but citizens as well

I'm not sure where to find this utopia.

Also, as much as I love and support the idea of third party candidates because they can push the major parties and theoretically keep them on their toes sometimes, I also recognize that if we don't change the parts of the system (the disease) which allow the corruption to occur in the first place (the symptoms) then even if a third party candidate wins, they won't be able to be an agent of change any more than anyone one else could. As the non-main parties gain power, they too will be targeted by those who buy politicians.

[Scuba]

4. So how about this platorm....

1. America has been highjacked by special interests, corporations having "free speech" rights, etc.

2. We can take America back, without bloodshed or great human suffering simply by applying the Constitution.

3. Our candidates will take an Oath that a) we'll ban "corporate free speech" and b) we'll pass term limit and other anti-corruption legislation to hold future elected officials accountable.