This is part of a weekly informational series about the importance of voting rights, and the need for a constitutional amendment protecting them.
“Our government is now taking so steady a course, as to shew by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit, by consolidation first; and then corruption, it’s necessary consequence. The engine of consolidation will be the Federal judiciary; the two other branches the corrupting and corrupted instruments.” -Thomas Jefferson, “From Thomas Jefferson to Nathaniel Macon, 23 November 1821”
Do you hear it, Mr. Anderson?
Last week we talked about corruption and why it’s inevitable. To summarize, no King (or Queen… or Ruler… or Senate Majority Leader... etc) can act alone, and in his search for support to enable his rule, he turns to corruption to ensure the support he needs.
What about the Benevolent Dictator, you may ask? This ruler, also, must succumb to corruption. Even if he spurns it’s use, he will fall to those who do not. Politics, like nature, selects the survivors.
So corruption — and the tyranny it enables — truly is inevitable. There are ways to mitigate it though, and even better, harness it’s coercive force for our benefit. Exploring and advocating for these methods is the goal of this series.
Corruption is not equally dangerous in all regimes. In a dictatorship, corruption is not merely rampant, it is the main way of life. Oligarchs help themselves to the national treasury, or arrange for political rivals to disappear. Law Enforcement is happy to sell to their “justice” and allowed to keep their share of the sale. Loyalty is bought and sold, sometimes literally, sometime metaphorically. For example, buying the loyalty of LEO’s is even easier if your LEO’s are also Very Bad People™, and are willing to work for the mere pleasure of torturing others. This kind of loyalty so cheap it’s free, as far as the Dictator is concerned. Those who will not be bought are given “lifetime lodgings courtesy of the state.” In exchange for these favors, these key individuals (aka Keys To Power) support the Dictator and carry out his orders.
In a democracy, the corruption tends to be much less overt: here, our Keys are given prime government contracts, tax breaks, committee chairmanships and the like. Back-room deals are made and votes are traded between lawmakers. In exchange, they do not necessarily follow rigid orders, but grant access to the services they control: wealth, media, campaigns, granting (*cough* or witholding…) a key vote on a high-profile law (*cough* or impeachment...). The core process remains the same. Favors for power. None of this is what we’d consider good, but it’s far less damaging then the Dictator’s version.
Both regimes are buying the loyalty of useful minions, but the scope and type of the corruptions is far different.
We need to understand what makes this difference happen. No, it’s not because corruption is illegal. In fact, anti-corruption laws often turn out to be just another tool of corruption. These laws are easily turned into weapons against rivals. Since politics requires some level of corruption, then it’s a fair bet that there WILL be dirt to find, if you look hard enough. This is why political scandals and congressional investigations, both justified and not, are so common in America. Don’t get me wrong, these laws are not useless. They set up a “ceiling of tolerable corruption” that is difficult to break through. They are not, however, the secret to eliminating corruption. More importantly, they are not the secret to making a government that works to promote the welfare of it’s people.
The difference is in the number of Keys a regime requires. In a dictatorship, the rewards are great and so are the risks. Competition is fierce and lethal, and national resources are limited. It’s in the Dictator’s interest, then, to have the fewest number of Keys possible. Through murder (Kim-Jong Nam, for example), exile, or by arrest, a Dictator has the means to limit the number of Keys he requires to keep power. With fewer Keys to pay, the nation’s finite resources can be divided into fewer, larger shares, and loyalty of the remaining Keys bought more securely.
In a democracy, eliminating Keys is more difficult. With the right to vote, every citizen becomes one of millions of Keys To Power. Even in America, with all it’s wealth, resources are finite, but with so many Keys to take care of an Elected Representative must distribute those resources equally enough (if not actually equal) to keep the voters voting for them. Or at least, enough keep enough voters for him to win. The result is a competition for power that is still ruthless, but not lethal, and that requires that the people be considered in the process.
More Voters = More Keys = More Equality = Better Living Conditions. To put things bluntly, in a democracy, the people themselves become a Key To Power, and must be cut in on the take. But only if they vote.
These questions should now answer themselves: Why are Republicans so much more corrupt then Democrats? Why is Republicans’ tax-scam so important to them? Why did they let Trump take over their party? Why is control of the SCOTUS really so important to them? And what will they do next?
And how do we stop them, not just in 2018, but forever?
Until next week!
This article relies heavily on CGP Grey’s excellent video, “Rules For Rulers”. If you are familiar with it, or the book “The Dictator’s Handbook” that it’s based on, the first few posts in this series will seem very familiar to you. Please bear with.
Image credit: Open Door Comics