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Governmentalism and Capitalism
Americans for Limited Government Homepage Greetings, You have such a wonderful name for an organization. "Americans for Freedom." There was no sense of irony, of course, when I went to your website and the frontpage article is about how the government isn't administering enough lie-detector tests to its employees. Somehow, this is a step in the direction of "limited government." There is much that is agreeable in your theory, though. "The time is ripe for an independent, nonpartisan political movement that fights for hardworking taxpayers against the special interests that continually push for big government nationwide." Phrases like "special interests" are often thrown around too carelessly. The fact is that these "special interests" are actually just "money interests," and in bribing politicians, they only do what is necessary to bring income. Whether it's making some superficial gain to hold the confidence of a small electorate, or in acquiring significant tax breaks for the rich, these "special interests" are really just about keeping the rich rich. Nor was this part of the system of government much different under monarchy. Except instead of "special interests," it was the nobility and the aristocracy, the landed proprietors and the powerful merchants. So far from being "special," the character and tendency of those who corrupt government have remained relatively the same for the past few millenia: the briber of government is a wealthy person, usually with a great deal of powerful investment, and they typically expect to make some profit in this exchange with the government official. But today, more specifically, it is the wealthy who represent companies that are buying out congress: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for example, have routinely denied the existence of global warming. This is not any scientific progress, just as centuries ago the same "professionals" said that working sixteen to twenty hours a day was healthy. It is strictly an effort of the land-owning, wealthy, Capitalist class to dominate and control the legislative efforts of the government. It makes no difference if it's Nike or Halliburton, Bank of America or US Bank; they are the true class that represents the so-called "special interests." Though there are some others who tend to a minority of the electorate, like gun control or religious fundamentalism, these do not bring the same strength to the bargaining table. That is, they are not funded as well as multi-billion dollar, international conglomerations. And even with their funding, they are only capable of making their lobbyists and leaders wealthy. What their constituency receives is only as much as is necessary to satisfy their hungering for crumbs. By the simple fact of competition with other politicians, as elections necessarily come with, politicians must accept some of these bribes, simply for campaigning purposes. If they do not, they are swept out of office -- the system of representative government has defects that necessarily lead it towards bought-out government. Centuries ago, the aristocracy demanded wars to expand its territory, just as Capitalists do the same. While the nobility once demanded greater rights in exploiting their serfs, today, the Capitalists now demand a lower minimum wage and fewer rights for union organization. It is the possession of society's productive forces by a very few that has always led toward this isolation of political power on behalf of the extreme wealthy. The problem of government is not essentially that it is bloated with civil services, but that its active components, the military and the legal system, have actively enforced the demands of the wealthy. If you want to end this cycle where the wealthy control the votes of senators and representatives, begin by attacking Capitalism. The bribery of the government to enlarge the powers of a few "special interests" is not done by this minority electorate or that one; it is done by a few wealthy who want to keep foreign sweatshops with forced labor. After all, both the Democratic and Republican Parties have been funded from these very same sources. Isn't the problem of lack of democracy in America one due to Capitalism, more than any other factor? Thank you. I patiently await a response... Sincerely,
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