The Economics of Democratic Empire
26th December 2018
ZMan nails it.
Democracy, of course, turns the ruling class of a country into renters. Unlike an owner, a monarch for example, the office holders in a democracy are in it for short term profit. The next election could find them back in the dreaded private sector. In order to hedge against that eventuality, they must convert as much private property into public property, in order to distribute it to friends of government. Democracy is just a formalized version of tragedy of the commons, that always ends in it murdering itself.
December 26th, 2018 at 08:48
The most succinct statement of that problem I’ve ever read.