Who Watches The Watchers?
The rich and powerful have always had an incentive to use that power rather than work through the Democratic system. Â Not the least of their goals has been to hold on to that power. Â
Democratic government serves as a counterbalance to the unequal distribution of power the marketplace produces. Â Unfortunately, we’re now living in a time in which the power of the marketplace has assumed an inordinate amount of sway. Â Worse, parts of government have been hijacked and put in the service of reinforcing the power of the marketplace.
One of the best, most succinct expressions of how I feel about politics and history I’ve ever read, in a comment to a reader diary on DailyKos about an historical attempt to set up fascism in America.
See, I think markets are great. I love ‘em. When they have rules and laws that guide them and hold them in check. So-called “free markets” are nothing more than a naive, idealist, utopian fantasy, just as much as socialism. Because markets in general naturally tend towards, as the commenter said, unequal distribution of power — think collusion and cartels — in the same way that governments naturally tend towards corruption without a real, active press.
Once you know that a free press keeps the government in check, and the government is what helps keep markets healthy and fair — if you’re on the upper side of the power scale and you want to keep your position, the strategy is obvious: infest the press with your money and control it as much as you can.
How can citizens, interested in fair markets and efficient, effective government, fight back against the class war perpetrated by those at the top who try to keep their spot on the totem pole? Who acts as a check on the press? Blogs help to start with, but they’re really just a new facet of the free press that hasn’t been corrupted yet. It won’t last, although they may be more immune to the forces of fascism in general since they’re more distributed. Constitutionally-grounded open government might help, but achieving that will be no easy task…
Posted: February 27th, 2005 under Politics.