Republic, Lost

September 5, 2011
You may call it "dependence corruption," but it's still corruptionâthe dependence of Congress on campaign contributors to get their message out and the dependence on the voters to elect them on that message. Lessig (Remix) distinguishes between a commercial economy (or quid pro quo), and a gift economy that cements a relationship of obligation. He argues that campaign finance reform will never work as long as politicians know who is donating to their cause, and sometimes even if they know someone is donating, or even threatening to donate, to their opponent's cause. In Washington's vicious circle, a lobbyist has a fundraiser for a candidate because (s)he serves on a certain committee and a Congressional representative knows which lobbyist and which corporation to ask for contributions because (s)he knows they share interests. Lessig proffers interesting solutions, but grants only a 10% chance that one or all of them might help. Though parts of the book are bogged down in lawyerly rhetoric, it will reward readers with insight into the morass that is Washington, though not necessarily hope.

September 1, 2011

Harvard Law School cyber-law expert Lessig (Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy, 2008, etc.) turns his attention to what he believes to be rampant institutional corruption destroying American democracy.

While the U.S. Congress has lost credibility because of widespread conviction that senators and representatives are bought and paid for by special interests, the author argues that this is the fault of a system that has gone out of control rather than the personal venality of politicians. Lessig, a one-time conservative who supported President Obama, attributes this to systematic economic deregulation over the past 20 years, which has allowed for the concentration of wealth into the hands of a small number of individuals who now wield disproportionate power. He shows in detail how financial rather than national interest has come to dominate legislation and the practice of government on both sides of the aisle, despite stated political allegiance. A root cause is the rise of campaign spending, which has grown from $56,000 for a member of the House in 1974 to $1.3 million in 2008 and is still rising. Not only do politicians cater to their largest contributors, but a majority of their time and energy is necessarily diverted to fundraising for the next campaign. Lessig describes how entitlements to big business ("corporate welfare") provide absolutely no benefit for average Americans or the poor, as exemplified by protective tariffs on sugar and support for ethanol production, which benefit agribusiness to the detriment of public health and the environment. He suggests that campaign-finance reform is the most important issue to be remedied, and he proposes a national discussion about the necessity for a constitutional convention to implement reform.

A well-reasoned argument on the structural problems now paralyzing American government, with a less-convincing proposed solution.

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