3 ms·

Elsevier (or any other company) that uses lobbying or gives money to politicians is just using the system in their favor. That's not evil. It's evil that the sy

by zeeed 15y ago

Elsevier (or any other company) that uses lobbying or gives money to politicians is just using the system in their favor. That's not evil. It's evil that the system allows for this to happen.

mjwalshe 15y ago
Thats a very naive view - laws are often drafted by lawyers / polaticians - and what makes non corporate actors in lobying any better or worse they are just lobbying for their constituents. With your model extremist churches or other organisations could lobby to reduce employment rights for women/LGBT etc. For example returning to the 50's wheer women who got married had to resign like they did at one compnay I used to work for. A company with progressive views on employment issues say Google would be banned from lobbying against this. And you would have od position where say the UAW could put their views on a bill concerning the Auto industry but Alan Mulally could not - not teribly fair.
- jedbrown 15y ago
  Two problems: 1. Money is an extremely effective campaign tool, so effective that it is almost impossible for a candidate with no money to get elected, no matter how popular their views are. Since quite few constituents contribute money, and individual people don't speak with sufficiently organized objectives, politicians are only very weakly accountable to their constituents. 2. The promise of a high-paying job after congress, along with other benefits, influences the decisions of our elected officials. To make politicians accountable to their constituents, we have to solve the first problem. Since advertising costs money and seems to be necessary for a campaign, this suggests finance reform along the lines that Lessig suggests (http://rootstrikers.org http://rootstrikers.org), whereby constituents control campaign funding, all in small-dollar amounts.
  - mjwalshe 15y ago
    You need to first remove any civil service position from being in the presidents gift as a bribe for contributions no jollies as an ambassador ETC and NO presidential pardons for anything Scooter Libby ought to be in the cell next to Manning or more properly have been taken out and shot. Oh and move to a fully professional Judiciary elections to Judgeship are far more corrupting. Oh and you didn't answer my point about other actors do you want to have an internet where telcos and ISP can't lobby for common carrier status welcome to the church and other interest groups deciding what is allowed on the internet Or would you care live a society like China or Russia where your employer and your job and sweat equity can be expropriated.

by zeeed 15y ago

Elsevier (or any other company) that uses lobbying or gives money to politicians is just using the system in their favor. That's not evil. It's evil that the system allows for this to happen.

mjwalshe 15y ago

Thats a very naive view - laws are often drafted by lawyers / polaticians - and what makes non corporate actors in lobying any better or worse they are just lobbying for their constituents. With your model extremist churches or other organisations could lobby to reduce employment rights for women/LGBT etc. For example returning to the 50's wheer women who got married had to resign like they did at one compnay I used to work for. A company with progressive views on employment issues say Google would be banned from lobbying against this. And you would have od position where say the UAW could put their views on a bill concerning the Auto industry but Alan Mulally could not - not teribly fair.

jedbrown 15y ago
Two problems: 1. Money is an extremely effective campaign tool, so effective that it is almost impossible for a candidate with no money to get elected, no matter how popular their views are. Since quite few constituents contribute money, and individual people don't speak with sufficiently organized objectives, politicians are only very weakly accountable to their constituents. 2. The promise of a high-paying job after congress, along with other benefits, influences the decisions of our elected officials. To make politicians accountable to their constituents, we have to solve the first problem. Since advertising costs money and seems to be necessary for a campaign, this suggests finance reform along the lines that Lessig suggests (http://rootstrikers.org http://rootstrikers.org), whereby constituents control campaign funding, all in small-dollar amounts.
- mjwalshe 15y ago
  You need to first remove any civil service position from being in the presidents gift as a bribe for contributions no jollies as an ambassador ETC and NO presidential pardons for anything Scooter Libby ought to be in the cell next to Manning or more properly have been taken out and shot. Oh and move to a fully professional Judiciary elections to Judgeship are far more corrupting. Oh and you didn't answer my point about other actors do you want to have an internet where telcos and ISP can't lobby for common carrier status welcome to the church and other interest groups deciding what is allowed on the internet Or would you care live a society like China or Russia where your employer and your job and sweat equity can be expropriated.