07/07/05

Voters are irresponsible. They have little incentive to be otherwise, because educating themselves on many and sundry political matters is costly, but their lone vote hardly ever brings them a sufficient return on their investment in terms of real impact on decisions. The President acts relatively irresponsibly because the voters are, and he knows he can get away with it. So everyone together seems to be responsible for the outcomes, and yet no one is responsible. This is the paradox of the system of voting and handing over immense power to leaders. It is the paradox of any State in which one or a few rulers rule many subjects. So where is the blame to be placed? When President Bush is replaced by a wiser leader because the American people have learned the lesson of his blunders, will significantly better decisions be the result? No, it will not happen, because the incentives built into the system have not changed...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/rozeff1.html

from LewRockwell.Com, by Michael S. Rozeff


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp