L.A. Liberty

We are the Rope

In a post up today at the Huffington Post (no, not The Onion), former Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) had a few things to say about the relationship between corporations and government. First, this:

“Because [corporations] have become so international and global in nature, it’s highly questionable whether governments can actually control corporations to a sufficient degree to prevent them from controlling governments.”

You get that? Can governments “control corporations to a sufficient degree to prevent them from controlling governments,” he wonders. This circuitous pretzel illogic seems to presume that there is an equilibrial state in which each controls the other to a certain extent, but that the more beneficial dynamic is one in which government has total control. Unfortunately, in this macro-tug-of-war, the consumer/taxpayer is the rope.

Here’s the solution to corporations having too much power: strip government of its monopoly powers on aggression and its control over the economy. If government cannot impose taxes or offer tax breaks, impose tariffs or offer subsidies, impose regulations or offer liability protections, impose fees and licensing or offer interest-free loans, impose wage and price controls or offer bailouts - then what good is it for a corporation to control the government? Only government has a monopoly on force and as such only with government’s help can corporations be gifted guaranteed revenue streams and protections from failures. And, further, these corporations would be accountable to millions instead of simply to a favored few.

But this is not all Kanjorksi had to say.

“Hey, these are very powerful people controlling huge amounts of money and influence,” Kanjorksi said, referring to big bank executives. “What we need is a very strong prudential regulator. We need a philosopher king, and I nominate Paul Volcker. Somebody like Paul Volcker could take this thing and run with it.”

Amazingly, this tyrannical state-worshiper was in office for 26 years. We’re all better off with him not having any power over our lives. Unfortunately, hundreds more like him remain.

Posted August 23, 2011 at 12:35pm in ∆ libertarian libertarianism corporatism | comments || home