Don Boudreaux responds to the latest column by E. J. Dionne in the Washington Post:
Editor, Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
Ever the romantic about popularly elected government, E.J. Dionne
writes that “The central tasks of democratic government, after all,
typically involve standing up for the many against the few, the less
powerful against the more powerful” (“Can we reverse the tide on
government distrust?” May 6).
That’s the theory taught to children. Here’s the reality understood by
adults: The central achievements of democratic government, after all,
typically involve standing up for the few against the many, the more
powerful against the less powerful.
History overflows with evidence that democratic reality seldom lives up
to democratic theory. Tariffs; farm subsidies; military-weapons
programs that thrive even in the face of opposition by the Pentagon –
these are only three of the more blatant examples of the many way that
government heaps benefits on relatively small interest groups (the few)
by screwing the general public (the many).
Gullibility is tolerable in children because kiddies have little
decision-making authority. But gullibility in adults is dangerous.
And no instance of gullibility is as dangerous as that which leads
adults such as Mr. Dionne to “trust” that a handful of people hungry
for power and the privilege of spending taxpayers’ money, will – once
chosen by voters – cast off their human vanities and ignorance to
become selfless saviors of millions upon millions of strangers whom
these officials will never as much as lay their eyes on.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
