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Who are "We" and Who are "They"?: The Analysis of Assistance from "Developed" Countries towards the "Developing" Countries Focusing on Human Abilities
No full textHow do people who promote development from the viewpoint of First World nations attempt to include the people in Third World nations? This is a key point in the topic of global development. In fact, when one looks at the policies that are promoted by First World nations, it is often possible to find that those policies ignore the people who live in developing nations. This phenomenon eventually leads to unpleasant or even miserable situations for the inhabitants of Third World nations, which only serves to worsen the global situation. Why do such situations occur? Are there any ways to solve the problems that lead to these situations?Who are "We" and Who are "They"?
The Analysis of Assistance from ''Developed" Countries towards the ''Developing'' Countries
Focusing on Human Abilities
Yuriko Suzuki
Senior Thesis for Political Science Department POL-399
Professor Norm Walbek
May21,2001
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0. Introduction
1."Self' and "Others"
• The Issue of Asian Crisis
2.The Orthodox aud the Critical Approaches
• The Orthodox Approach
• The Critical Approach
3. What is Official Development Assistance (ODA)?
4. Japanese ODA
• Japanese ODA Overview
• Forms of Japanese ODA and Its Implementation System
• Grant Aid
1. General Aid
2. Grass-roots Grant Aid
3. Grant Aid for Fisheries
4. Cultural GrantAid
5. Food Aid/Aid to Iucrease Food
6. Who Gets the Grant Aid?
• Technical Cooperation
1. Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV)
2. Projects for Accepting Trainees
3. Project-type Technical Cooperation
4. Development Studies
• Experts Dispatch Projects
• Yen Loans
• Contributions and Subscriptions to International Institutions
• ODA Charter
• Three Myths of Japan's ODA
• The Important Role of Non Governmental Organizations
• How Should Japanese ODA Be Changed?
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5. The ODA of the United States
6. The ODA of European Countries
• The ODA of the United Kingdom
• The ODA of France
• The ODA of Germany
7. The ODA of International Organizations
• The World Trade Organization
• The World Bank Group
• The International Monetary Fund
8. The hnportance of Basic Human Needs (BHNs)
9. How Should Development Be Promoted?
10. Conclusion
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O. Introduction
How do people who promote development from the viewpoint of First World
nations attempt to include the people in Third World nations? This is a key point in the
topic of global development. In fact, when one looks at the policies that are promoted by
First World nations, it is often possible to find that those policies ignore the people who
live in developing nations. This phenomenon eventually leads to unpleasant or even
miserable situations for the inhabitants of Third World nations, which only serves to
worsen the global situation. Why do such situations occur? Are there any ways to solve
the problems that lead to these situations?
Today, the "developing" nations hold 80 percent of the world's population, yet
they receive only 20 percent of the world's Gross National Product (GNP). Thus, it is
clear that there is a gap between the wealth of "developing" nations and "developed"
nations. Moreover, one can see that there is disparity not only in their economic power,
but also in social aspects, such as average life span, infant mortality, nutrition, literacy
rate, and the rate of school attendance. For example, although the average life span in
"developed" nations is 74 years, the average life span in the "developing" nations is only
64 years. Likewise, the infant mortality is 0.009 percent in "developed" nations, while it
is 0.068 percent in "developing'" nations. Indeed, the gap between the quality of life
enjoyed by "developed" nations and "developing" nations has been increasing in many
ways (Yamashita, 1998: 225).
The Official Development Assistance (ODA) given from "developed" nations to
"developing" nations plays an important role in this situation. According to the
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the OECD adopted
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the ODA in 1969 because the OECD wanted to separate the ODA from other "Other
Official Flows" (OOF). Because of this separation, OCED was able to clarify the purpose
of the ODA: to promote "the economic and social development" of "developing" nations,
through a basic method of assistance "intended to be concessional" (Fuhrer, 1996: 21).
The ODA has been used as one of the major solutions for decreasing the gap
between "developing" countries and "developed" countries. In 1994, "developed" nations
delivered about 590 billion dollars, which was about 0.3 percent of the GNP, to the ODA,
30 percent of which was carried out through international organizations to "developing"
nations. Among "developed" nations, the nation that contributes the most to the ODA is
Japan. In fact, Japan provided 22 percent of the ODA's total expenditure in 1994, leaving
behind the United States (Yamashita, op.cit.: 260). The "developed" nations contribute
huge amounts of money to the "developing" nations every year, but situations in
"developing" nations have not noticeably changed for the better. Why does the gap
between the wealth of "developed" nations and "developing" nations keep increasing?
Are there any factors that prevent "developing" nations from growing? Is the strategy of
development through focusing on economic growth really effective? In actuality, it seems
that the cause of failure lies in the ways "developed" nations make contributions.
Although there is no real guarantee that any method of development will be successful,
one needs to consider the basic goal and examine the kind of approach that the
"developed" nations should take.
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1. "Selr' and "Others"
When "others" get problems, how do "we" react towards the problems? Can "we"
really understand the problems by placing ourselves in others' positions? How can "we"
try to solve their problems? Will "we" use our measures to do so, relying on our values?
In any case, it is clear that "we" separate ourselves from "others" in our attempts to solve
such problems because we view those problems as the problems of "others." Simizu
exposes the dichotomy of "Self" and "Others" by considering the case of Asian Crisis,
focusing on the international political economy. He mentions that when "we" discuss the
issues of the Asian Crisis, many people say that "we" are ready to help "them" recover
from the disaster of the financial crisis of the Asian nations. Then, Simizu concludes that
'"we' represents the 'international community,' a community which does not include
'them,"' and he also says that "'we' are in the 'gentleman's club' while 'they' stay
outside and will never be permitted entry into this elite" (Simizu, 1999 a: online). In that
way, the term "international" represents the people who can get a hold of the dominant
power in world affairs, and as a result, "they" will be excluded from the circle (ibid.).
However, the narratives of people such as the "Western" economists or theorists made the
people who were really living in such regions "invisible," as in "the invisibility and
potential for intra-nation conflict, social instability, and attacks on ethnic Chinese" (ibid.).
Many "Western" economists, theorists of international political economy, and
international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank tried to propose solutions to the Asian Crisis by showing their "concern" to the
Asian nations (ibid.). Here, Simizu introduces two main arguments: the neo-mercantilist
and the neo-liberal arguments. As an example of the neo-mercantilist, Simizu offers the
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article of John J. Lafalce, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (Lafalce, 1998:
online). In the article entitled The Role of the United States and the IMF in the Asian
Financial Crisis, Lafalce discusses two approaches that the U.S. could take toward the
Crisis. First approach is "to use our central role in the international economic community
to restore economic stability in Asia and safeguard the potential for economic growth
there and at home" (ibid.). Thus, he basically takes the position of that the U.S. should
intervene in the Crisis. However, what he is emphasizing here is the economy of the U.S.
His expression of "home" shows how he regards his place more important than others'. It
is obvious that Lafalce examines the Asian Crisis in order to analyze ways to prevent the
crisis from spreading to the U.S. (Simizu, ibid.).
Second, Lafalce argues another approach toward the problem; "we can stand by as
regional financial crisis blights the economic prospects of affected countries and their
people, and simply hope it will not spread" (Lafalce, ibid.). However, Lafalce considers
this option not as favorable, because it is possible that the Crisis would influence areas
other than the U.S., such as Latin America, that had received assistance from the IMF and
where "serious progress" was being promoted. Since it was true that the Asian Crisis was
spreading towards those nations, he concludes that the effects of the Asian Crisis on those
regions would "prove enormously costly to them as well" (Lafalce, ibid.). Considering
Lafalce's argument, one can say that he talks about the international political system, but
he does not mention the people who actually live in the areas suffering from the Asian
Crisis (Simizu, ibid.).
Simizu analyzes neo-liberal thought by considering Michel Camdessus, "the
Managing of the IMF and the most powerful figure in Asia at the moment" (ibid.).
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Camdessus discusses the Asian Crisis; "the task before us is very simple: to keep this
crisis from becoming a catastrophe of global proportions" (Camdessus, 1998: online).
While Camdessus is a neo-liberalist2 and Lafalce is mercantilist3, their arguments do have
a common ground: how "we" prevent the spreading of "their" Asian Crisis towards "us."
Who, then are "we, " and who are "they?" Simizu concludes the following: the aspect
that has been described by a mercantilist and a liberalist is "a story of international
finance where the 'West' and international financial institutions are teaching and guiding
those economies in 'crisis"' (Simizu, ibid.). The actors in the Crisis are "the U.S., the
IMF, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan" (ibid.). The actors who
won in this incident are the U.S. and the IMF, and the actors who lost are the Asian
nations. From the point of view of the developed nations, the winners were "us" and the
losers were "them." On the other hand, in this argument, the people who are living in
those regions and have real damage from the Crisis are overlooked. This is distressing,
because that is the most important aspect that one should focus on: people's everyday
lives (ibid.).
According to Simizu, the reason that the thinkers of the International political
economy or the international organizations cannot see the reality is that they simply talk
about a different world within the range of international financial system of the U.S.
economy (ibid.). This way of thinking can be applied into the idea of development from
"developed" nations to "developing" nations. When "developed" nations or international
organizations give assistance toward "developing" nations, they fail to promote actual
development of "developing" nations for of the same reasons shown in their analysis of
the Asian Crisis: by adopting a "us" and "them" view. Thus, "developed" nations and
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international organizations have to handle such matters carefully by taking a critical
approach, which will be discussed in the next section.
2. Orthodox Approach and Critical Approach
In his article entitled Poverty, Development, and Hunger, Thomas contends that
development can be looked at from two perspectives: orthodox and critical approaches
(Thomas, 1998: 449-467). The orthodox approach is the mainstream way of thinking
based on Western liberalistic thought. According to the view of the orthodox approach,
things are measured by economic statistics. Therefore, development is valued based on
gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (Sen, 1996: 1-28). In order to achieve
development, the traditional styles should be changed into the style of a market economy.
Thus, the market economy is the only solution to poverty and underdevelopment
according to the orthodox approach. In addition, in order to succeed in an international
society, nations need to have a comparative advantage, and to compete with other nations
using that comparative advantage, which will eventually make it possible to be integrated
into a global economy (Gilpin, 1987: 266). The reasons why underdeveloped nations are
in poverty are thought to be population growth, the self-interests of dictators, and
excessive government spending (Pease, 2000: 159). Because of these reasons, those
nations are caught in the circle of poverty, from which they cannot easily escape. In that
way, the orthodox approach promotes market economy by reforming radically, and
reducing the interventions by those nations is the best way of solving the development
problem. Then, according to the orthodox-viewpoint, significant wealth will be created in
the end.
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On the other hand, the critical approach opposes the orthodox idea, and it is that
approach that will lead to a better situation for people living in the "developing" nations.
The critical approach takes the position that it is impossible to measure lives by using
on! y the economic statistics such as GDP per capita or levels of industrialization. In fact,
GDP per capita lacks some important points of view. GDP per capita does not include the
work done by women in the home or the informal sectors that are not exposed on the
market economy (Pease, ibid.). In contrast, the critical theorists think development should
be promoted based on the ability of the people living there to meet their necessities
through their own effort (Thomas, op.cit.: 453). In other words, people have the right to
decide things relying on their own values. People in "developing" nations can be free
from Western thoughts, and they can set their own goals by themselves. Development
will be measured by quality of life instead of GDP per capita.
Although the orthodox approach uses mathematical models for development, it is
obvious that our lives cannot be measured merely by that kind of calculation. Moreover,
the orthodox approach overlooks some important aspects. Many "developing" nations
were once the colonies of Western nations, and they still cannot escape from the patterns
of exploitation of the Western nations (Pease, op.cit.: 160). According to Frank, today,
globalism expands from the Western nations and it leads capitalism towards "developing"
nations. Based on a globalistic economy, those nations have provided cheap materials and
labor for the Western nations and this worldwide condition has made them subordinate in
this system (Pease, ibid.). Therefore, the system of wealth that flows towards the
"developed" nations from "developing" nations has been established, and it seems to be
difficult to change this system. In that way, development issues need to be considered
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from the world wide view, and the methods of development should be approached
critically by focusing on the values of the people living in the "developing" nations.
There is one point that both the orthodox approach and the critical approach agree
upon: the principal obstacle towards development is external debt. However, each
approach sees the causes of the external debt differently. The orthodox approach
attributes the causes of the debt to government actions. First, huge government spending
and domestic consumers caused external debt to explode. Second, governments borrowed
money instead of depending on the taxes of their nations. Third, the governments used
the money gathered for militarization of their nations instead of development (Pease,
op.cit.: 160-161). Thus, orthodox theorists think the external debt came from the simple
fact that the "developing" nations borrowed too much from other nations.
In contrast, critical theorists think that the external debt comes mainly from
causes that are beyond the government's control. In fact, external debts began to
accumulate when the market economy, based on the neo-liberal economics such as the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), appeared. In the 1970's the world
economy was unstable, and it became difficult for the "developing" nations to return the
money they owed (Pease, op.cit.: 161). Thus, critical theorists think that the cause of the
external debts was that the "developing" nations faced a situation where they had to
borrow money from Western nations or Western banks just to survive.
Since the critical approach has the more flexible way of thinking and focuses on
the ability of the people who actually live in the regions that need to experience
development, the policies for development that are made by the "developed" nations
should be based on the critical approach. This would help prevent thinkers of the
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international political economy or the international organizations from looking at a
different world, and ignoring the real everyday lives of the people who live there.
3. Official Development Assistance (ODA)
There are several kinds of financial cooperation toward "developing" countries
from "developed" countries or international organizations, which the Development
Assistance Committee (DAC) and its subcommittee of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) divide into four main categories: "official
development assistance (ODA), other official flows (OOF), private flows (PF), and grants
by private voluntary agencies" (Nishigaki and Shimomura, 1999: 85-86). ODA is the
flow which requirements are relatively easy to meet for "developing" countries, and it is
internationally recognized as a form of aid. OOF is also official flow but it does not meet
the requirements of ODA. One example of OOF is the flow done by the Japan ExportImport
Bank. PF is the flow which is provided by private corporations, and it includes
export credits or direct investigation in "developing" countries. "Grants by private
voluntary agencies" is promoted by the NGOs as volunteer activities through grass roots
movement (ibid.). Thus, financial cooperation can be divided into four categories, and
ODA is the internationally recognized aid, which has been done by many "developed"
countries.
ODA is more specifically defined by the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD):
ODA consists of flows to developing countries and multilateral institutions
provided by official agencies, including state and local governments, or by their
executive agencies, each transaction of which meets the following test: a) it is
administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of
developing countries as its main objective, and b) it is concessional in character
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and contains a grant element of at least 25 percent ( calculated at a rate of
discount of 10 per cent) (Fuhrer, 1996: 24).
Thus, there are necessary conditions for ODA, and every grant of assistance is not
considered as ODA without satisfying these requirements.
One of the most important aspects in ODA is that ODA has strategic characters in
itself, and the strategic methods of assistance seem to come from the Marshall Plan
promoted by the U.S. in 1947 (Huruuchi-a: online). According to the website of the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), President Truman
decided to give assistance for the reconstruction of Western Europe after World War II.
The goal of the assistance was "To stabilize Europe, not as a permanent program for
European recovery but as an emergency tool of assistance" (USAID-a: online). Next
year, President Truman also began an assistance program called "Point Four Program of
technical assistance" towards "developing" nations.
Although the Marshall plan is referred to as the basis of the development
assistance because of the scale and the result, it is obvious today that the assistance given
was used by the U.S. to produce Western power which made it possible to confine the
Soviet Union. In other words, the Marshall Plan was used as one of the strategies of the
U.S. in order to weaken the Soviet Union. Thus, Point Four Program had the same
character, and the U.S. provided assistance in order to influence more nations positively
toward the U.S. Here, the important aspect was not the people who live in nations that
needed assistance but the sovereignty of the nations themselves. This is why the unit of
the assistance had to be the nation, and this kind of strategic assistance has been
continued even today (Huruuchi-a: online).
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Also, the Point Four Program had important meaning because the program
suggested by President Truman fixed the meaning of the word "development" as an
economic matter. President Truman suggested that technical advances and industrial
development should be expanded towards "developing" nations. Development was
described as expansion of production by investing capital. This idea eventually lead to the
way of thinking where, if the "South" is poor the "North3 " has to provides assistance.
Then, development was considered to create industrial progress, and, as a result, would
produce political stability. In that way, the idea was very simple because such assistance
was supposed to stabilize the world order (ibid).
Official Development Assistance (ODA) of Japan
Japan's ODA Ove
Self-Evident Truth and Social Imaginary: Transcending Liberalism and Communitarianism
No full textI began with a fairly simple query. I have always wondered why Americans are so frantic to protect their free speech and religion, but seem to care very little whether or not their citizens are clothed and fed. My explanation had always been Lockean liberalism, but I decided to probe deeper into this generalization. I found that I was not the first to be dismayed by this question. I also found myself mired in the liberalism-communitarianism debate that came to the forefront of political theory during the 1980's. From that point on, I spent the majority of my time understanding who said what in reaction to whom. This has served as a beginning for elaboration of my own thoughts on liberalism and political community. As I became entrenched in this debate I realized I had inadvertently strayed from my Marxist-socialist roots. Economics do not serve as the centerpiece of analysis. I have placed it aside only for the time-being, and by no means does its absence symbolize a denial of its importance. Similarly, I would like to have placed the debate between liberals and communitarians within the American historical context. Lack of time prevented the legwork such a connection would have entailed. I do, however, maintain a strong belief in the centrality history must play in relation to political theory.Self-Evident Truth and the Social Imaginary:
Transcending Liberalism and Communitarianism
Rebecca M. Knudsen
Senior Thesis
Advisor: Jill Locke
May 22, 2001
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Prologue
I have always been reassured that an author is never completely satisfied with her work.
Suffice it to say, I am not completely satisfied with this paper. This is the first time I have
endeavored to create such a work. Rather than simply being assigned a research question or even
a genre from which I am to argue and support a point, I have had to search myself to decide what
I want to write about and then decide what writing about it entails. It has been an interesting,
exhilarating, and pain-staking experience. For the first time I experienced the love-hate
relationship I would imagine every academic experiences in relation to his scholarly work.
I began with a fairly simple query. I have always wondered why Americans are so frantic to
protect their free speech and religion, but seem to care very little whether or not their citizens are
clothed and fed. My explanation had always been Lockean liberalism, but I decided to probe
deeper into this generalization. I found that I was not the first to be dismayed by this question. I
also found myself mired in the liberalism-communitarianism debate that came to the forefront of
political theory during the 1980' s. From that point on, I spent the majority of my time
understanding who said what in reaction to whom. This has served as a beginning for elaboration
of my own thoughts on liberalism and political community. As I became entrenched in this
debate I realized I had inadvertently strayed from my Marxist-socialist roots. Economics do not
serve as the centerpiece of analysis. I have placed it aside only for the time-being, and by no
means does its absence symbolize a denial of its importance. Similarly, I would like to have
placed the debate between liberals and communitarians within the American historical context.
Lack of time prevented the legwork such a connection would have entailed. I do, however,
maintain a strong belief in the centrality history must play in relation to political theory.
I have come to accept this work for what it is rather that what I had initially imagined it
would be. In this final semester of my senior year of my undergraduate education, I have
recognized the very tangible limits to what I can produce here. I am proud of the work that I have
done. Much of the background research is similar to what one would find in an introductory
democratic theory course. Unfortunately, as my undergraduate education did not grant me the
opportunity for such a course, I have had to settle with my own research and analysis. With the
guidance of my advisor, I followed footnotes to determine what I needed to read. I read a lot
more than I needed to, but those readings allowed me to locate what was important. I am proud
of my product to the extent that it represents three months of hard work and analysis. I have not
written the next "Communist Manifesto," but my experiences this semester have taught me why
that may not be desirable anyway. This paper is what it is, and I am happy with it, even in its
imperfection.
I would like to thank three people for their input and guidance in the last three months.
Thank you Jill Locke for your guidance and supportive words, even on the worst days. You have
helped me to accept that I may actually be capable of becoming a political theorist. I am also
thankful to Jerry Davila, not only for getting me through a month in Rio, but also for your
thoughtful words and intellectual challenges. Finally, I will forever be indebted to Richard Leitch
for three years of unprecedented support. Thank you for everything.
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Introduction
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among them, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed,
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these, it's the right of the
people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government.
-Thomas Jefferson, July 4, 1776
The publication of the Declaration of Independence by the American colonists was the
first step towards the formation of a new nation. The Declaration is one of the first prominent
displays of classical liberalism in the history of the United States. In many ways, the United
States was the great liberal experiment. Jefferson's words mirror the words of John Locke's
Second Treatise on Government. Unlike Locke's Treatise, however, the American project did
not begin in a state of nature. The United States was not a tabula rasa into which a new political
ideology could be inscribed. Each of the colonists came to the nation-founding table with his
own conception of government and the citizen. Recent scholarship on the history of the colonies
has challenged the notion that liberalism is the sole political ideology of the nation.1 Civicrepublicanism
and Puritanism were also present at the founding-table. The tension between these
traditions is evident even in today's political debates. The founding of the United States was a
unique event for the Western world; it was not able to eliminate the traces of previous theoretical
traditions. Liberalism did not emerge with sole claim over American political consciousness.
The liberalism/civic-republicanism debate that is taking place among historians
corresponds with the liberalism/communitarianism debate being waged among political theorists
1 Scholars debate whether Jefferson's writings can be placed within the civic-republican or liberal traditions. This
tension supports the idea that both traditions existed during the founding period of American history. The
Declaration of Independence, however, is generally seen as an expression of classical liberalism.
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and philosophers. Communitarians reject the notion of liberal rights and mourn the loss of the
community that has resulted from the isolation of the individual. The focus, they claim, should
be on community values. Liberals respond that positioning community values over individual
rights leads to injustice and oppression. Both camps incessantly deconstruct the other's
argument. Communitarians and liberals are so invested in their own project that they fail to fully
appreciate the constructive criticism the other has to offer. Is this inane argument the best that
political theory has to offer? Are liberalism and communitarianism so diametrically opposed as
to prevent any resolution in this discussion? Can liberalism and communitarianism join together,
each strengthened and informed by the other? Are we forced to choose between these two
extremes? Can our conception of individual right be transformed to incorporate a more inclusive
and realistic view of the relation between the individual and community-a relationship that
recognizes the inherent connectedness between them?
This paper endeavors to answer some of these questions and propose that democratic
theorists can transcend the debate between communitarianism and liberalism. Simply by
recognizing the strengths of both viewpoints, American political discourse can take on the kind
of nuance that was formerly unavailable. When the connection between individual liberty and
social justice is recognized, it is no longer necessary to choose either the individual or the
community.
Part One of this paper will outline the basic principles of liberalism through the writings
of some of the most prominent liberal theorists. I will focus predominantly on the role of rights
and the privileging of the individual over the community within each of the theories. John
Locke's Second Treatise on Government provides an early account of liberalism as well as the
most influential version in American political history. The writings of John Stuart Mill provide a
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more sophisticated liberalism than earlier theories by recognizing the connectedness of the
individual and the community, but recognizing the tension between the two. Finally, "Justice as
Fairness" by John Rawls provides a contemporary account of liberalism as Rawls attempts to
provide a liberal justification for the welfare state. Rawls' account of liberalism goes the furthest
in addressing the communitarian critique of liberalism. It is hoped that while this overview is far
from accounting for the vast amount of literature on liberalism, that it does present three distinct
and influential accounts of liberalism.
Part Two will then present the communitarian criticisms of liberalism through the
writings of Amitai Etzioni, Alasdair MacIntyre, Michael Sandel, and Charles Taylor. Those who
have been classified as communitarians have two important similarities. First, communitarian
critiques of liberalism argue that liberalism maintains an over-developed notion of the individual,
denying the influence of society his/her development. This emphasis leads to the second trend
among communitarian writers, who argue that liberalism over-emphasizes and privileges
individuals rights to the detriment of society's well-being.
Part Three will attempt to transcend the debate between liberalism and
communitarianism, stating that the best parts of liberalism and communitarianism are not
diametrically opposed to each other and can actually be fused to form a better political
community. As a result of liberalism's under-developed notion of community, we are unable to
understand the connection between individual rights and the community. This section will focus
on the development of a positive, rather than a negative, conception of liberty and rights
informed by Charles Taylor and Quentin Skinner. This section will also call into question the
role that political theory can and should play in relationship to politics, informed by the writings
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of Ben Barber and Chantal Mouffe. It will emphasize the importance of a return to politics as a
way to address societal problems and transcend the debate between liberals and communitarians.
I will conclude by alluding that the debate between liberalism and communitarianism can
be traced in American historical accounts. In many ways, a connection exists between the
federalist/anti-federalist debate of early American history and the debate over liberalism and
communitarianism among political theorists. As historians have pointed out, both traditions have
a history within the American political scene that stems from the early colonial period. The
current political situation is resultant from an over-emphasis on the louder, liberal side of the
history, but that does not exclude the development of the civic-republican tradition to create a
more even balance between them.
It should be noted here that "liberalism" and "communitarianism" are archetypal
categories. Individuals attempting to make sense of the issues at stake often place theorists into
one or the other category. Often the theorists mentioned are not self-proclaimed liberals or
communitarians and may even resent the distinction. These categories are helpful in elucidating
major differences among different groups of theorists, but once those trends have been identified
the categories are limiting because they fail to grasp the important nuances of the arguments
involved. Communitarianism and liberalism as categories cannot transcend the debate. Political
theorists, on the other hand, can and must move beyond this debate in order to participate in the
construction of meaningful societal change.
A second note of caution stems from Stephen Holmes' criticism of anti-liberal authors
and their apparent failure to distinguish between liberal theory and liberal practice.2 Holmes
criticizes anti-liberal authors for identifying problems in contemporary liberal societies then
attempting to trace them to liberal theories. Holmes believes that these connections cannot be
2
Stephen Holmes, The Anatomy of Anti-Liberalism (Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1993) xiv.
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proven to exist. I am aware of this tension and have attempted to give it justice. It is unfortunate
that while it is often easy to identify a connection between theory and practice, the extent to
which that influence has been exercised is difficult to determine. Communitarian criticisms of
liberalism are born out of discomfort or dissatisfaction experienced by theorists living within
contemporary liberal societies. That discomfort leads theorists to the liberal theories that have
served as the foundation of those liberal societies. A one-to-one correlation may not exist
between what was actually in any given liberal theory. An artery exists between the liberal
theory and the liberal society, however, that makes the communitarian criticism valid.
Furthermore, hiding behind a philosophical argument does little to address real societal problems
that communitarians and liberals are attempting to remedy or draw attention towards. I have
attempted to mediate this dilemma to the best of my ability.
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The Liberals
Before we begin to analyze writings that fall under the liberal label, it may be beneficial
to differentiate between classical liberalism and the liberalism embodied in current political
debates. As James P. Young points out, contemporary liberalism as embodied in the Liberal
Democrat Party is actually a misappropriation of the classical liberal label adopted by Franklin
Roosevelt in the 1930's.3 In order to understand classical liberalism and by extension the liberalcommunitarian
debate it is necessary to put aside the contemporary political labels. Classical
liberalism is found within a myriad of theoretical writings, and it is therefore risky to overgeneralize
about what it means to be a liberal. With that warning issued, liberalism is generally
associated with a strong notion of individual right, and these rights protect the individual from
infringements from others, (i.e. I can do whatever I want to do as long as what I do does not
interfere with another's individual right). Government is therefore instituted to prevent these
intrusions. As Chandran Kukathas states: "Liberal political theories generally argue that the good
society is best understood as a framework of rights ( or liberties) and duties within which people
may pursue their separate ends. On this view, the good society is not governed by particular
common ends or goals; it is simply governed by law, consistent with principles of justice."4
From these theoretical underpinnings, one can witness the flourishing popular liberalism
embodied in contemporary American political culture. Ronald Beiner points out that in order to
understand liberalism, one must also understand the liberal way of life:
3 James P. Young Reconsidering American Liberalism: The Troubled Odyssey of the Liberal Idea (Boulder,
Colorado: Westview Press, 1996). According to Young, Franklin Roosevelt successfully appropriated the term
liberal to provide support for his New Deal reforms. In fact, Roosevelt and the Democratic Party actual proposed
ideas that are diametrically opposed to classical liberal ideals, i.e. the intrusion of the government into the private
sphere. 4 Chandran Kukathas, "Liberalism, Communitarianism and Political Community," Social Philosophy & Policy 13.l
(Winter 1996) 80.
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The starting point for an understanding of liberalism is the notion that there is a
distinctive liberal way of life, characterized by the aspiration to increase and enhance
the prerogatives of the individual; by maximal mobility in all directions, throughout
every dimension of social life . . . and by a tendency to turn all areas of human activity
into matters of consumer preference; a way of life based on progress, growth, and
technological dynamism.
One of the largest difficulties for critics of liberalism is to draw connections between liberal
political theory and the liberal way of life. To what extent Beiner's portrait of the liberal society
is accurate is questionable, but it is clear that the liberal tradition has exercised profound
influence on the political organization of the world. Liberalism has a myriad of roots and has
substantively evolved from the early liberal theorists. In order to give justice to this evolution, I
will analyze three liberal texts: John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, John Stuart Mills'
On Liberty, and John Rawls' A Theory of Justice. While each theory is very different from the
other, similar positions on two main concepts allow them to be placed within the liberal
category. Each theory focuses on development of the individual and is extremely suspicious of
the role of community in infringing upon liberty and secondly, each theory focuses on the
importance of individual rights.
Any analysis of the liberal discourse within the American context must begin with John
Locke. While he was not the first theorist to be categorized as a liberal, the impact of his writings
can be felt even in today's political culture. Two concepts developed clearly in Locke's Second
Treatise of Government invite the communitarian criticisms of liberalism: a hyper-developed
individualism and a focus on rights (particularly property rights). Through both of these concepts
it is evident that the individual grudgingly enters the community from the state of nature, and
then the only role of the community is the protection of individual rights. Community is thus
alien to the individual and essentially a negative concept. As a result of his focus on the
5
Ronald Beiner, What's the Matter with Liberalism? (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and Oxford: University of California
Press, 1992), 22.
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individual, Locke never recognizes the inherent connection between the individual and the
community.
The priority of the individual in Locke's liberalism is first found within his description of
the state of nature. According to Locke, everyone is born into a state of perfect freedom to
govern oneself without the aid of any others. Humanity is governed by the law of nature, which
dictates that one may not harm oneself or harm others: "The state of nature has a law of nature to
govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will
but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life,
health, liberty, or possessions."6 It quickly becomes clear that Locke's only concern is that each
individual does not violate another individual's rights: "all men may be retrained from invading
others rights, and from doing harm to one another."7 Nowhere does Locke mention a connection
between individuals that draws them together-a more positive conception of the role of
community on the development of individuals. As long as what I do does not interfere with your
individual rights, the freedom of the state of nature is maintained.
As a result of three primary deficiencies of the state of nature, humanity enters civil
society and forms government. The three problems of the state of nature described by Locke
shape his vision of the role of government. The first reason to quit the state of nature is the need
of an "established, settled, known law, received and allowed by common consent to be the
standard of right and wrong, and the common measure to decide all controversies between
them." Because each individual governs himself/herself within the state of nature, there is no
generally agreed upon law to govern interactions among individuals. Second, the state of nature
lacks an "indifferent judge, with authority to determine all differences according to the
6
John Locke, Second Treatise of Government Ed. C.B. Macpherson (Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company,
1980), 9.
7 Locke 9.
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established law." Finally, the state of nature lacks an individual or entity with the "power to back
and support the sentence when right, and to give it due execution."8
For Locke, government mediates disputes among members of the community in order to
protect them from one another. Humanity does not form civil society because it wants to form a
community of similarly concerned individuals who are working
Social Security: Reforming America's most popular Social Program
No full textThe United States of America is a country that is known for taking care of its less fortunate citizens. If you are destitute and need some type of federal assistance, then you may be eligible for welfare. If you are sick and elderly and cannot afford to pay your medical bills, then you can rely on Medicare. Most importantly once an American retires, a child loses a parent, or a spouse is widowed, they can always rely on their monthly Social Security check. Or can they?
One of the great things about the United States is its ability to adapt and change with the times. If that means that some sort of reform needs to occur regarding Social Security, then the United States should be up to the task. This paper will take an in-depth look at the passage of the Social Security Act, why there is a need for some type of Social Security reform, different reform possibilities, and current legislation that has been, or is being proposed.Social Security:
Reforming America's most popular Social Program
By Brittany Salden
December 18, 2001
Gustavus Student Repository
Introduction
Reasons for Reform
Reform Solutions
Save the Current System
Full Privatization
Partial Privatization
Table of Contents
Social Security and the 2000 Presidential Campaign
and the Bush Commission
Social Security Reform in Chile and Sweden
Privatization in Chile
Privatization in Sweden
Recent Social Security Legislation Proposals
Survey Results
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix A
AppendixB
Appendix C
1
5
10
13
16
18
21
21
23
25
27
34
36
38
39
40
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i
Introduction
The United States of America is a country that is known for taking care of its less
fortunate citizens. If you are destitute and need some type of federal assistance, then you
may be eligible for welfare. If you are sick and elderly and cannot afford to pay your
medical bills, then you can rely on Medicare. Most importantly once an American retires,
a child loses a parent, or a spouse is widowed, they can always rely on their monthly
Social Security check. Or can they?
One of the great things about the United States is its ability to adapt and change
with the times. If that means that some sort of reform needs to occur regarding Social
Security, then the United States should be up to the task. This paper will take an in-depth
look at the passage of the Social Security Act, why there is a need for some type of Social
Security reform, different reform possibilities, and current legislation that has been, or is
being proposed.
Today's current Social Security system dates back to the Social Security Act of
1935. The Social Security Act of 1935 was passed for two major reasons:
The first was the increased dependence on wage income that had arisen over the
preceding half-century as the country had industrialized. This dependence on
wage income made workers and their dependents vulnerable to losing their means
of sustenance because of economic downturns, disabling injuries, illness, death of
a spouse, and old age. The second force was the terrible economic environment
caused by the Great Depression (Schieber and Shoven, 18).
Both of these reasons are very significant to the passage of the bill that provided a social
insurance for the nation. The industrialization of the United States was very significant to
Social Security because up until the early twentieth century, people earned livings by
farming. Farming was not a profession in which one would lose one's job if a major
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economic downturn occurred. Elderly people could still work because they could
perform the less physically demanding tasks.
Due to the urbanization that consumed the country during the first three decades
of the twentieth century, many people were out of work once the stock market crashed in
1929 and the country sank into the Great Depression. Also important to note is that
the over-65 age cohort controlled more wealth than any other group. They could
even command an income after transferring title to their offspring: nineteenth
century documents record numerous cases of parents passing property to their
children in return for guarantees of financial support ... The aged who had held
the reins of economic power in the agrarian economy were at a distinct advantage
in the industrialized world (Schieber and Shoven, 19).
With industrialization older citizens lost control of their retirements because their
children no longer needed to become farmers. They also no longer needed to provide for
their elderly parents because they were not beholden to them for a living.
The Great Depression also played a large role in the passage of the nationwide
social insurance. President Roosevelt eloquently said upon signing the act:
We can never insure one hundred percent of the population against one hundred
percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law
which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his
family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age (Social
Security--A Brief History, 2).
Many retired persons were out of work during the Great Depression. Those Americans
who were working were generally younger. The Great Depression most affected the
elderly because they could not work and were passed up for work by the younger
generations.
Since the passage of the Social Security Act, there have been many amendments,
including the amendment of 1939, which allowed benefits to be paid to the spouse of a
retired worker, and benefits paid to dependents in case of a premature death. If a child's
father dies, then the child is eligible to collect benefits that otherwise would have been
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paid out to the parent had the parent not died prematurely. Spouses are also entitled to
Social Security money if their spouse dies. The reason for this is to protect children and
women from unfortunate circumstances. The money paid out to them will hopefully keep
them from living in poverty.
The 1939 Amendments made a fundamental change in the Social Security
program. The Amendments added two new categories of benefits: payments to
the spouse and minor children of a retired worker (so-called dependents benefits)
and survivors benefits paid to the family in the event of the premature death of a
covered worker (Social Security--A Brief History, 5).
This amendment changed Social Security significantly. It changed the social program
from a retirement program for workers, to an economic security program that provided
for spouses and dependents of a worker.
Another significant amendment occurred in 1950: the annual cost of living
allowances (COLAs). These COLAs adjusted benefits to the increase of the cost of living
and inflation. An amendment passed in 1972 automatically adjusted COLAs to the
standard ofliving.
fn 1972 legislation was changed to provide, beginning in 1975, for automatic
annual cost-of-living allowances (i.e., COLAs) based on the annual increase in
consumer prices. No longer do beneficiaries have to await a special act of
Congress to receive a benefit increase and no longer does inflation drain value
from Social Security benefits (Social Security--A Brief History, 7).
Benefits would automatically increase the earnings of a retired person. The reason for
passing the amendment in 1972 was to ensure that retired persons would be protected
from poverty.
These benefits have provided valuable protection against inflation for Social
Security beneficiaries. The cumulative increase in benefits during the
seventeen-year period from 1973 to 1990 was 189 percent; that is, benefits almost
tripled (Robertson, 175).
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Another major part of Social Security that has changed many times over the years
is the age of full retirement. According to the Social Security Act of 1935, one could
retire at the age of 65 and receive full benefits. In 1956 an amendment to the bill was
passed that allowed women to be eligible for early retirement at the age of 62. In 1961 an
amendment similar to the one passed in 1956 was passed allowing men to be eligible for
early retirement at the age of 62 .
. . . [In 1956] provisions for women's early retirement at age sixty-two were made,
primarily on the basis that wives were, on average, three years younger than their
husbands . . . In 1961, early retirement provisions were extended to males that
allowed them to retire as early as age sixty-two. The extension of this early
retirement "privilege" to men in 1961 was justified on the basis of high
unemployment levels that persisted during a recession then under way (Schieber
and Shoven, 114).
In 1983 an amendment passed increasing the retirement age for full benefits to the age of
67. "[The amendment] raises the age of eligibility for unreduced retirement benefits in
two stages to 67 by the year 2027. Workers born in 1938 will be the first group affected
by the gradual increase. Benefits will still be available at age 62, but with greater
reduction" (Social Security--A Brief History, 11). This portion of the amendment was to
be enacted gradually beginning in the year 2000.
The remainder of this paper will explore Social Security and why there is concern
for the future of Social Security. Also, different types of reform possibilities will be
examined. Recent and current legislation will be analyzed, examining the positives and
negatives of each piece of legislation. This will be followed by my analysis of the best
solution for fixing Social Security.
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Reasons for Reform
For the past few years Social Security has been a major concern for both
Democrats and Republicans, for the young and old. This topic has been a source of
concern for one main reason: once the baby boomers retire, the current Social Security
system will no longer be able to sustain itself. After the year 203 7, it will no longer be
able to pay-out full benefits. Social Security will no longer be taking in more money than
it is paying out. This will lead to a Social Security deficit which will result in retirees
receiving merely 75 percent of what they paid into the system.
This does not seem fair to many people. Especially since Social Security is not an
optional government program. Workers are not allowed to opt out of the Social Security
system. Social Security is a pay-as-you-go government program. This means that the
money taken out of an individual's paycheck is then sent to a person already receiving
Social Security. Money is taken out of a workers paycheck through the Federal Insurance
Contributions Act (FICA). This payroll tax is then immediately paid out to elderly
people, widows and children receiving Social Security.
The taxes paid by current workers are not put into accounts for their own
retirement. Rather, they are spent on benefits for current retirees. Any surplus
goes to other government programs. A pay-as-you-go system requires many
workers per retiree to ensure low taxes as well as high benefits (Carter and
Shipman, 7).
This is very significant to note because many people believe that their Social Security
money is waiting for them when they retire. They also believe that there is a government
surplus that is collecting a lot of money, which then goes into the Social Security trust
fund. "Currently, revenues into Social Security exceed pay-outs ... this surplus is put into
a trust fund ... the trust fund is little more than an accounting gimmick that is filled with
government IOUs" (Ferrara and Tanner, Cato Institute).
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The following are some statistics provided by the American Association of
Retired Persons, or AARP. This information is found on page two from the "2000 Social
Security Trustees' Report for the Old Age and Survivors and the Disability Insurance
Trust Funds:"
Beginning in 2015, the fund outgo rate will exceed its income rate, but interest
earnings will enable the trust funds to continue paying benefits without redeeming
any bonds ... Starting in 2025, the principal will have been used to help pay
benefits ... The Old Age and Survivors and the Disability Insurance (OASDI) trust
funds are projected to be exhausted in 203 7 ... under the pessimistic assumptions,
the OASDI trust funds would be depleted in 2026.
This information is significant to Social Security because it discusses the changes that
will occur to the current Social Security system within approximately the next forty years.
The baby boomers are a very important key to the Social Security debate. The
reason for this is that they make up a large portion of the population. Most of the baby
boomers are still out in the work force contributing to the Social Security system.
However, in a few years many of them will retire and the younger generations filling the
positions of the baby boomers will not be as large as the generation that will then be
receiving Social Security benefits. As a matter of fact, the baby boomer generation is the
United States' largest generation:
The oldest of the baby boomers--those born between 1946 and 1964--will become
eligible for Social Security retirement benefits during George W. Bush's last year
in office, if he serves two terms. Three years later they will qualify for Medicare.
When all the boomers have retired, roughly three decades later, more than 70
million former workers and their dependent spouses will have become Social
Security beneficiaries (Aaron and Reischauer, 1 ).
The above quote from Henry Aaron and Robert Reischauer's book Countdown to Reform
is extremely significant because it shows how large the baby boomer population really is.
One factor that is beneficial to the baby boomers is that their parents were very
frugal with their money. This frugality serves as a nice inheritance for many of the
people from the baby boomer generation.
6
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Baby boomers and post-boomers stand at the receiving end of a multitrillion
dollar inheritance from their more frugal parents, whose careers and housing
investments racked up significant gains during a period of steady growth and
appreciation. A 1993 Congressional Budget Office report calculates that
unimpeded inheritance could double or triple the current wealth of baby boomers
over the next several decades. 'If the surviving spouse of the median elderly
couple holds 30,000.
Married-couple households would inherit $60,000,' noted the report, Baby
Boomers in Retirement: An Early Perspective, While far from enough on which
to retire, such a legacy would prove helpful in feathering the nest (Carter and
Shipman, 207).
This is very significant because wealthier retirees will nor depend so much on Social
Security. However, this does not mean that the baby boomer population will leave a lot
of money for their children, because the baby boomer population is not known for being
as frugal as their parents. This means that children of baby boomers will not necessarily
have an inheritance to rely on, so they will need more Social Security.
Another problem that is cause for concern is that people simply are not having as
many children. This is significant because up through the 1960s people were having
large families. Today it is common for families to only have one or two children.
This decrease in birth rates means that there will be fewer and fewer working-age
people entering the workforce. Since Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system that
means that the less people entering the workforce, the less money there will be in the
Social Security system. Enlarging the workforce would be a great way to sustain the
current Social Security system. However, this is not feasible.
Fertility rates are not projected to increase, and there is little evidence that
acceptable public policy initiatives can do much to raise them. Furthermore, even
if birthrates could be increased, it would take decades before the additional
children were educated, reached adulthood, entered the labor force in significant
numbers, and affected national production. Increased immigration can boost the
labor force rapidly. But Social Security projections now assume a net
immigration rate of900,000 a year, and current rates of immigration are already
producing social strains (Aaron and Reischauer, 65).
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Having more children would eventually help the future Social Security problem, but
people no longer have the need for large families as they did previously. Many families
still had farms on which they needed the help of their children. Today the United States
is so industrialized that large families are no longer a necessity for survival.
Life expectancy rates have also been on the rise which is another reason for the
need for some type of Social Security reform. Since people are living longer, they are
qualified for Social Security benefits. There is no age limit on the Social Security bill or
its amendments.
Over the past century, the experience of growing old in America has changed far
more profoundly than .. .in all prior recorded history. That people now live long
enough to share years of retirement with spouses, children, and grandchildren is
unprecedented. Life expectancies have increased from 4 7 years for an infant born
in 1900 to over 76 years for infants born today. In addition, people can actually
afford to retire, Until well into the twentieth century, economic necessity forced
most men to work until they died or physical debility made work impossible
(Aaron and Reischauer, 15).
Life expectancy is so important to the Social Security debate because the longer you live
past retirement, the more money you receive from Social Security. While it is great that
medicine has advanced to keep people alive longer, it affects the Social Security system
immensely because that is one more person that will be paid benefits for a longer amount
of time.
According to A. Haeworth Robertson's book, Social Security: What Every
Taxpayer Should Know,
improvements in life expectancy will continue at a faster rate than has been
assumed; or it is possible that average wages will not increase much, if any, faster
than the cost ofliving, reflecting a marked slowdown in the steady improvement
in the standard of living to which we have become accustomed--and which has
been assumed for the future. Either of these events would result in much higher
future Social Security costs ... A significant improvement in health at the older
ages is one of the easiest to comprehend of such possible events, People who
were aged 60 in 1990 could expect to live another twenty-one years, on average,
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or until about age 80. It should be emphasized that 81 is the average age; some
people will live to age 100, others will die soon after 60 .. .It is entirely possible,
however, that the average life span for persons aged 60 could be somewhat higher
in the future, say 85 or 90 (59-60).
Robertson's quote is so significant because it shows how much the life expectancy has
increased. Back in the 1930s, people could expect to live to the average age of 75, with
people living shorter life spans, as well as longer life spans. This means that when the
Social Security law was enacted back in 193 5, the government was not expecting to
continue to pay retirees Social Security for more than ten years. Now the government can
expect to pay Social Security for approximately twenty years. This is a huge change,
especially when factoring the cost ofliving allowances (COLAs).
As discussed earlier, COLAs are increase in benefits that retirees earn. These
COLAs are increased annually based on inflation and the cost ofliving. A retiree who
was working during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s would not be able to live off the amount of
money that they originally paid into the system because every year the cost of living
increases.
Obviously there are many factors that affect Social Security and its need for
reform. The large, soon-to-be retirees of the baby hoomer generation will greatly impact
the current Social Security system. Also significant is the lower level of birth rates.
Since people are not having as many children, there will not be as large of a population
entering the workforce to take the jobs of the baby boomers. Life expectancy rates have
also increased significantly. A ten-year jump in the life expectancy rates will have a huge
affect on the Social Security system because it will have to continue paying money out to
the retirees until the retirees and their spouses die.
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Reform Solutions
As noted in the previous section, there is a serious need for some type of Social
Security reform. The first type of reform that has been proposed by many different
people is to save the current Social Security system. Another type of reform that has been
proposed is to switch to full privatization. Full privatization would be a completely
different type of Social Security system. Also proposed is to switch to a system of partial
privatization. This section will examine each one of these solutions, discussing both the
positives and negatives of each plan.
Save the Current System
A major reason that many people support saving the current Social Security
system is that it works. This system has worked for the United States for the past sixty
years. It is expected to work for another thirty years. Why would Congress and the
public want to change the current system if it h as worked so well? Many people believe
in the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." This is a good argument, however times
are changing and with the impending retirements of the baby boomers, the lower birth
rates, and the increased life e
Online Vote Trading: An Analysis of Trading Votes on the Internet
No full textIt is often debated whether the Internet will "help citizens revitalize democracy, or ... lure us into an attractively packaged substitute for democratic discourse." On the positive side, as the Internet expands it could "present a real opportunity for greater participation, democratic communication and a true revitalization of the public sphere." The online tools may increase participation due to the increase in efficiency and availability of information. It is argued that if the Internet is properly developed it has the potential to challenge the existing political hierarchy's monopoly on the influential media and revitalize citizen-based democracy. It is argued that the Internet will even open the doors to young voters, while skeptics express concern over security and the possibility of voter fraud.Washington Semester Program
American University
Research Project
ONLINE VOTE TRADING
AN ANALYSIS OF JRADING VOTES ON THE INTERNET
Submitted by
Lucas Nesse
(Gustavus Adolphus College)
In Fulfillment of the Requirements for
Course Number GOVT-412-005T:
Washington Semester Research Project
Spring 2003
Gustavus Student Repository
ONLINE VOTE TRADING
AN ANALYSIS OF TRADING VOTES ON THE INTERNET
Chapter 1- The Internet and Democracy
Undemocratic Deve2opments
cratic Deve2opments
Chapter 2- The Background and Growth of Vote Trading
Exponentia1 Growth 0£ Vote Trading
Vote Trading Websites
Presidentia1 Candidate Support
p. 1
p. 2
p. 3
p. 6
p. 8
p.14
p.16
Chapter 3- The Legal and Moral Questioning of Vote Trading p.18
State Action p.21
Federai E1ection Law p.28
Chapter 4- Supporters Fighting Back p.30
Constitutiona2 Concerns p.30
Chapter 5- The Future p.33
Gustavus Student Repository
Online Vote Trading
AN ANALYSIS OF TRADING VOTES ON THE INTERNET
Chapter 1- The Internet and Democracy
There is intense interest in the Internet's potential
to contribute to various aspects of life. 1 Former Vice-
President Al Gore made ambitious claims about the
Internet's capabilities in 1994, referring to it as the 21 st
Century's first great achievement and claiming that it
would "forever change the way citizens around the world
live, learn, work and communicate."2 The Internet's
potential includes that it could "contribute to, or even be
primarily responsible for, a new era of participatory
democracy. "3
It is often debated whether the Internet will "help
citizens revitalize democracy, or ... lure us into an attractively
packaged substitute for democratic discourse." 4 On the positive
side, as the Internet expands it could "present a real
opportunity for greater participation, democratic communication
and a true revitalization of the public sphere."5 The online
tools may increase participation due to the increase in
1
1 Thornton, Alinta. "Does the Internet Create Democracy". October 2002; p. 1
2 http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/0996/ijge/ijge0996.htm
3 Thornton, supra n.l, at p. 1
4 Rheingo1d. "Virtual Communities"; p. 276
5 Thornton, supra n.1, at p. 41
Gustavus Student Repository
2
efficiency and availability of information.6 It is argued that
if the Internet is properly developed it has the potential to
challenge the existing political hierarchy's monopoly on the
influential media and revitalize citizen-based democracy.
7
It is
argued that the Internet will even open the doors to young
voters, while skeptics express concern over security and the
possibility of voter fraud. 8
Undemocratic Developments
Many skeptics of the Internet also believe that the
evolution could develop into a "Daily Me" communications package
that is personally designed. 9 In the near future a person could
be able to filter what they are exposed to and restrict
themselves to certain points of view, disengaging them as a
citizen and fragmenting society. 10 This would not be healthy for
democracy, as citizens would develop a dangerous tunnel vision. 11
The possibility for the Internet to help people find strictly
those that are like-minded and avoid everyone else presents one
6 Symposium. Internet Vote Trading in the 2000 Presidential Election. Jamin
Raskin
7 Rheingold, supra n.4, at p. 289
8 Hasen, Richard. "Internet Voting and Democracy". Symposium Introduction.
April 2001; p. 2
9 Sunstein, Cass Republic. Com; p. 3
10 Sunstein, supra n. 9, at p. 3
11 Sunstein, supra n. 9, at p. 3
Gustavus Student Repository
of the possible damaging effects of an adversely developed
Internet on democracy. 12
The structure of the Internet is also believed to be
developing away from democracy. 13 Choosing from the millions of
sights on the Internet is the ultimate fragmenting medium of all
of our communications. 14 The evolution is presenting
preconditions for the growth of an entirely new and complex
system where every individual decides for him or herself but
"lacks the ability and opportunity to decide over any of the
other players. "15 The trend may be for long term qualitative
differences that may complicate the current view of politics. 16
Democratic Developments
Despite the previous concerns, there have been many recent
developments on the Internet that have spurred Democracy. The
powerful technology of the Internet allows for efficient
formation of political associations and easy discussion of
voting strategies. 17 The Internet as a democratizing tool gives
.
f 1
• 18 the opportunity for anyone to have a power u voice. Now
3
12 Netocracy. Alexander Bard, Jan Soderqvist. 2002 Pearson Education. P. 72
13 Bard and Soderqvist, supra n.12, at P. 72
14 Diane Rerun Radio Show. Hosted by Steve Roberts. 9/14/99. "Internet and
EJ.ections"- Curtis Ganz
15 Bard and Soderqvist, supra n.12, at P. 72
16 Rehm, supra n.14, speaker Michael Cornfield
17 ACLU/SC, National Voting Rights Institute Hail Internet Political Speech
Victory p. 1
18 Randazza. "The Cons ti tutional.i ty of Online Vote Swapping". P. 2
Gustavus Student Repository
anyone can become a "town crier with a voice that resonates
farther than it could from any soapbox. " 19 Legislative
information is also effortlessly available. Constituents can
easily gather information about their representatives or even
contact their government officials over the Internet.
Information that was once nearly unavailable is now available at
the click of a button.
20
Political candidates and parties have "recognized the
4
Internet ... as a powerful campaign tool with the potential to
significantly influence the outcome of federal elections. "21 The
Internet has even helped to level the playing field, making
money less relevant.
22
Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura
openly credits the Internet for allowing his small scale
Independent Party platform to be successful.
23
Many parties and
groups can use the low cost means of the Internet to convey
their unfiltered message.
24
In the 1996 election the Internet was a bit of a novelty
for campaigns, but now Internet sites are considered a
19 Randazza, supra n.18, at P. 2
20 Understanding the WEB: Socia1, Political, and Economic Dimensions of the
Internet Al.an Albarran, David Goff, Iowa University Press 2000 p. 179
21 Randazza, supra n.18, at P. 2
22 Rehm, supra n.14, speaker Kim Alexander
23 Rehm, supra n.14, speaker Curtis Ganz
24 Albarran, supra n.20, at p.176
Gustavus Student Repository
, t 25 necessi y. The 2000 presidential election was the first time
5
that candidates for the presidency fully utilized the Internet. 26
Congressional websites now include things such as general
information, organizational information, candidate messages, and
campaign fundraising activity. 27 Sites often provide information
tailored to be most conductive to voter learning by cataloging
the candidate's issue stances. 28
The sudden democratization of the Internet has left many
groups and leaders fumbling with questions of freedom of speech,
association, and assembly. 29 Many question if the Internet can
attain even more than it has today, while some worry that the
Internet has introduced illegal and possibly even
unconstitutional practices. While the future of the Internet
and Democracy is somewhat ambiguous, there is clearly a current
trend to allow voting on the Internet at least as an option, if
not the only way, to cast a vote in the future.30
25 Rehm, supra n.14, speaker Kim Alexander
26 Rushing, John. "Vote Swapping and Free Speech: Voice, Po:Litics, and Choice"
Spring 2002. p. 1
27 Rushing, supra n. 26, at p. 1
28 Albarran, supra n.20, at p. 177
29 Randazza, supra n.18, at P. 2
30 Hasen, supra n. 7, at p. 2
Gustavus Student Repository
Chapter 2- The Background and Growth of Vote Trading
The Internet recently helped to cultivate a new
process referred to as "trading votes. " 31 The idea of
trading votes was introduced by University of Wisconsin at
Madison doctoral candidate Jeff Cardille, who posted the
process on the Internet during the summer of 2000.32 Vote
swapping is a strategic presidential election voting
process where a Ralph Nader supporter in a contested state
would communicate over the Internet, on such site as
Nadertrade r. org, with an Al Gore supporter in an
uncontested state and they would agree to "exchange" their
votes. 33 The process allows those who "til t toward the
margins (to) benefit. "34 The Nader supporter would agreed
to express their vote for Gore in the contested state,
trusting that the Gore supporter would vote for Nader in
the uncontested State. While trading votes over the
Internet, people were agreeing to vote for particular
candidates based on an exchanged pledge, or promise. 35 The
goal between the groups was to allow Nader to receive five
percent of the popular vote so his election would
6
31 This process is also referred
other similar variations.
to as "vote swapping,,., "trading votes,., , along
32 Rushing, supra n. 26, at p. 2
33 Randazza, supra n.18, at P. 1
34 Purdy, supra n. 104, Page 31
35 Vote-Swapping Over the Internet:
Sisgo1d p.l
Free Speech of Voter Corruption, Jese
Gustavus Student Repository
accordingly receive matching federal campaign funding in
2004, and for Gore to win the presidential race.36
The vote trading concept is similar in nature to that
seen in a rank-order voting style used both by Australia
and Ireland.37 There you vote for your preferred candidate
and then your second choice and so on.38 If a majority was
not achieved on the first count, minor candidates are
eliminated and those voters second choice is tabulated.39
This is done until a majority winner is found.40
Renegade supporters of Green Party candidate Ralph
Nader latched on to the idea of vote trading during the
2000 presidential election, creating numerous websites
devoted to vote trading.41 Vote trading was an alternative
to the 'Hold Your Vote' campaign, where Nader voters were
encouraged to wait until 7:30pm on Election Day to vote.42
If polls showed a tight race between Gore and Bush in their
state, Nader supporters were encouraged to vote for Gore.43
If Gore had a comfortable lead then they could vote for
36 Randazza, supra n.18, at P. 1
37 Purdy, supra n.104, Page 31
38 Purdy, supra n.104, Page 31
39 Purdy, supra n.104, Page 31
40 Purdy, supra n. 104, Page 31
41 Rushing, supra n. 26, at p. 2
7
42 Charles Babington Nader Traders Add New Twist to Battlegrounds. Washington
Post Oct. 26, 2000 p.1
43 Babington, supra n.42, at p.2
Gustavus Student Repository
Nader without jeopardizing a Gore win.
44
However, with this
strategy, every vote switched to Gore hurt Nader's chances
of achieving the necessary five percent. The new vote
trading process both supported Nader to get the required
five percent and addressed accusations that the Nader
, 45
supporters were taking votes away from the Gore campaign.
In theory, whenever a vote was traded, Nader would not lose
a vote and Gore would be one vote closer to the
. d
46
presi ency.
Exponential Growth of Vote Trading
Vote swapping truly became popular after intense
criticism of Nader supporters for possibly making a
"crucial difference (due to) the Electoral College. "
47
National polls before the 2000 election showed as many as
six swing states in which Nader could have an impact in the
overall outcome.
48
Experts agreed that most of Nader's
support had been drained from Gore.
49
Election polls in
Minnesota showed Bush leading at 44% with Gore trailing
44 Babington, supra n.42, at p.2
45 Randazza, supra n.18, at P. 1
46 Sisgold, supra n.35, at p. 3
47 Edsall, Thomas. "Nader is poised to Play Spoiler". Washington Post Oct.
23, 2000. p. A0l.
48 Edsall, supra n.47, at p. AOl
49 Edsall, supra n.47, at p. AOl
8
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closely with 41%, while Nader had 8% supporting him.50
Strategists in both the Gore and Bush campaigns agreed that
if the Green Party were not on the ballot the race would
likely be a tie, not a 3-percentage advantage for Bush. 51
The polls prompted campaigning in contested states for vote
trading, such as campaigns in Minnesota by the late Paul
Wellstone.52 The supporters popularized the slogan that a
vote for Nader was essentially a vote for Bush.53
Conservative activists also tried to use vote trading
to their advantage. 54 In early October FreeRepublic.com
joined the fray and posted support for vote trading.55 The
site advocated trades among Libertarians, Constitutional
Party supporters, and Reform Party supporters in
Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, DC. 56 However, the
subtle conservative effort never gained the momentum the
democratic supporters garnered.57
As a strong advocate of vote trading, American
University professor Jamin Raskin openly criticized Nader
supporters, arguing that strong support in swing states
50 Edsall, supra n. 4 7, at p. AOl
51 Edsall, supra n. 47, at p. AOl
52 Edsall, supra n .. 47, at p. AOl
53 Edsall, supra n. 47, at p. AOl
54 Randazza, supra n. 18, at P. 2
55 Randazza, supra n. 18, at P. 2
56 Randazza, supra n.18, at P.
57 Randazza, supra n.18, at P. 2
9
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would help Bush win the presidency. 5 8 Some polls indicated
that if Nader had not been in the election, Gore would have
had a modest lead in the important swing states of Florida,
Pennsylvania, and Oregon. "59 Raskin, however, noted as many
as ten states where a strong showing of Nader supporters
could swing the electoral votes to Bush. 60 Raskin also saw
a predicament for the democratic supporters in strongly
republican states such as Texas; they truly had "wasted
votes.
" 61
Raskin promoted vote swapping in Slate magazine on
October 24, 2000, as a remedy for Nader supports as well as
Gore supporters. 62 Raskin saw the election for Nader
supporters as a decision of voting their hearts or voting
strategically, but he felt they could achieve both if vote
trading was utilized. 63 Professor Raskin saw vote trading
as a way for Gore voters in a Republican state to "liberate
Nader supporters in the tossup states ... wi thout actually
abandoning their support for Nader and a strong Green Party
in the future. "64 Raskin felt that if merely 100,000 votes
were exchanged over the Internet then Nader would achieve
58 Randazza, supra n.18, at P.
59 Randazza, supra n.18, at P.
60 Raskin, Jamin. "Nader's Traders". siate.msn.com October 24, 2000.
61 Raskin, supra n. 60, at p.1
62 Raskin, supra n. 60, at p. 1
63 Raskin, supra n. 60, at p.1
64 Raskin, supra n. 60, at p.1
10
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the necessary 5% for federal funding while Gore would still
be elevated to the presidency. 65
Many believe the Electoral College is outdated because
the original protections are no longer relevant in an era
of electronic media. 66 Raskin advocated vote trading as a
way to avoid the winner takes all electoral system that he
believes has been disenfranchising people for decades.67 A
strong critic of the Electoral College, Raskin wrote that
vote trading allows the voter to avoid the peculiarities of
the system, bypass state lines, and join forces to become
"professors of the Electoral College rather that dropouts
from it. "68 The Electoral College was historically meant to
"guard against a kind of regionalism majoritarian rule by
citizens of more populous states who ... lacking ... info ... select
the better known candidates from their own state or
region. "69 Despite efforts to change the presidential
election process, many believe vote trading is one of th
only ways to counter the system many view as imperfect. 70
65 Randazza, supra n.18, at P. 4
66 Cybering Democracy-Publ.ic Space
of Minnesota Press 2002 p. 221
and the Internet. Diana Saco.
67 Symposium, supra n.6, speaker Jamin Raskin
68 Raskin, supra n.60, at p.1
69 Saco, supra n. 68, at p.221
University
11
70 Symposium, supra n.6, speaker Jamin Raskin. Raskin articulated that to
change the law the required 2/3 vote in both houses, and¾ approval from the
states is unlikely due to the republican party supporters not supporting a
law that would stand to help the democrats
Gustavus Student Repository
After the publication of Raskin's article, vote
trading website activity increased exponentially. 7172 The
media then picked up the story and a number of new sites
were produced.73 Cardille credited Raskin for producing the
exposure and getting so many people on the vote trading
"bandwagon. "74
Vote swapping subsequently became deeply involved in
the election and is often overlooked when the controversial
results of the 2000 presidential election are researched.
75
According to a poll taken of many of the websites, over
sixteen thousand votes were swapped using the websites
prior to November 7, 2000. 76 77 However, Cardille believes
that as many as 36, 000 votes were traded online and that it
is likely as many as five times as many votes were actually
71 Randazza, supra n. 18, at P. 4
12
72 Harris, Scott. 'Nader Traders' m,:i,y have affected outcome in Florida "In a
two-week period, that Wisconsin-based site saw its traffic soar to more than
650,000 visits, according to creator Jeff Cardil1e."http://
www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/ll/l7/nader. traders.help. gore. idg/inde
x. html
73 Symposium, supra n.6, speaker Jeff Cardille.
74 Symposium, supra n.6, speaker Jeff Cardille.
75 Randazza, supra n.18, at P. 1
76 www .. votetrader. org. See appendix A.
77 Harris, supra n. 72, at p.1-'\\Those vote-swapping numbers are fungible,
proponents acknowledge, because so-called strategic voting is based on an
honor system and vulnerable to manipulation and dirty tricks. Some nervous
Nader fans acknowledge they would have probably voted for Gore anyway; those
swaps, then, served to decrease Gore's popular vote total. But total
participation could also be higher. The raw data from the exchanges doesn't
include citizens who embraced the strategy by trading with family and friends
-- the approach recommended on several sites, including NaderTrader. org. "
Gustavus Student Repository
traded during the election.
78
This would have been done
through family, friends, or other personal contacts. 79 It
is possible that vote trading was present in elections
before the Internet sites, but the Internet has made it
possible for the process to expand to non-personal contacts
and become large enough to be a political force.80
The potential impact of vote trading was truly
apparent when the election came down to a few hundred votes
in the state of Florida. 81 Cardille's site registered
33, 000 exchanged votes the day before the election and
20, 000 on Election Day itself.82 Cardille expressed that
doubts and fears led many people to refrain from trading
their votes in the end but that vote swapping overall had
' t t ' t 83 an impor an impac . Mr. Cardille credited vote trading
for producing abnormal voting trends in many of the swing
states such as Florida and Wisconsin. 84 According to
website polls, Florida alone tallied more than 1, 400 vote
exchanges; the actual numbers were probably much higher.85
As the recount was tabulated, it was thought that the
78 Symposium, supra n. 6, speaker Jeff Cardille.
79
Symposium, supra n. 6, speaker Jeff Cardille.
80 Symposium, supra n. 6, speaker Jeff Cardille.
81 Harris, supra n. 72, at p. l
82
Symposium, supra n.6, speaker Jeff Cardille.
83 Symposium, supra n. 6, speaker Jeff Cardille.
84 Symposium, supra n. 6, speaker Jeff Cardille.
85 http://www.votetrader. org/results/
13
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"Nader Traders" could have possibly cast the winning votes
for Gore. 86
Vote Trading Websites
Vote trading websites were often heralded as a new
forum for political organization and participation. 87
When
Jeff Cardille's site, nadertrader. org, first became
operational it was visited more than two hundred thousands
times in the first two weeks, with an abnormally long
average visit length of nine minutes. 88 This meant Internet
surfers were not just glancing at the site but perusing
through much of the information. While a number of former
vote trading sites have ceased to operate since the 2000
election, a small number of sites still have current
Internet domains.
Votetrader. org is an operational site but is currently
not in the process of trading votes. The site claims not
to be a trade broker, but "an online voter matching service
where Nader supporters in swing states are paired with Gore
supporters in decided states, to facilitate dialogue and
possibly strategic voting. "89 To participate in vote
86 Harris, supra n. 72, at p.1
87 Sisgold, supra n. 35, at p. 1
88 Symposium, supra n. 6, speaker Jeff Cardille.
89 http://www.votetrader.org/
14
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trading you simply fill out your full name, email address,
and the state you are registered to vote in. 90 When a
suitable match is located in the database, the site sends
you the contact information and you follow through on the
91 rest of the process on your own.
The domain votexchange2000. com is also currently
functioning but not matching voters. 92 This site still
campaigns the slogan: "supp
Historic and Current Trends in Campaign Financing and Their Effects on the American Electorate
No full textHave current forms of campaign finance made representative democracy unattainable for American citizens, leading them to feel politically insignificant?
Over the past forty years campaign finance has garnered a lot of attention, leading "regular" American citizens to question whether or not the effects of campaign financing on current politics are compromising their democratic political rights. Because virtually every method of political communication requires candidates to spend immense amounts of money on mass communication via the media and advertising, a feeling of political insignificance has grown among many Americans. This paper argues that there is a growing link between increased levels of campaign finance spending and the expanding feelings of political insignificance among U.S. citizens. Though there is extensive literature available regarding historical and current trends in campaign financing, finance reforms, and loopholes around finance reforms, there is very little literature that brings together all four subjects. By reflecting on all four of these issues through the use of previously published literature, I have been able raise awareness to the struggles being fought by American voters against "big business" friendly campaign finance trends.Historic and Current Trends in Campaign Financing and Their Effects on the
American Electorate
Tanner J. Grimmius
Democracy and Citizenship
Fall 2003
Gustavus Student Repository
Abstract
HA VE CURRENT FORMS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE MADE REPRESENTATIVE
DEMOCRACY UNATTAINABLE FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS, LEADING THEM
TO FEEL POLITICALLY INSIGNIFICANT?
Tanner J. Grimmius (Dr. Jill Locke), Department of Political Science, Gustavus
Adolphus College, St. Peter MN 56082.
Over the past forty years campaign finance has garnered a lot of attention, leading
"regular" American citizens to question whether or not the effects of campaign financing
on current politics are compromising their democratic political rights. Because virtually
every method of political communication requires candidates to spend immense amounts
of money on mass communication via the media and advertising, a feeling of political
insignificance has grown among many Americans. This paper argues that there is a
growing link between increased levels of campaign finance spending and the expanding
feelings of political insignificance among U.S. citizens. Though there is extensive
literature available regarding historical and current trends in campaign financing, finance
reforms, and loopholes around finance reforms, there is very little literature that brings
together all four subjects. By reflecting on all four of these issues through the use of
previously published literature, I have been able raise awareness to the struggles being
fought by American voters against "big business" friendly campaign finance trends.
Gustavus Student Repository
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................... 1
Literature Review .............................. 2
History of Campaign Finance ............... 5
Persistent Problems ........................... 15
Conclusion ..................................... 26
Bibliography .................................. .30
Gustavus Student Repository
Historic and Current Trends in Campaign Financing and Their Effects on the
American Electorate
Campaign finance news has entered the national spotlight once again. Democratic
presidential candidates Howard Dean and John Kerry formally announced they would
abandon the public campaign financing system and the spending limits that accompany it.
Each hopes that their ability to raise private funding will help their chances of capturing
the Democratic nomination, eventually leading to the defeat of President Bush, who has
also opted out of public finance.
Public campaign financing was created 30 years ago after the Watergate scandal
in an effort to reduce presidential candidates' dependence on big campaign donors.
However, those accepting public funding have a cap placed on their total spending.'
When candidates forgo public campaign financing, they sever the essential relationship
between themselves and the American electorate. The relationship between a candidate
and their electorate is what makes a democracy function properly, allowing each voter an
equal voice in politics. However, when candidates forgo public financing larger amounts
of campaign spending results, leaving a majority of the American electorate wondering if
such practices mean politics is being increasingly influenced by big money, negating
their right to political influence.
Throughout American political history, campaign finance has garnered a lot of
attention and will continue to do so as the amounts spent on campaigns for national
offices rise. Because "virtually every method of political communication require[s]
1 Taylor, Guy. Dean Campaign Says No to Public Funding. 9, Nov. 2003. 6, Dec. 2003.
Gustavus Student Repository
individuals to spend money,"2 a candidate's dependence on money for political success
has become engrained in American politics, establishing a hierarchy between the wealthy
and politically influential, and those of "average" financial standing who have become
politically insignificant. The historically corrupt campaign finance system has been in
place from the inception of American democracy and continues to be used, widening the
hierarchy between these two groups, leading the majority to question governments
legitimacy, while also questioning their personal influence. Because of these concerns,
American citizens now question whether or not the effects of direct contributions,
Political Action Committees (PACs), independent expenditures, and soft money on
current politics compromise their ability to achieve equal political influence.
Literature Review
Previous research has indicated that levels of campaign financing are
continuously rising and Americans' feelings of political efficacy are dropping, prompting
the question of whether there is a direct link between these two trends. Through my
review of research, three classifications of past literature have become evident: historical
analysis of campaign finance, current trends in campaign finance, and governmental
reforms in reaction to current trends. These classifications have enabled me to consider
the issue of campaign finance and its effect on Americans' increasing feelings of political
inefficacy through the analysis of normative interpretations of their relationship,
statistical data illustrating historical and current trends in campaign spending and voter
participation, as well as the past and present reform ideas and their effectiveness.
2 Smith, Bradley. Campaign Finance Reform: Soft Money and the Presidential
Campaign System. 14, May 1997. 26, Oct. 2003.
2
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There are five sub-divisions within the history of campaign finance: the formative
years (1789-1824), the growth years (1828-1876), the golden years of corruption (1876-
1932), the new deal era (1932-1968), and the modern era (1968-present).3 These periods
are defined by the practices utilized to finance campaigns based on the political,
economic, and social developments of the time. Each of these periods in American
campaign finance history has had an influence on our current structure of campaign
finance.
The breakdown of the history of campaign finance into five subdivisions
illustrates the development and trends in campaign finance tactics throughout American
history. Financing has progressed from the formative years (1789-1824), where the
minimal campaign costs were completely absorbed by the candidate, to the golden years
of corruption (1876-1932) where independently wealthy men began to bankroll
candidates' campaigns in return for favorable treatment (i.e. kickbacks) once in office.4
This had a powerful effect on the modern era, where a hierarchy exists between
individuals and corporations with the financial ability to influence politics, and the
majority of citizens who do not have this influential luxury. This has led a majority of the
American electorate to feel politically insignificant, and ultimately developed into the
current tendency of questioning the legitimacy of American politics. 5
Two opinions of current trends are evident throughout previous literature:
increased levels of campaign finance impede voter effectiveness, and the continuing
influence of money is inevitable. These opinions on the current trends in campaign
3
Goidel, Robert, Gross, Donald & Shields, Todd. Money Matters. Boston, Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Inc. 1999. p. 15-35.
4 Goidel et all., p. 16-25.
5 Goidel et all., p. 25-26.
3
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finance have led to an increasingly critical understanding of the role campaign finance
has played and continues to play in democratic politics.
Most authors agree that "the need to raise large sums of money leads public
officials to pay more attention to donors than voters."6 This belief encourages many
individuals to question the legitimacy of American politics - can politicians act in
response to voters' needs and not allow the presence of money to impede their
representation? Some authors believe that "candidates spend all their time looking for
contributions rather than conducting the people's business,"7 causing them to lose touch
with the opinions of the electorate, resulting in the electorate feeling politically
insignificant.
For those who believe the influence of increasing amounts of money in politics is
inevitable, a feeling that the majority is already politically insignificant exists. Because
"the politics of today is expensive, businesslike, and capital-intensive, and relies to a
greater extent than ever before on mass communication via the media and advertising,"8
people believe money has a corrupting stronghold on politics that shows no signs of
letting up. This claim is shaped around the opinion that a position in a political office, or
the ability to influence someone holding a political office, is only accessible to those who
are financially wealthy.
The reform section of my research has also yielded two differing opinions, the
first being that reform efforts are necessary in order to place limits on outrageous levels
of campaign financing and the unfair influential advantages given to the wealthy. The
6
West, Darrell. Checkbook Democracy. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2000. p. 7.
7 West, Darrell. Checkbook Democracy. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2000. p. 7.
8
Hertz, Noreena. The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy.
New York: Free Press, 2001. p. 92.
4
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second major opinion claims any reform action taken against campaign finance will have
ineffective results. Through these differing opinions it has become evident that no matter
what position one agrees with, the influential role money plays in politics cannot be
denied
Those who declare that reform efforts are necessary do so because they claim,
wealthy candidates have the ability to buy political success through their financial
influence and funding. They believe candidates waste too much time raising money and
ultimately sever themselves from the electorate.
9
Because of these issues, those in favor
of governmental reforms believe implementing laws regarding campaign finance levels
and contributor donation levels will help equal the playing field between the wealthy and
influential, and those of average financial standing who feel politically insignificant.
Those who claim reforms are ineffective believe that current campaign finance
laws are not enforced and therefore see no need for new reforms. They believe that
limiting amounts and types of contributions place unconstitutional limits on individuals'
free speech. 10 To them, reforms are just temporary roadblocks that are ineffective in
dealing with the problem of money in politics, and only result in illegal limits on a form
of free speech protected by the Constitution. Because there are two distinct and differing
opinions regarding governmental reforms to campaign finance, the issue of their
necessity and effectiveness will continue to be questioned.
History of Campaign Finance
Political candidates for elected office have always needed votes in order to be
elected, and money has always been necessary in obtaining votes. This link has shown to
9 West, Darrell. Checkbook Democracy. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2000. p. 9.
10 Luna, Christopher. Campaign Finance Reform. New York: H. W. Wilson, 2001. p. 11.
5
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be problematic, from the time when George Washington used self-funded liquor
distribution to attract voters in 1757, 11 to our current political system "characterized by
large contributions, secret influence, citizen cynicism, weak public representation, and
increasingly unaccountable elected officials." 12 Through this span of time, money has
tightened its grip around politics and become more influential than ever. Given this, is
representative democracy possible in the current climate of campaign finance? Historical
and current practices suggest a tentative 'no', the reasons for which I explore here.
In the late eighteenth century, campaign costs were minor due to the small
electorate and limited means of communication for campaigning. Campaign costs during
this time were minimal and the candidate normally had the ability to absorb the small
costs that were exhausted during the election process, such as the expenses for liquor
used by George Washington. 13 However, the process of self-funded campaigns by
political candidates led to an abrupt separation between the wealthy aristocrats of the
time, who had the financial resources to fund political endeavors, and the other citizens
who simply worked to earn a living and voiced their political preferences when
appropriate. The separation that resulted due to the aristocrats' financial ability to fund
campaigns and the inability of regular citizens to do so, changed American politics
forever.
From that time on, a precedent was set that has remained throughout American
history: only a person with the rare social and financial abilities to withstand and fund a
campaign has the ability to be successful in American politics. Through this separation, a
hierarchy was put into place, separating the financially wealthy and politically influential
11 Goidel et all., p. 16.
12
West, Darrell. Checkbook Democracy. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2000. p. 7.
6
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from those with average financial means and questionable political influence. The same
separation that was initiated during the late eighteenth century still exists, and compels
many Americans to question what influence the high levels of campaign financing, and
means through which the financing is acquired, have on the legitimacy of American
politics.
The hierarchy broadened as emphasis on high levels of campaign financing was
heightened during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. During this time,
barriers to voting were being eliminated and more money was needed to reach the newly
enfranchised voters. Previously, wealthy candidates funded their own campaigns through
out-of-pocket spending, but as the electorate expanded and increased costs were incurred
with reaching the new voters, organized political parties were established to help finance
campaigns, mobilize the nations increased number of voters, and campaign on behalf of a
candidate.14 As political parties became more influential, campaign finance levels
continued to rise at rates never experienced before, leading candidates and their parties to
seek new forms of campaign financing to help sustain their spending rates.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, "the need for mass voter appeals and
political party organizational efforts made it clear that it was no longer possible for most
candidates to run self-finance campaigns or campaigns financed by a few individuals."15
This meant other avenues of financing would have to be exploited, requiring candidates
and parties to raise the necessary funds to defeat their opposition. New methods of
financing include forcing federal office holders to make annual contributions to political
parties, and searching for rich and economically powerful men to contribute to the
13
Goidel et all., p. 16-17.
14
Goidel et all., p. 19.
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candidate's campaigns and political parties. These forms of political campaign financing
would become staples in campaign finance for many years to come, as financing became
the number one priority of political candidates and their parties. Because competing
parties and their candidates were exploring new campaign finance sources, the stage was
being set for perhaps the most corrupt and troubling era in American political history. It
was said of the times and the frame of mind for many political candidates, "there were
millions of voters to be contacted ... [and] millions of dollars to be earned and a nation to
be conquered." 16
From 1876 to 1932, a laissez-faire attitude had become dominant in economics as
well as politics. 17 Growing amounts of campaign finance money funded from previously
untapped resources were becoming present in politics and were being used to advertise in
printed media, organize rallies, and provide necessary travel money. As California
Assembly speaker Jesse Unruh stated, "money had truly become the mother's milk of
politics."18 During this period, legal and illegal forms of corporate contributions had
become a way of life for political parties and candidates, meaning the American people
were quickly becoming second on the agendas of political parties and their candidates.
During this period, public officials appeared to devote more attention to donors than
anyone else, leading American citizens to question their political influence and the
legitimacy of the American government and its campaign strategies.
The growing corruption in campaign financing during the years of 1876 to 1932
15 Goidel et all., p. I 8.
16 Goidel et all., p. 19-20.
17 Goidel et all., p. 20.
18 The phrase "money is the mother's milk of politics" originated with Jesse "Bog Daddy" Unruh, who
served as speaker of the California state assembly. Quoted in Herbert E. Alexander (1992).
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led to the foundation and implementation of many reforms aimed at providing legitimacy
to American politics. However, campaign finance reforms proved to be little more than a
nuisance to candidates and their parties in pursuit of money. From 1876 to 1932,
four reform measures were passed by Congress aimed directly at
campaign financing. Numerous other measures to 'clean up' the political
process at the local, state, and federal levels became part of the
Progressive agenda. Many of these reforms ... remain today, [however,]
most of the efforts merely ended up being exercises in futility.19
Because reform efforts did not achieve the goal of cleaning-up the political process, many
people throughout history declare this period to be the most corrupt in American history.
As this era ended, the public's intolerance of corruption and political hierarchy continued
to grow, leading to the development of underground forms of political campaign finance
corruption.
Legislation was brought forth in the late 1930s promoting new reforms to
eliminate campaign finance corruption from American politics. By 1940 legislation was
installed, limiting campaign spending to 5,000 per donor. However, "the 5,000 limit on contributions was avoided"20 through
loopholes to the newly approved legislation, such as giving to multiple committees
benefiting the same candidate or contributing funds to a candidate before the start of the
official reporting period. The loopholes used to overcome the reforms of the early 1940s
led to further levels of corruption that once again broadened the hierarchy between the
financial elite and politically influential, and the citizens of average financial standing
with limited political influence, forcing Americans to question the role money was
19 Goidel et all., p. 20.
20 Goidel et all., p. 24.
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playing in the democratic political arena. By the early 1950s, campaign finance was once
again dominated primarily by large contributions, showing that regulation of campaign
finance in the early 1940s had indeed been an exercise in futility.21
By the time the late 1960s and early 1970s arrived, campaign finance reform was
again part of the national agenda, as citizens were growing increasingly critical of the
campaign finance trends being used since the inception of the previous reforms. 22 A
climate of political reform not seen since the Progressive era was present, as people
around the nation were striving for upheaval, disillusionment, and change in the forms of
campaign finance being used and their effect on American voters' political influence. In
response to the growing criticism of American forms and levels of campaign finance
being used prior to 1971, Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA),
laying out a clear legal basis for the creation and maintenance of business and political
committees. The FECA also tightened disclosure requirements on contributions and for
the first time looked directly at the costs of media advertising, eventually putting specific
limits on the amount candidates and their parties could spend on media advertising. 23
For a short period of time, t
Diffusion with Adversarial Fine-Tuning for Improving Rare Retinal Disease Diagnosis
No full textAs machine-aided disease diagnosis becomes more common, there is a rising need for high volumes of quality data, which might be unavailable for rare diseases. Generative methods offer a solution, allowing for synthesising realistic-looking data that can improve diagnosis accuracy. We investigate the applications of diffusion to a small, imbalanced dataset of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) images. We propose modifying the basic Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Model with attention mechanisms, a class-aware training strategy, and the addition of adversarial fine-tuning. We demonstrate that this model is capable of synthesising realistic-looking images with class-specific features even for diseases with as little as 22 samples. We achieve values of FID at 62.58, and CLIP Similarity at 0.96. We show that the addition of generated data in the training dataset improves the overall and class-specific performance of a ResNet18 classifier on the OCT data, offering an improvement for downstream tasks such as rare retinal disease diagnosis
Diversity in Crisis: Race, Media and Popular Superdiversity in Authoritarian Times
No full textThis article examines the unfolding crisis of diversity in Western media and society. Once a benign, even banal, concept, ‘diversity’ is now attacked from both left and right: for the former, as a performative gesture masking structural racism; for the latter, as a threat to meritocracy and national identity. Today, it is the far right that is most forcefully shaping public discourse, reframing diversity as a symbol of cosmopolitan elitism and white marginalisation. Yet media culture remains ‘super-diverse’. In the UK, people of colour are more visible on screen than ever before, represented through seemingly complex and varied characterisations. Even as diversity discourse becomes increasingly embattled, this multiracial media form appears largely intact. Focusing on British media, the article traces the unravelling of diversity as a governing logic. It asks how we can make sense of the coexistence of popular superdiversity and the mainstreaming of far-right populism. Its central contention is that understanding the politics of diversity – in all its contradictory forms – is essential to grasping the current conjuncture, and may even point toward how to resist the reactionary forces that define it
The availability and marketing of nicotine pouches at tobacco-selling points- of-sale in Pakistan
No full textIntroduction: Nicotine pouches are gaining popularity among young people. Within five years of their introduction, Pakistan has become the third-largest market for Velo, a leading brand among nicotine pouches. However, more information is needed to know about the availability and marketing of these products at point-of-sale (POS). Methods: In August 2023, we surveyed 711 POS across nine districts covering all four provinces of Pakistan. We collected data on the availability of different brands of nicotine pouches and their flavours, nicotine strengths, prices, and pack features. Furthermore, we recorded any POS advertising in a subsample of 382 POS. Results: In Pakistan, nicotine pouches were available in all four provinces, eight of nine surveyed districts, and 56 of 711 (7.9%) POS. Urban settings had wider availability and more variety than rural settings. Velo, available in six flavours and three different strengths, captured 85% of the market. On average, nicotine pouches cost 133 Pakistani Rupees (SD 18.9, range 100-190 PKR) or 0.44 US dollars. Display stands advertising nicotine pouches were observed in 12.3% (46/382) POS. Conclusions: Nicotine pouches are widely available across Pakistan. A range of flavours and strengths are being sold at an affordable price, making it attractive, particularly for young people. Continued surveillance of these products is needed. Their perceptions and use, and their impact on the tobacco uptake in youth, also need further research. Implications: We observed widespread availability of Velo and the growing nicotine pouch market in Pakistan, underscoring the urgent need for regulation. These products appeal to youth with diverse flavors and affordability, raising concerns about experimentation leading to addiction. Policymakers must prioritize regulating manufacturing, sales, and marketing to limit youth access. Limited research in Asia necessitates longitudinal studies to explore oral health impact of using these products. Continued monitoring of promotions at points of sale, along with studies on youth perceptions, usage patterns, and influence on tobacco uptake, is critical for effective policy development
The effect of Peer-to-Peer lending on financial exclusion: Evidence from China
No full textThe association of financial technology (fintech) and financial exclusion has attracted attention since rapid growth of fintech innovation. This study investigates the funding probability of the financial excluded borrower in a large P2P lending platform. Using loanlevel data from a lending Chinese P2P company, we find there is a negative indirect effect of financial exclusion on funding success through credit score. In a moderated mediation analysis,
we also find new business model such as offline authentication and education qualification positively moderates the linkage between the financial excluded and credit score and therefore negative indirect effect of financial exclusion on funding success is overturned when the excluded borrower has conducted offline authentication and obtained higher education qualification. Lastly, we examine the determinants of offline authentication decision. We find the borrowers in a city with better financial infrastructure are more willing to conduct authentication. However, the financial excluded borrowers are less likely to conduct offline authentication