Government for Profit

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Government for profit

Posted at http://unenumerated.blogspot.com/2007/08/government-for-profit.html

Both
academia and popular culture have largely neglected those parts of
history that don't fit into the modern mythology -- derived from the
late Roman Empire and diffused by the university system from the late
Middle Ages to today -- that all justice and political power -- a
"monopoly of force" -- is and must be held by a monolithic entity
called "the government." But there are plenty of examples of political
power both today and in history that don't fit in to this mold.
Federalism, separation of powers, and many examples of legally "taking
the law into one's own hands" are just three categories of examples.
Here, we look at an even more alien category -- political power wielded
by private individuals or commercial organizations, with profits or the
equivalent as a primary incentive of the organization.

Continue here: http://unenumerated.blogspot.com/2007/08/government-for-profit.html

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