Thursday, May 31, 2012

simon on ace on governing for and against elite extractors

"when elites are held in check, typically by effective legal mechanisms, everyone else in society does much better and sustained economic growth becomes possible. "

"But powerful people – kings, barons, industrialists, bankers – work long and hard to relax the constraints on their actions. And when they succeed, the effects are not just redistribution toward themselves but also an undermining of economic growth and often a tearing at the fabric of society"