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The Campaign Finance Approach used in the United State must be
changed to make it more compatible with concepts of ethical distributive justice.
Campaign financing, today, allows groups and individuals with large
amounts of money to secretly spend that money to elect their favorite candidates.
Distributive justice deals with the issue of providing fair access to, and availabilty of,
resources to individuals. This discussion uses utiltarian felific calculus, Amnesty
International's criteria for good government and The United Nations criteria for human
development to show, objectively, that American citizens are being damaged by the campaign
financing approaches of America's two dominant political parties. The paper also
examines xnumber of other approaches to campaign finances and concludes that xproposition2
is the best way to finance campaigns for public office.
The United State's approach to campaign financing is not
compatible with any reasonable interpretation of any ethical distributive justice (access
and availability) of the United State's resources to its individuals.
John Rawls, sometimes thought of as the father of this distributive
justice concept, felt there were two principles to govern.
"(1) Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system
of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all.
(2) Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both:
(a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged, consistent with the just
savings principle, and
(b) attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality
of opportunity." (Rawls 1971, p.302. Website: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/justice-distributive/
Certainly today's methods of campaign financing are consistent with the
first clause of Rawl's first principle, but inconsistent with the second clause The
Supreme Court has decided (Buckley v. Valeo, Nixon v Shrink) that individuals and groups
must be limited to the amount they may contribute to political candidates, but there is to
be no limit on how much of an indiviudal or group may spend to support a candidate.
Rich people, poor people and large special interest groups -- from unions to corporations
-- are free to spend as much money as they want to further a candidate's election -- just
as long as they do not actually donate the money to the candidate. Since all have
this equal basic liberty, Rawls would be happy that the first clause of his first
principle was met.
Unfortunately, under today's campaign financing approaches basic
liberties (of those with lots of money) are not compatible with a similar system
of liberty for all, most of whom do not have the ability to spend lots of money for
campaigning. Thus, in reviewing various approaches to campaign financing. it becomes
necessary to come up with a campaign finance approach that is compatible with a ...
system of liberty for all, rich and poor. Today's United State's campaign finance
approach can not be considered an appropriate approach for a nation intesetd in
distribitive justice. It does not provide fair access to, and
availabilty of, political resources to individuals. Even politicians will readily
admit that they give much greater access to the views of paying contributors than average
citizens.
The United State's approach to campaign financing should be
xproposition2 which is ,ost compatible with ethical distributive justice (access and
availability) of the United State's resources to its individuals.
Since any analysis of this issue will involve issues of freedom, rights
and fairness, it is necessary to define these issues at the outset. For this paper,
such terms will all be interpreted using the United Nations and Amensty International's
criterai in Appendix A and B. Fairness, in this paper, will be used, to define the best
outcome from a quantifiable (felific calculus) method of determining that something
achieves the most benefit for the most people.
Since the best campaign financing approach will meet Rawls first
principle and maximize the benefit for most Americans, this paper maintains the sanctity
of Rawls First Principle, but rearranges the second principle along Utilitarian
lines. Whatever method of campaign financing is developed it must be shown to be
most likely to provide the most benefit to most people. This concept is much easier
to discuss objectively than the Rawl concept of "fairness" which, for practical
application, requires the development of a quantifiable appproach to determine
"fairness."
While substituting a Utiliatrian approach to Rawl's concept of fairness,
any approach to campaign financing will still need to meet both conditions of Rawl's
second principle. Since his second principle involves the concept of a just saving
principle, it is useful to note his concept of the just savings principle. "In
his monumental contribution to moral philosophy, A Theory of Justice, John Rawls offers a
helpful proposal. "Just savings," he writes, entails that "each generation
must . . . preserve the gains of culture and civilization, . . . maintain intact those
just institutions that have been established . ..[and] put aside in each period of time a
suitable amount of real capital accumulation."POSTERITY AND THE
"STRAINS OF COMMITMENT"By
Ernest Partridge,University of California, Riverside, website: http://www.igc.org/gadfly/papers/strains.htm
Proposals for campaign finance reform to be considered.
1. Proposal meets the first principle, 2.
Proposal meets first second principle, 3. Proposal meets
second second principle, R. Utilitarian Rankings from work sheets
Proposal
Descritpion
1
2 3 R
| Continue today's approach |
No limit on how much of an indiviudal or group may spend to
support a candidate. Source: |
|
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|
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| eliminate soft money |
Political party soft money is those funds
raised by the national parties from sources and in amounts otherwise prohibited in federal
elections by the FECA. In accordance with the applicable state law, it is then largely
transferred to state and local political parties for grassroots and party-building
activities, overhead expenses, and issue ads. Source: THE
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT, website:
http://www.cnie.org/nle/rsk-35.html
|
|
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| Gore's election year 2000 proposal "Democracy Endowment" |
Individuals, corporations, and unions to contribute to a non-partisan
trust used to help fund any Congressional candidate who would agree to spending limits.
Source: Common Cause News, Wednesday, March 27, 2000 at http://www.commoncause.org/publications/march00/032700.htm |
|
|
|
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| Bush's election year 2000 proposal |
Leaves in place the kind of soft money that played such a big role in the
campaign finance scandals of 1996. Silent on the subject of soft money spilling into
federal elections through state party committees. Bush's "Paycheck protection"
act is completely silent on the question of whether shareholders would be required to give
their permission before corporate funds are spent on political activities anonymous
groups could continue to run campaign ads masquerading as "issue discussion,"
using money that would be completely illegal if given to candidates directly. Source:
Common Cause News, Tuesday, February 15, 2000, website:
http://www.commoncause.org/publications/feb00/021500.htm |
|
|
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| McCain-Feingold bill |
Prohibits candidates and national political parties from raising soft
money, and by prohibiting state political parties from spending soft money on activities
which affect federal elections. Permits workers in union shops who pay agency fees in lieu
of union dues to obtain a refund of the portion of those fees that are used for political
purposes. |
|
|
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| Shays-Meehan Campaign Reform Bill |
Ban on the use of soft money to influence federal elections at both
the national and state party levels. Bans national parties from raising or spending soft
money. The bill bans federal officeholders and candidates from raising or spending soft
money on federal campaigns. And the bill bans state parties from spending soft money on
activities that affect federal elections, such as ads that refer to a federal candidate
and get-out-the-vote activities in federal election years. Source: Common
Cause News, May 6, 1998, website:
http://www.commoncause.org/publications/050698_letter.htm |
|
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(4) By "capital," Rawls means "not only factories and
machines, and so on, but also the knowledge and culture, as well as the techniques and
skills, that make possible just institutions and the fair values of liberty."(5)
This is an important qualification, since it indicates that our "savings" are
not simply of "consumables" which are forgone today to be "used"
tomorrow. For unlike depletable resources, the intellectual and cultural
"capital" to which Rawls refers become more valuable to the future, the more
they are used with advantage by the present generation. As we shall see, this is a crucial
consideration as we face 'the motivation problem'."
If you think I can help you find some particular
information, or simply answer your questions, about World History, Campaign Finance
and Distribtive Justice, word02 or anything else, just ask. My email address is ramann2997@AOL.com
Source Material: A
History of World Societies, Fifth Edition, Volume II, Since 1500 by McKay, Hill, Buckler,
Ebrey
Source Material: Worlds of History, A
Comparative Reader, Volume Two: Since 1400 by Kevin Reilly
Source Material: Primis, Political Science, Ethical Theory of
Government, Discourses (ISBN: 0-390-97507-9) published for Skidmore-Hess
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