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In reply to the discussion: First exit polls give victory to Henrique Capriles [View all]rayofreason
(2,259 posts)This is the biggest problem of modern consensual government. As politicians amass more economic power there is a greater incentive for and probability of corruption, as well as economic distortions that result in poor allocation of resources, leading to poor results, higher unemployment, less opportunity, and less ability of a society to fund things that are not essential to immediate survival.
The only answer is to limit the power of politicians to "grant favors." As it is, the regulations for things like getting government contract favor the big guys, who then rely of their "friends" to push a particular agenda.
Socialism, on the other hand, goes in the opposite direction by giving politicians ALL of the the economic power in society. No wonder it is a failure. Modern economies are highly complex, nonlinear systems in which economic information is diffused throughout the system. Under those conditions no governmental body can make a decision for the system as a whole - by necessity such actions will be based on outdated data and be corrupted by the desires of those making the decision. Successful economic activity (such as allocating resources to obtain the optimal return) is an emergent property of a complex system, not one that can be specified in advance. Add to that the corruption that your pointed out, and you can see why socialism is doomed to produce an economic and political result far inferior to a democratic market-caplitalist state.