Political Science
Four Take-aways
Example #1 Example #2 Example #3
| #1
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. |
Stalinist Russia
Maoist China Castro’s Cuba Mugabe’s Zimbabwe Hitler’s Germany |
Richard Daley’s Chicago
Curley’s Boston Young’s Detroit Barry’s Washington DC |
Renaissance Popes
Pedophilia in Catholic Church Polygamy and Mormon founders. Henry VIII and Anglicanism |
| #2
Government is inherently evil because it involves coercion, but inherently necessary because men are not angels (Madison).
|
The anarchy of renaissance Italy
Versus Pax Romana; Articles of Confederation versus Constitution
|
The anarchy of Rwanda, Congo, warring states period in China
Versus the relative peace under Genghis Khan |
The anarchy of Iraq, Syria, versus Pax Americana |
| #3
Government debt tends to rise because given the choice between spending more and gaining votes and taxing more and losing votes, politicians always choose the former.
|
The Ancient World:
Rome the poster child of bread, circuses and currency debasement. |
The Modern World:
Greece Argentina |
The United States:
The real debt of the United States is about $200 trillion not the reported $17 trillion. The Fed obligingly funds the debt with currency debasement and negative real rates.
|
| #4
The separation of powers is a good idea.
|
Geographic separation:
Local, state, and federal |
Functional separation:
Legislative, executive, judicial
|
Separation of church and state
|