On the Nature of Vacuums

The Following is paid for by the Mad Dog Moderate Party:

Did it ever occur to you that nature abhors a vacuum? Nowhere is this more true than in politics. Remove one political mass from the equation and that space will quickly be filled by another mass of equal density, etc. Remember, it must be an equal mass in order to fill the space left behind. There can be no amorphous, matter-less thing floating around in that newly empty space.

I'm always piqued by the idea that Right Wingers want to reduce the size of the Federal Government. By the laws of politics, which have been valid since God first made judgement on Cain and Abel, vis-a-vis political entities, if you reduce the size of Federal Governement you then leave a vacuum that will quickly be filled with a mass of equal density. In the case of American History, as well as most history in general, the Yin to government's Yang is Big Business. When we shrink the power of the Government, the new power is Big Business. That's all.There is no third thing that can exist between these two colliding beasts.

Someone might argue that I am being extreme, that Free Market Forces will fill the vacuum and that's a good thing. I would argue that the Free Market, without governemental regulation, creates a paradigm where the Biggest Hugest and Richest devour the middle and the weak, creating a vast amount of power at the head, with virtually nothing left behind. This has been true since - well, forever. The Medieval Period of Europe offers us the best idea of what happens when the Few have the power, only slightly controlled - and that infentestimal control coming from within - and the Many exist to prop them up. I believe that the end of Feudalism as practiced in Europe led to two of the bloodiest revolutions in European history: the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution.

Our own history has seen  a steady and intelligent encroachment on the unmitigated power of industry since the time of the robber barrons and child labor and sweat shops. It's when we remove these controls that Banks run amok and Stock Barons run amok and the economy crashes. The more we deregulate, the further our economy teeters at the abyss . . .

You take a think like Economics and The Free Market - each of these two things is motivated by one singular goal: the creation of wealth. Money, a thing which has rightly been called The Root of All Evil. How can we expect Restraint and Goodness and Empathy to arise out of something that is motivated by the lowest of all human cravings? Can we expect Romance and Beauty to arise from XXX Porn? The pursuit of money mines deeply the lowest of all human emotions and desires. It devours and destroys; it is insatiable and creates victims far in extreme of its benefits.

At the very least, Government is far more accountable to the people than Corporations are. At its best, Government exists to benefit all people equally. Corporations cannot be made accountable to the people without Government control. Corporations, unbound by regulation, exist to make a select few wealthy and powerful at the expense of everyone else. Corporations devour those smaller businesses that can't compete, can't match prices, can't defend themselves. Those smaller businesses and farms disappear, swelling the size of the Devourer until it meets something it can't devour. Then those five or six massive entities exist uneasily alongside each other, agreeing to maintain their own power while crushing those beneath them.

It's also a curious fact one of the largest facets of Big Government is The Military. Twenty percent of the budget goes there. What facet of the Government is larger? Yet this Huge, money burning, completely wasteful government entity is the only one that the Right Wing doesn't want to see reduced. In fact, according to several of their loudest voices - Sarah Palin - is should be increased.

There are no vacuums in human politics. Pick your poison. Which do you feel is more accountable?