Ed Hudgins, TOC Washington Director, decries the presidential candidates on their hypocrisy in attacking special interests. In his latest Report from the Front, Hudgins writes:
All of this wailing and gnashing of teeth over special interests evades the fundamental premise of a free society, the premise best articulated by Ayn Rand: ?There is no conflict of interests of men who do not desire the unearned, who do not make sacrifices or accept them, who deal with one another as traders, giving value for value.? When governments stick to their proper functions of protecting the life, liberty and property of citizens, no conflicts arise. All individuals who seek rational goals benefit by living under objective laws that preserve their rights.
Special interest groups that benefit at the expense of others are created by government when it uses force to limit the private use of property, private contracts between consenting individuals, or private behavior that does not violate the equal rights of others. In such a system, raw political power rather than production and trade become the coin of the realm. Politicians compete to see who can promise one group more of another group?s money or freedom while denouncing their victims as ?special interests.?
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