[MCN] Money and politics

[Lance Olsen]

" … the main dangers to the success of capitalism are the very people who would consider themselves its most ardent advocates : the bosses of companies, the owners of companies, and the politicians who tirelessly insist that they are 'pro-business'.”

"Many of the corporate scandals that America, especially, has endured in recent years reflect outright criminality. A lawful order knows what to do with criminals, and pro-business politicians are in truth militantly anti-capitalist if they flinch from cracking down on bosses' crimes."

“… widespread and quite outrageous abuse, by capitalists, of capitalism … The danger exists everywhere in the world, but it matters most in the United States.”

The Economist, Special 160th Anniversary Issue, A Survey of Capitalism and Democracy, June 26-July 4, 2003

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"Politicians strain to outdo each other with promises to 'get tough' on crime and to bring law and order back to the streets….There is no question that common street crime is an important social concern. But its image has become so bloated in the mirror of public opinion that it blocks our view of the white collar crimes which are both more costly and more dangerous to society."

James Coleman. The Criminal Elite. 1985. St. Martin's Press

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"In a corrupt environment, resources will be directed toward such non-productive areas as the police, armed forces and other organs of social control and repression as the elites move to protect themselves, their positions and their material wealth. Laws will be enacted to and resources otherwise available for socio-economic development will be diverted into security expenditure."

John McFarlane. Transnational Crime, Corruption and Crony Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century. Transnational Organized Crime. Vol. 4 No. 2, Summer 1998
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