Let's take a look at the political game.

Rulers and Rulees

Two political systems illustrate the extremes in the ruler/rulee mix. At one extreme lies a pure democracy in which every member of society has an equal voice/vote in establishing and enforcing the rules. At the other extreme is a pure dictatorship with a single ruler who establishes and enforces the rules that must be followed by everyone else.

The disconnect between rulers and rulees, between leaders and followers, gives rise to much of the government imperfection studied in public choice. If leaders and followers are one and the same, then government can better achieve the desires of society. Government and society can be one and the same. But when not, problems arise.

The U.S. Game

• Rules for All?: In the United States, followers and leaders are generally subject to the same rules. For the most part. Then again, at times it seems as though leaders abide by a different set of rules or no rules at all.


• Are Rulees Rulers?: In the United States, followers can and do become leaders. City councils, state legislators, governorships, Congress, even the Presidency, has been occupied by the occasional follower turned leader. Then again, most followers never make this rare transition to leadership and many leaders spend their adult lives never leaving the comfortable confines of government.

Political Consequences

• Winners and Losers: The consequences of political actions are both good and bad, good for some, bad for others. That is, the political game has winners and losers. Suppose, for example, that the Shady Valley City Government imposes a tax on the sale of jogging shoes. This action has winners and losers. The winners are those who receive the goods or services provided by the tax revenue. The losers are those who pay the tax when purchasing jogging shoes.


• Concentrated and Dispersed: The consequences of political actions are also concentrated or dispersed, concentrated among some, dispersed among others. In particular, the benefits of political action might be concentrated among a few while the costs of the actions might be dispersed among many. A few winners and many losers. Or the costs of political action might be concentrated among a few while the benefits of the actions might be dispersed among many. A few losers and many winners. The Shady Valley jogging shoe tax, for example, might be paid by thousands of consumers who purchase jogging shoes while the tax revenue is used to remodel the meeting room used exclusively by the ten members of the Shady Valley Committee for the Historical Preservation of Footwear.

This is just the sort of observation that makes many players in the political game salivate as they ponder rent-seeking possibilities. Some players successfully convince government to provide concentrated benefits to a select few while dispersing the costs across a larger number. A small sales tax on jogging shoes used to remodel a city hall meeting room provides an example.