Our Selfish Ways

"If the members of a large group rationally seek to maximize their personal welfare, they will not act to advance their common or group objectives unless there is coercion to force them to do so, or unless some separate incentive, distinct from the achievement of the common or group interest, is offered to the members of the group individually on the condition that they help bear the costs or burdens involved in the achievement of the group objectives."

Mancur Olsen

This passage point out the selfish ways of human. The author believes that even when an individual appears to be acting selflessly the reality is they are always going to work for something that benefits them n a personal level. In other words, an individual will not do anything that does not work to further their personal interest. When individuals unite to form a group of some sort it is in attempts to further their personal gain with the help of others and not in attempts to help the others of the group further their collective interest.

I believe there is truth in this quote. An individual will not join the fight of others unless they themselves are directly affected by the problem. Often we choose to stand by idling while others around us experience hardships. I do think that some good can come from this. Once we realize that we are affected and choose to join the action, one large collective voice is more powerful than a large number of single voices speaking for themselves. Forming groups provides the individuals with more force than they could develop independently. 

Purchasing Political Participation

In the wake of the Watergate affair, Congress attempted to ferret out corruption in political campaigns by restricting financial contributions to candidates. Among other things, the law set limits on the amount of money an individual could contribute to a single campaign and it required reporting of contributions above a certain threshold amount. The Federal Election Commission was created to enforce the statute.

Buckley v. Valero

Money is power. This simple phrase holds great truth when discussing the distribution of political influence in the United States, and probably all countries worldwide. Once elected, politicians often loose sight of their constituents, especially when they win an election with the helps of funds from wealthy campaign contributors. These contributions, more often than not, play a larger role in the decision making process of an elected official, than the constituents interest.

Large campaign contributors, such as the Koch Brothers and our very own former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, contribute extensive amount of money to political campaigns in effort to keep politicians in their pockets. In return of this financial backing, these contributors expect the politicians to work towards advancing the contributors personal agenda.

This case limited the amount of money individuals could contribute to candidates in effort to reduce this consequence and the abuse of political power both from the wealthy contributors and the elected politicians. Through their contributions the wealthy are able to gain much political influence and power without any direct political participation and so the court decided this limit did not infringe on the first amendment rights of the potential contributors. It was also decided that any contribution above a certain amount must be reported.

Alternative Energy Sources

We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.

C-SPAN: President Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration and Address

President Barack Obama is referring to the use of alternative energy sources. We remain highly dependent on oil usage and this is a tremendous issue especially when we consider that there is limited amount of oil found in United States soil. This makes the United States heavily dependent on the import of oil. Factories are large consumers of gas and great contributors of pollution. The damage inflicted on the environment because of the method of retrieval of the oil could be lessened if more families and companies turned to alternative energy sources.

Sadly, the reality remains that even though alternative energy sources are advancing and becoming more readily available the cost of alternative energy is as dreadful as the cost of using oil. The high cost of solar panels and energy efficient cars make this option less appealing too many. We suffered from high gas prices and even now the cost per gallon is close to $3. No one choice is the easier choice. They are both costly but alternative energy sources is the better choice for the environment. I believe it is crucial that the government take action to further advance and increase the usage of alternative energy sources. It is our responsibility to make sacrifices that decrease the negative impact endured by Mother Nature.