mburns's Journal: It's Time For More Accountability

Classical Greece was the first advanced civilization to bring its kings and land barons under some sort of effective control. (No doubt, the Oedipus myth was clever propaganda in support of the effort.) The Greek cities were able to exile kings and land owners who did not carry out their function sufficiently well as patrons of the city.

So Alexander was able to apply political superiority, as well as all of the other Greek advancements, to his conquest of Persia.

The book, "The Rise of the State" I think, identifies accountability to the populus as one of the elements of a strong central state. The Roman Republic also had such mechanisms: elections, division of jurisdiction, limited terms of office, and the exercise of veto by tribunes.

The United States of America is poised to be overcome by the moneyed influence of large corporations. It is a bit difficult to think of effective countermeasures, but lets say that the National Academies should convene tribunals for the purpose of issuing symbolic vetoes on the acts of various organizations with a deleterious effect on the public.

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Michael J. Burns