Republic, lost
how money corrupts Congress--and a plan to stop it
by Lawrence Lessig · first published 2011
69% recommend31% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Clear, idea-dense account of how campaign finance and lobbying shape Congress and why politicians cater to donors, with proposed reforms. Suits readers wanting to understand money in US politics.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government—driven by shifts in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission—trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature. With heartfelt urgency and a keen desire for righting wrongs, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig takes a clear-eyed look at how we arrived at this crisis: how fundamentally
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one interesting, counterintuitive argument i've seen on how to prevent this is in lawrence lessig's book, "republic, lost" about the us congress. his take is that public servants actually don't make enough money, when compared to their peers in the public sector, and that an important step to preventing regulatory capture…
on “EU ombudsman: regulator should have stopped director from joining lobby group” ↗…Lessig (the same guy who single-handedly designed Creative Commons) has spent the last 4 years investigating how to "stop this racket", and summarizes his thoughts in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/... If you want to know what to do, a nice first step would be to buy and read Republic, Lost.
on “White House Refuses To Comment On Petition To Investigate Chris Dodd” ↗…defend literally any claim about the future, to the point where effects no longer have causes. If you really want to learn about how moneyed interests have corrupted the US government, you should read _Republic, Lost_ by Lawrence Lessig http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780446576437
on “SpaceX wins $440M contract with NASA to develop Space Shuttle successor” ↗…Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin - strongly influenced my beliefs about political systems The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins - changed how I thought about animal behavior and what living things do Republic, Lost by Lawrence Lessig - strongly influenced my beliefs about US government Manufacturing Consent by Herman & Chomsky - made me rethink my view of the media and news
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗…Why can't a new party come up? Is it due to the system itself or the "will of the people"? I honestly and genuinely don't think that's much of a question. I encourage you to read Lawrence Lessig's "Republic, Lost"[1] - which talks about how the big money behind campaign financing makes average Joe's feel as if they're choosing a politician based on their will, which turns out to not really be the case. Rather,…
on “Finance makes Apple and Google forced friends” ↗…so on and so forth, in a to and fro of extortion. At this point, the purpose of Congress is to pass laws that increase donations so that they can be reelected. Lessig puts the case fairly clearly in Republic, Lost.
on “The nightmarish SOPA hearings” ↗…selects for those politicians that raise enormous amounts of money – people who cater to the lobbyists. Lawrence Lessig did a phenomenal job breaking down the campaign finance / lobbying problem in his book Republic, Lost: http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/... I also found the Lawrence Lessig / Jack Abramoff interview very illuminating in understanding the corrupting influence of money on government.…
on “The Self-Destruction of the 1 Percent” ↗…as lobbyists, oiling the great lobbying machine, etc... For those who haven't read it, Lessig has written a rather nice book on exactly how this kind of "soft corruption" works: http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/...
on “U.S. Alleges $6 Billion Money-Laundering Operation Using Virtual Currency” ↗Lessig's 2011 book "Republic, Lost" is his first foray into the world of writing about politics. It's a fairly shocking read, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm excited that he's partnering with a lot of great people to try and make campaign…
on “The Launch of the Mayday Citizens' SuperPAC” ↗Here is "the plan" from their website. https://mayday.us/the-plan/ If you are interested, Republic Lost by Lessig is a great read on the reality of campaign finance.
on “MayDay PAC” ↗Sorry to punt and give you homework, but Larry Lessig will expand on this better than me. Here's a link if you want to listen to something while you work. His book, Republic Lost, is a good read on this subject if you're interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik1AK56FtVc
on “Sen. Ted Cruz wants minimum H-1B wage of $110,000” ↗I would recommend Larry Lessig's "Republic: Lost," which is an excellent dissection of the problem and proposes a few actual solutions. Unfortunately, one of the solutions at the federal level is a Constitutional convention. This is possibly the exact…
on “But Rich People Live Here, So We Can't Be Going Broke” ↗I think you'll enjoy Lawrence Lessig's talk about the exact issue you brought up. It's call Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress—and a Plan to Stop It [Link] http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I...
on “An email I received from Jimmy Wales regarding SOPA” ↗…'the next SOPA' and campaign finance reform: For every one striking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root. - Thoreau. Marco wants us to strike the root. Book: http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/... NYTimes review: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/books/republic-lost-campai...
on “The next SOPA” ↗I'd suggest reading Lawrence Lessig's new book, "Republic, Lost". It is a deep, sober-minded inspection of the issue of campaign finance. You may arrive at the other end feeling differently than you do now. (It certainly changed my perspective.)
on “The next SOPA” ↗