EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
Amidst the rising cacophony, the question remained somehow unasked: “So what?” How exactly does yesterday's incident differ from the trivial practice we witness in all elections, with the exception perhaps of our amateurism?
"The prosecutor's office is investigating the Multiprint printing house for 350,000 ballots found in its warehouse." The BSP recognized total election fraud, the DPS declared this a coup, the Greens insist that all ballots be checked, ATAKA wants an extraordinary council, the UDF is pushing for three signatures on each vote, the DSB wants the elections postponed. The hysteria on the part of the political parties is understandable - they do not miss a chance to present their struggle for power as the central problem of civilized society, but it is unclear why we should all suddenly feel affected by this.
Amidst the rising cacophony, the question “So what?” remained somewhat unasked. How exactly does yesterday’s incident differ from the trivial practice we witness in all elections, with the possible exception of its amateurism? The short, but nevertheless muddy history of Bulgarian democracy remembers, to put it mildly, the dubious victory of the entrenched communist elite in the first elections after 1989 (a unique case in Eastern Europe), electoral tourism, vote buying, voting in formation under threats, the distribution of sacks of ballots by sitting MPs, and countless other refined and not-so-refined techniques for controlling the vote. And if among the party programs one can read incantations for a total purge, retribution, and similar solutions to the problem by eliminating the individuals responsible for this, the error is rooted in the very essence of the system.
In the tenth chapter of his book “The Road to Serfdom,” Hayek says that collectivist dictatorships are ideal breeding grounds for asocial and unscrupulous individuals, because the willingness to commit evil paves the way to elevation and power. Hence the title of the chapter “Why the Worst Rise to the Top.” However, this observation also applies to more tolerable democratic forms of government, where demagogy, bribing the voter with other people’s money, and increasingly with his own, inciting one group against another, and outright electoral fraud provide access to money and power. And if the pursuit of violent wealth is a common trait between a politician and a criminal, the latter is at least content with what he has stolen, does not want to regulate the lives of his victims, and does not expect gratitude or adoration from them.
The fact that human abilities vary widely determines the prevalence of division of labor and specialization in society. The law of comparative advantage applies not only to software development, trading in financial instruments, or driving a Formula 1 car. There is a small part of the population that has innate/learned skills for gaining power over others and specializes in this. The same law also determines the hierarchical structure of organizations, regardless of whether we are considering a legitimate business or a criminal group - the most capable always come out on top.
Once we recognize the condition that the political process, unlike the economic one, rewards asocial behavior, we should not be surprised that individuals who have reached elected positions are immoral. People without a talent for lies, theft, and all kinds of manipulation cannot succeed in politics - at the first opportunity they are replaced by unscrupulous opponents or leave themselves disgusted, yet a decent person by definition does not feel the desire to impose his will by force on his fellow citizens.
