Power as Product

All is fair, when power is the only product, when power is the only justification for existence, when achieving power is a zero-sum game that must be won at all costs.

Witness the political landscape in the United States. Political parties aren't competing for voters; they are competing for power. Voters are merely the means to an end.

Political parties aren't really interested in ideas, either. Ideas are just another means to an end.

Finally, political parties aren't really interested in you. You are just the means to an end.

As George Orwell wrote in 1984, "The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power."

What kind of power? Power over the lives of others. Power over their property. Power to make them do what they don't want to do.

Not the kind of power that says "Don't kill" or "Don't steal" or "Don't cheat." Political parties seek the kind of power that says, "You will die" or "I will steal from you" or "I will lie to you," and "you can't stop me."

If it is wise to be skeptical about the claims of business, it is even wiser to be skeptical about the claims of politicians and their parties, even the ones we like. At least consumers have a choice. Voters get stuck with the results for years.