Abraham Lincoln characterized democratic government as "government of the people, by the people,
for the people." Democratic government is about public purposes --- the proposition that government
should be the servant of the people, rather than their master. It is illegitimate for democratic government
to serve other than public purposes --- for any such activity necessarily serves private purposes.
This is the great advance of democratic government. Other forms of government serve the few at the
expense of the many, and their resources are marshaled to serve the private purposes of those on
whom government has bestowed privilege.
The very concept of legal privilege is at odds with democracy. The most fundamental feature of
democratic government is equality under the law. Equality under the law means that none can be
viewed as having greater right under the law than others. This principle is captured by the following:
What government does for one, it should do for all, and what government does not do for all it
should do for none.
Unfortunately, democratic governments fall short of this ideal, and too often serve private purposes.
This, by definition, is accomplished at the expense of those who have not been granted legal privilege.
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An example of such a privilege is labor laws that single out certain classes of workers for higher
compensation, or more lucrative benefits or working arrangements than employees in other classifications.
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Another
example is meaures that permit only favored organizations or people to pursue particular businesses and
occupations. These laws have the effect of denying entry to (invariably low income) people and businesses, which would
reduce unemployment, increase labor income and reduce consumer prices.
It is difficult to remove legal privilege, because the privileged will exert considerable political power to
maintain the status quo. One of the most important challenges to democratic government is the
abolition of legally bestowed privilege.
There is another important dimension --- that of financial stewardship. A government that is the servant
of the people will spend no more than necessary --- no more than the competitive market rate --- to
accomplish the public purposes it has established. Any excess spending serves the private purposes
of government, not the public purposes of the people. Achieving "market rate" government is crucial
to the survival of western democracies, which must find ways to pay for expensive pension and
entitlement programs without destroying the very economic growth needed to finance
such expenditures.
