Do elections have penalties? – Econlib

In his new e book entitled The Federal Reserve: A New Historical past, Robert Hetzel notes the next:

The 1912 Democratic Platform opposed “the so-called Aldrich invoice or the institution of a central financial institution” and demanded “safety kind the management of . . . the cash belief”

A 12 months later Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act.

One can discover many comparable examples all through US historical past.  President McKinley held dovish views on overseas coverage, after which led us into struggle in opposition to Spain.  The Democratic platform of 1932 promising a balanced price range.  Lyndon Johnson warned that Goldwater would lead us into struggle in Vietnam.  The examples are limitless.

Does this imply that elections wouldn’t have penalties?  I don’t assume so, for a number of causes.  First, there are various examples of candidates fulfilling their marketing campaign pledges after being elected.  However for my part an important position of elections is in encouraging good conduct.  Leaders know that when the nation does poorly, the incumbent is more likely to be thrown out.  This provides leaders extra of an incentive to please the voters by producing peace and prosperity.  Elections are a tool for disciplining politicians.

It’s no shock that elected leaders typically abolish democracy when they’re about to have interaction in ruinous ventures.  Thus Hitler abolished German democracy within the Thirties, and Putin has abolished Russian democracy lately.