The Alien Land Bills" In Story Of The Session Of The California Legislature Of 1913 (Pp213-)

San Francisco Ca: Press Of The James H Barry Company, 1913. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good. Green Cloth, Gilt. First Edition.Light Usage, Gilt Legible, But A Few Library Marks And A Library Bookplate. Hichborn's Remarkably Clear-Eyed View Of The Important Legislative Measures With Much Historical And Circumstantial Background. Reading Kt With Modern Sensibility Is Like Reading An Account Of A Conference Of Wild Dogs. There Is No Real Consideration Of The Consequences Of Legislative Action Or Inaction, Because It Doesn't Really Matter To A Majority. The Expectation That This Would Be Otherwise Is Irrational. Politics Aside, The Only Countries With Fully Functioning Democracy And Rule Of Law Were Able To Pay For It With The Ill-Gotten Gains Of Imperialism (Western Europe- But Not Greece Or The Balkans Or Eastern Europe- Plus Canada, Australia, New Zealand). The Ability Of Any Country To Reach A Consensus On How Gov'T Funds Should Be Raised, And How Spent, Is A Fairy Tale Told By The Powerful To Postpone The Revolt Of The Less Powerful. No Party Anywhere In The World Has An Economically Valid Program, To Which It Is Committed With Full Party Support, For Taxation And Fees To Sustainably Enable A Particular Set Of Paramount Goals Witha Particuklar Bundle Of Fixed Costs, Special Programs, And Emergency Savings. So. Political Economy Becomes A Shouting Match Of Various Factions Demanding What They Want, But For No Economically- Or Morally- Sustainable Reasons To Which The Majority Will Agree. In Most Countries, These Competing Interests Form Two Loose Agglomerations Of Shared Interests, So That One Party Has A Bare And Temporary Majority, Likewise If There Are Three Major Groups, One Will Be Just Slightly Ahead And Only Temporarily, Same With Four Or More: Temporary Because They Don'T Actually Agree On A Do-Able Platform, They Just Give Each Faction Some (Specialized And Usually Pretty Stupid) Things They Want. Some People Expect Government To Do More Than Just Protect My Life And Property From The Mob, But The Majority Of People Are Against Anything That Will Help Their Neighbor. The Farmer Who Was Granted A Wish, Just Wanted His Neighbor's Goat To Die.