Is local politics more corrupt than national politics?

How should society be organised, if at all?

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Philosophy Explorer
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Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:39 am

Is local politics more corrupt than national politics?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

Since, in my country, there's so much focus on Washington, I tend to think there's less corruption there.

What do you think?

PhilX
Science Fan
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Re: Is local politics more corrupt than national politics?

Post by Science Fan »

I like James Madison's ideas when it comes to defending the rights of minorities. He claimed that federal law should be used to protect minority rights. The reason is because it is easier to get a majority together in a county, or single state, willing to pass laws that discriminate against a minority, but much harder to get such a majority on a national level. If one can get such a majority on a national level, then this would also be easy to accomplish at a much more local level, so, purely from a mathematical standpoint, we should leave the protection of civil rights to the national government as opposed to local governments.

From Madison's standpoint, I do prefer some things being handled by the federal government, as opposed to the local governments, because I do think there is a greater chance of securing rights for minorities at the national as opposed to the state or more local levels of government. While this may not be directly on point regarding your question, I still think it is a relevant consideration in favor of the national government.
Philosophy Explorer
Posts: 5621
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:39 am

Re: Is local politics more corrupt than national politics?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

A classic case of local politics being corrupt in my country is Tammany Hall (Boss Tweed) in NYC. More recently Tony Mack, the mayor of Trenton, NJ was sent to prison after the FBI caught up with him.

It'll be interesting to see how far the "witch hunt" proceeds against Donald Trump. That's one of the things I like about my country. No matter how big you are, eventually justice will catch up with you.

PhilX
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