Commentary Magazine  Political Control of the Economy, by Edward
R. Tufte  Buying the Vote  Political Control of the Economy. by
Edward R. Tufte. Princeton University Press. 168 pp. $10.00.  A
fundamental, and still unanswered, question about democracy is
whether it is compatible over the long run with a stable and
healthy economy. The competitive struggle for popular votes that
is the essence of democratic rule need not lead to the
expropriation of private property (and in fact private property
is more secure in democratic than in non-democratic regimes),
but it can lead to the manipulation of the value of money, the
schedule of taxes, and the amount and distribution of public
expenditures so as to serve the short-term interests of
politicians at the expense of the long-term interests of
society. In short, the risk of democracy is that elected
officials will try to buy votes.  At one time, such buying as
occurred took place at the local level and face-to-face, in the
form of political patronage and cash hand