The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America

By Nancy MacLean

Have you ever wondered how some of the ideas currently circulating in the political arena arose—ideas like:

• Resisting school desegregation
• Abolishing public education
• Doing away with Social Security and Medicare
• Erecting barriers to voting such as partisan oversight and gerrymandering
• Diminishing the role of government in economic and social life
• Reducing the role of government to only law enforcement and defense
• Or changing the Constitution?

Nancy MacLean, William H. Chafe Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University, begins her history with John C. Calhoun, the seventh vice president of the United States (1825–1832), known for defending slavery and protecting the interests of the white South. She traces Calhoun’s philosophy through to the present time and introduces us to a Nobel Prize–winning economist you have probably never heard of: James McGill Buchanan. Buchanan won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1986 for an economic philosophy known as public choice theory.

Public choice theory was defined by Buchanan himself as “politics without romance.” The theory centers on applying economics to politics and espouses the principle that politicians will not always act in the best interests of their constituents but always will act in their own self-interest. This core principle embraces a wide libertarian streak and relies on free market capitalism to guide all decision making in democracy. The bottom line is that if you want education, you have to pay for it; if you want healthcare, you have to buy it; if you want to vote, you have to be a certain kind of person to be allowed to vote. You should not rely on government to provide for you; it is your job to provide for yourself.

Public choice theory is vastly appealing to people focused solely on making money. This appeal has led to the influence of dark money to promote these ideas and to the establishment of think tanks and university centers whose focus is to turn out a cadre of scholars, jurists, staffers, politicians, and likeminded thinkers to influence the American political arena. Dr. Buchanan taught at the University of Chicago, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and ultimately his final political home, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a public university in Arlington, Virginia.

Dark money refers to money spent by nonprofit organizations where disclosure of the donors’ identities is not required. These organizations can receive unlimited amounts of money from undisclosed sources. The Mercatus Center is a 501(c)(3) organization that has received more than $30 million from the Koch brothers, Charles and David, to advance their libertarian and free market capitalist agendas. Dark money and its influence have been the subject of another excellent book, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires behind the Rise of the Radical Right, by Jane Mayer. The influences of such large amounts of undisclosed monies on our political system are hidden and powerful. Those of us who value democratic (small “d”) ideals—including fair voting practices, policies that promote one person one vote, and the opportunity for grassroots efforts to make a difference—must be aware of the influence of dark money, rooted in public choice theory, that may overwhelm our democratic political processes.

Though MacLean paints a grim picture, ignorance of such influences is not an option. If all our political decisions are to be driven by billionaires and their lust for free market capital, we will cease to be a democracy and will give way to oligarchy. Needless to say, MacLean’s book has generated controversy and is not popular in some quarters. I found it useful in understanding the origins of what I see on the current political stage. I suggest you give it a read, and if you are feeling ambitious, read Jane Mayer’s book also.

—Margan Zajdowicz, Co-editor, Book Corner