A “special interest” as used in this paper could be a single person or a relatively small group of people who seek to influence public policy decisions to obtain a larger share of economic benefits or political influence than they otherwise would have. By definition, this must come at the expense of the rest of society. Mancur Olson, who wrote much on the economic aspects of this theme about two decades ago, pointed out that it is always difficult and sometimes impossible for the average citizen to monitor what is taking place until it becomes a fait accompli. I chose to discuss this topic because my sense is that the adverse consequences of special-interest actions are now more substantial than in the past. U.S income inequality has increased during the past four decades, and special interests contributed to this outcome.
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