Captain.Sassy
Master Poster
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2009
- Messages
- 2,236
I usually think of the state as an autonomous actor, but when things like this happen I'm inclined to give class-based interpretations of the world a little more credence.
On a similar note, it seems like John Manley is, if anything, more powerful (or at least more prominent) now than when he was a minister. The guy heads up the CCCE, and is on the national news pretty much every week these days.
So what do people think about ministers/politicos moving back and forth between the business and policy worlds? Is this a conflict of interest? Does the 'class' of these ministers etc. result in a pro-business bias in policy independently of the ministers' ostensible ideological affiliations? Are these kinds of appointments indicative of long running confluence of interests/influence, or are they merely reflective of corporations seeking out the best talent, which often ends up at the top of the political pyramid?
(for our foreign friends who may wish to participate, Prentice and the Conservatives=right of centre (some quite right of centre) pro-market types, ideologically, while Manley and the Liberals are/did hew somewhat more to the centre)
On a similar note, it seems like John Manley is, if anything, more powerful (or at least more prominent) now than when he was a minister. The guy heads up the CCCE, and is on the national news pretty much every week these days.
So what do people think about ministers/politicos moving back and forth between the business and policy worlds? Is this a conflict of interest? Does the 'class' of these ministers etc. result in a pro-business bias in policy independently of the ministers' ostensible ideological affiliations? Are these kinds of appointments indicative of long running confluence of interests/influence, or are they merely reflective of corporations seeking out the best talent, which often ends up at the top of the political pyramid?
(for our foreign friends who may wish to participate, Prentice and the Conservatives=right of centre (some quite right of centre) pro-market types, ideologically, while Manley and the Liberals are/did hew somewhat more to the centre)
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