Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

used cars, rather than direct corporations
that sell them • When the list is
comp i I ed of poss ible appointees to the
Cabinet or possible candidates for the
ambassadorship, it seems never to include the
skilled, personable, hard-working used car
salesman.(51)
A finale 0 n sidera t i on i s t hat i nd i v i d ua 1s tend to
associate with others of the same social status. It is
qui.tena t u ra 1, the n, t hat t he r u 1 i ngel i t e wo u 1d r e ­
cruit most heavi ly from those with upper class backgrounds
similar to their own, just as those with upper
class backgrounds naturally gravitate toward elite
positions. For the same reason those from lower
classes tend to enter less esteemed positions. The son
of the president of General Motors is far more likely
t 0 b ec om e a cor po rat e ex e cut i vethan a me c han i c; t he
son of a garage mechanic is much less likely to become
a corporate executive than a mechanic.
In br i ef, the evidence does suggest that there is
a ruling elite, that this elite is largely closed and
tends to perpetuate itself, that elite recruitment is
based on achievement but that there is a close affinity
between achievement and birth. Moreover, none of this,
i twa s a r g u ed, imp liesac0 ns p irac y • On the con t r a r y ,
the method of recruitment and self-perpetuation is
qui tena t u r a I • A1though i t rna y bet00 s t rong tore fer
to the rUling elite as a caste, it does exhibit a
ca s tel ike qua lit y. The ques t ion tha t now mus t be addressed
is: does this elite use its position to benefit
itself?
Even granting the existence of a ruling elite,
doesn't compet i t i on for votes insure that the rulers
will be responsive to the demands of the ruled? According
to Anthony Downs this is precisely the case.
The goa I of a po 1 it i ca I party, according to the
Downsian model, is to win elections. As such it can be
com par edt 0 the firmin the bus i ne s s wo rId. Jus t as i n
a com pet i t i v e sit ua t i on the fir m wi 11 max i rn i z e profit s
by maximizing sales, so a party will win elections by
ma x i m i z i n g v 0 t e s. And jus t as the profit rno t i ve i nsur
e s tha t the en t repreneur wi 11 respond to the demands
of the consumer, the vote mot i ve, assuming that the
voters are well informed, constrains the political entrepreneurs
to respond to the demands of the electorate.
The moment the entrepreneur, in either case,
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