Thursday, September 4, 2008

Community Activists Conservative?

From the an interchange between Tyler Cowen and Ezra Klien about Palin's speech:

Ezra Klien: I was actually surprised to hear her attack community activists. It's not that I don't see the utility of the blow, but I've always thought there's something fairly conservative about the vocation, which informally organizes citizens to demand better, fairer, and wiser treatment from detached government bureaucrats.

All the community activists I have known are 1) shake-down artists, looking to force governments and corporations to allocate funds to their friends or 2) aspiring politicians looking to build a base or bona fides. Further, they are totally unaccountable: unelected, no responsibilities, just criticism of the various injustices. I'm sure there are modest community activists, with no ambitions or ulterior motives, but what's their preponderance? 20%?

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