BUS HROD W. ALLIN 199 



subsidies for something else. And the something else may or may not 

 be merely a special interest. 



When Adam Smith first advocated his "unfettered" price system, he 

 was trying to make government serve the public interest rather than 

 merely the special interests of the kings, nobles, and privileged classes. 

 But too many of his disciples have believed that "laissez faire" was 

 itself the method for finding out what the public interest is. They con- 

 ceive of the government as primarily a police force for enforcing 

 laissez faire. The truth is, of course, that the government at any given 

 time is whatever interests are in control of it; and the it they are in 

 control of is the power to make their interests prevail. The more 

 nearly the interests of those in control of government approach those 

 of the public generally, the more nearly government itself approaches 

 the ideal. But the logic of pure economics under laissez faire is only 

 one of the useful tools for discovering and agreeing upon what the 

 public interest is. Others include an understanding of institutions such 

 as those relating to land tenure, governmental forms, and public ad- 

 ministration. 



A favorite technique by which special interests that are not also 

 public interests thwart the will of our legislators, even when they have 

 passed a bill having a public purpose, is to stack the administrative 

 arms of government with personnel whose purpose is only to serve a 

 special interest. This procedure is regularly creating a whole collec- 

 tion of political economy problems. Professor Mason is aware of all 

 of this. 1 only wish he had included it in his paper, along with the sug- 

 gestion that one of the real functions of the regulatory and adminis- 

 trative arms of government is that of investigation to help the conflict- 

 ing interests find the public interest. When they find it, it must be one 

 that is workable — not Utopian. 



In his discussion of "the instability of raw materials industries," 

 Professor Mason agrees with "a recent judgment" that "there is every 

 reason to believe that on balance the effects of government efforts to 

 reduce fluctuations in producers' incomes by operating on prices have 

 been to reduce both output and consumption, and thereby to reduce 

 the world's standard of living." But he then goes on to say, "it does 

 not follow that all intervention to promote stability is in all circum- 

 stances misguided." Those of us who have been trying to do this for 



