Monday, March 12, 2012

Let's Pretend, D.C. Style

Lew Rockwell tells it like it is after Cato chairman Robert Levy charges that a Koch takeover of Cato would result in a loss of "independence" for Cato :
 I am no partisan of the Kochs, but let's stop pretending. All DC think tanks are fakes. They are all fronts for powerful pressure groups while pretending to be idea driven. That's why they cluster in the imperial city. It's as true of Brookings, AEI, Heritage, et al., as it is of Cato. Such organizations, especially "libertarian" ones, are valuable to the State. ("Why, even Cato is pro-Patriot Act, so how can it be anti-freedom?")  In turn, Cato can provide access to top officials for its big donors. But the underlying reality never changes: the State pretends to be influenced, and the think tanks pretend to influence.

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