Lawrence Lessig Quotes
I'm pushing for citizen equality not because of some moral idea, but because this is the essential way to crack the corruption that now makes it so Washington can't work.
Lessig, Lawrence. Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It. Twelve, 2011.
Even in modern times, almost all reform efforts succeed only if there is some villain or group of villains whose removal is the target of the reform effort. Then legislative changes are made to prevent future villains from being able to do the sane thing.
This is an example of one of the many reasons that it is difficult to eradicate government corruption in some countries. The government leaders, even if they themselves are not corrupt, are suspected by many and lose face and honor when any corruption is uncovered because they either appointed the corrupt officials or tolerated them before. This occurred in American history when President Ulysses S. Grant, who was impeccably honest and upright throughout his two terms had a reputation for corruption and until recently was tarnished by that legacy because a number of his cabinet members were corrupt. Santos has the solution exactly right, but many are reluctant to use it and lose face.
Lester Lawrence Lessig III is an American academic, attorney, and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. Lessig was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, but withdrew before the primaries.
