Today’s links The first days of Boss Politics Antitrust: Selective enforcement in a target-rich environment. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2024. Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. Recent appearances: Where I’ve been. Latest books: You keep readin’ em, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Colophon: All the rest. > The first days of Boss Politics Antitrust (permalink) “Boss politics” are a feature of corrupt societies. When a society is dominated by self-dealing, corrupt institutions, strongman leaders can seize control by appealing to the public’s fury and desperation. Then, the boss can selectively punish corrupt entities that oppose him, and since everyone is corrupt, these will be valid prosecutions. In other words, it’s possible to corruptly enforce the law against the guilty. This is just a matter of enforcement priorities: in a legitimate state, enforcers prioritize the wrongdoers who are harming the public the most. Under boss politics, priority is given to the corrupt entities that challenge the boss’s power, without regard to whether these lawbreakers are the worst offenders. Meanwhile, worse wrongdoers walk free, provided that they line up behind the boss. This is how Xi Jinping prosecuted his purges in the run up to his lifetime appointment as Party Secretary (2012-2015). Xi prosecuted the guilty,but not the most guilty. The public officials who were defenstrated and/or imprisoned during Xi’s purges were all corrupt, but they were also the power base of Xi’s rivals. Meanwhile,…Pluralistic: The first days of Boss Politics Antitrust (24 Jan 2025)