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Money Talks: Speech, Economic Power, and the Values of Democracy
Contributor(s): Redish, Martin H. (Author)
ISBN: 0814775381     ISBN-13: 9780814775387
Publisher: New York University Press
OUR PRICE:   $98.01  
Product Type: Hardcover
Published: August 2001
Qty:
Annotation: "A very readable book containing the best arguments thus far opposing campaign finance reform."
-- "Choice"

"Martin Redish's accomplishment is that he not only has written a strong critique of te proposals to extend governmental regulation of free speech, but he has also given First Amendment defenders a base from which to attack existing restrictions on communication. Money Talks illustrates and upholds why the Founders prohibited Congress from making any law thta abridges the freedom of speech."--"Regulation"

Many have argued that soft money and special interests are destroying the American electoral system. And yet the clarion call for campaign finance reform only touches on the more general belief that money and economic power have a disastrous impact on both free expression and American democracy. The nation's primary sources of communication, the argument goes, are increasingly controlled by vast corporate empires whose primary, or even exclusive motive is the maximization of profit. And these conglomerates should simply not be granted the same constitutional protection as, say, an individual protester.

And yet neither the expenditure of money for expressive purposes nor an underlying motive of profit maximization detracts from the values fostered by such activity, claims Martin H. Redish. In fact, given the modern economic realities that dictate that effective expression virtually requires the expenditure of capital, any restriction of such capital for expressive purposes will necessarily reduce the sum total of available expression. Further, Redish here illustrates, the underlying motive of those who wish to restrict corporate expression is disagreement with the natureof the views they express.

Confronting head-on one of the sacred cows of American reformist politics, Martin H. Redish here once again lives up to his reputation as one of America's most original and counterintuitive legal minds.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Political Science | Political Process - Campaigns & Elections
- Political Science | Civil Rights
- Law
Dewey: 323.443
LCCN: 2001001102
Physical Information: 1.03" H x 6.38" W x 9.24" (1.30 lbs) 334 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

Many have argued that soft money and special interests are destroying the American electoral system. And yet the clarion call for campaign finance reform only touches on the more general belief that money and economic power have a disastrous impact on both free expression and American democracy. The nation's primary sources of communication, the argument goes, are increasingly controlled by vast corporate empires whose primary, or even exclusive motive is the maximization of profit. And these conglomerates should simply not be granted the same constitutional protection as, say, an individual protester.
And yet neither the expenditure of money for expressive purposes nor an underlying motive of profit maximization detracts from the values fostered by such activity, claims Martin H. Redish. In fact, given the modern economic realities that dictate that effective expression virtually requires the expenditure of capital, any restriction of such capital for expressive purposes will necessarily reduce the sum total of available expression. Further, Redish here illustrates, the underlying motive of those who wish to restrict corporate expression is disagreement with the nature of the views they express.
Confronting head-on one of the sacred cows of American reformist politics, Martin H. Redish here once again lives up to his reputation as one of America's most original and counterintuitive legal minds.

Contributor Bio(s): Redish, Martin H.: -

The author of numerous books and for a quarter century one of the country's most provocative commentators on free speech issues, Martin H. Redish is the Louis and Harriet Professor of Law and Public Policy at Northwestern University School of Law.