Small change: money, political parties, and campaign finance reform

Abstract

All democracies face the dilemma of how to pay for politics. Money fuels the campaigns that inform and mobilize voters. But private political contributions raise the specter of undue influence, or, worse, political corruption. In Small Change, Raymond J. La Raja reviews the history of America's efforts at federal campaign finance reform and explains why they have largely failed to stem the flow of money in politics: partisans often design new reforms to give themselves electoral advantage over their rivals, rather than as a tool for combating corruption. Small Change suggests alternative ways of crafting reforms that actually promote fairness and democratic accountability. The book is an engaging account of campaign reform's contradictory history, and a must-read for anyone curious about the role of money in American politics.

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