Campaign finance abuses have put democratic equality at risk. But how can we regulate campaign donations without jeopardizing free speech? The authors propose using an economic concept: that elections be treated as a public good. When private wealth is employed to finance political campaigns, political equality is put at risk. Paying for electoral campaigns with individual donations places wealthy individuals in a position to exercise greater political influence than those with fewer resources have. In the United States this process is far advanced, badly in need of reform. But since campaign contributions represent a form of political expression, banning or limiting them in the name of greater electoral equality raises serious civil libertarian concerns. Political speech is a central liberty that requires a high level of protection. In this paper we analyze elections as a “public good” in order to propose a method for achieving a system of greater political equality that also protects free political speech.
