Tax Farmers, Mercenaries and Viceroys

Paul Krugman does it again: brings little noticed events into relation and shows a large, unhappy truth.

Tax farmers, mercenaries and viceroys: why does the Bush administration want to run a modern superpower as if it were a 16th-century monarchy? Maybe people who’ve spent their political careers denouncing government as the root of all evil can’t grasp the idea of governing well. Or maybe it’s cynical politics: privatization provides both an opportunity to evade accountability and a vast source of patronage.

To find out what tax farmers, mercenaries and viceroys are you’ll have to read the article. I’ll post the whole thing once it appears outside the NY Times pay wall, but meanwhile here is the link – or treat yourself to the Times this morning.