From Ross Douthat:
No ideology survives the collision with real-world politics perfectly intact. General principles have to bend to accommodate the complexities of history, and justice is sometimes better served by compromise than by zealous intellectual consistency.
Jonas
Though smaller than it should be, there is an ongoing debate in the non-profit community about whether or not non-elected advocates have the right to make compromises during the legislative or regulatory process.
Whether its land conservationists compromising on CAFE standards at the national level or wildlife enthusiasts at the state level promising not to object to the next site chosen as long as the military moves away from this migratory bird nesting site, advocates cut deals on our behalf all the time.
The only thing is, unlike elected officials, we didn’t elect them. And worse, they aren’t really accountable to us in any way.
It’s a problem for a supposedly democratic society that currently houses much of its policy expertise in the non-profit sector.
Jonas
Echolocation 