Campaign Contributuions and Institutional Corruption

If you have a free hour, I highly recommend you watch this excellent presentation from Harvard University's Lawrence Lessig on the dynamics of financial dependence and perceptions of institutional corruption. He makes the case that one of the most damaging aspects of our current system is that it fosters deep cynicism and distrust about the efficacy of important institutions (e.g the FDA, Congress) and thus inhibits their effectiveness. So people perceive the FDA and the medical establishment as being in the pocket of Big Pharma. So more and more people begin to discount the unassailable scientific evidence that immunizations improve health. This leads to an increase in easily treatable diseases like the measles. The perception of undue influence, whether or not you think it is actually occurring (I do), therefore detracts from the public health goals of the FDA.

It's a wide-ranging lecture that touches on a whole lot of issues, such as financial sector regulation, the economy of lobbying in Washington, and copyright law. Really worth your time.