I refuse to get dragged down into the interest group warfare over Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court. But there is one thing that intrigues me. Take a look at Alito’s employment history:
Federal Judicial Service:
U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Nominated by George H.W. Bush on February 20, 1990, to a seat vacated by John Joseph Gibbons; Confirmed by the Senate on April 27, 1990, and received commission on April 30, 1990.Education:
Princeton University, A.B., 1972Yale Law School, J.D., 1975
Professional Career:
Law clerk, Hon. Leonard I. Garth, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1976-1977
Assistant U.S. attorney, District of New Jersey, 1977-1981
Assistant to the U.S. solicitor general, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 1981-1985
Deputy assistant U.S. attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 1985-1987
U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, 1987-1990
Since the day he left law school, Alito has been on the federal government’s payroll without interruption. It’s telling that conservatives have embraced and hailed Alito’s nomination as a victory for their cause. Is the right sending the message that one’s highest duty is service to the state?
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How many austrian PhD economists who have gone directly from grad school to working for a state university would consider themselves a tool of the state?
I thought these quotes from Hayek summed up the conservative mind well:
“In general, it can probably be said that the conservative does not object to coercion or arbitrary power so long as it is used for what he regards as the right purposes. He believes that if government is in the hands of decent men, it ought not to be too much restricted by rigid rules. Since he is essentially opportunist and lacks principles, his main hope must be that the wise and the good will rule – not merely by example, as we all must wish, but by authority given to them and enforced by them.[7] Like the socialist, he is less concerned with the problem of how the powers of government should be limited than with that of who wields them; and, like the socialist, he regards himself as entitled to force the value he holds on other people.”
and
“…the most conspicuous attribute of liberalism that distinguishes it as much from conservatism as from socialism is the view that moral beliefs concerning matters of conduct which do not directly interfere with the protected sphere of other persons do not justify coercion. This may also explain why it seems to be so much easier for the repentant socialist to find a new spiritual home in the conservative fold than in the liberal.” ( Why I Am Not a Conservative by F. A. Hayek )
S. M. Oliva: Judges tend to work for the government.
My point, Georgist, is that Alito has spent his *entire* career in the government. Even John Roberts spent a few years in nominally private law practice. It’s certainly a notable contrast with Harriet Miers, who spent only the last few years of her career as a government employee.
Mr. Oliva,
Judges *are* the government.
I think that Tom’s comment merits a quality response.
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