The effort to understand the relationships between money and politics is an enterprise as old as the development of political theory. From Aristotle on, many political philosophers have regarded property or economic power as the fundamental element in politics. According to some, the attempt to reconcile economic inequalities lies at the base of the problem of money in politics. In this view, broadly based political power, such as that effected through universal suffrage, has helped mitigate the political effects of disparities in economic resources. The wealth of one group with small membership thus may be matched by the human resources or voting power of another. I myself have written in this vein.

Now in the latter part of the twentieth century, another factor, not included in earlier analyses, needs explication. I refer to the power of government to set the rules of electoral competition and especially to provide public funds for use in the electoral process. The intent of this essay is to analyze the governmental factor and relate it to traditional theory in order to make the contemporary role of money in the political process, and the articles that follow in this volume, better understood.

In the context of political donations made by individuals or groups, I wrote elsewhere that, in virtually all societies, money serves as a significant medium by which command over both energies and resources can be achieved.