Government Corruption and Private Power

The founding generation sought to build a new nation free of old world “corruption.” Americans used that term broadly to denote the use of government power to promote private interests rather than the general welfare. But constraining the political power of special interests has proved to be a hard task. In the 2024 Antonin Scalia Constitution Day Lecture, Professor Julia D. Mahoney will examine how the Constitution does and does not inhibit the powerful few from undermining the common good. Among the current constitutional controversies she will discuss are government pressure on social media companies to censor content, the scope of the administrative state, campaign finance regulation, and occupational freedom.