BY 
You would think that the idea of government transparency would go hand in hand with a well-functioning system of representative government. However, if you look at the U.S. as an example and consider when the pro-transparency Sunshine Act passed in 1976, we see a very different effect.
What seemed like a well-thought-out attempt to make government machinations more visible to the voting public — and thus increase trust in one’s representatives — actually resulted in the opposite.
Surprisingly (or not, depending on one’s view of human nature) the American public got an objectively bad outcome by requiring more “sunshine” from their elected representatives. Why? Because it became much easier for lobbyists and special interest groups to target representatives who could no longer compromise behind closed doors.
This collection of quotes looks at what happens when government becomes too transparent, especially in the U.S. Congress. Public trust of the government has been dropping since transparency laws were passed and is now at a historic low in the U.S., which furthermore shows that increased visibility isn’t always the answer.
These quotes show how the push for openness can let special interest groups and political parties capture undue influence over decision-making.
“The high court caught her spirit, finding her anonymity “a shield from the tyranny of the majority,” honored by the Founding Fathers themselves when they didn’t sign their right names to the Federalist Papers.”
“Just making important data available won’t cause political change. Justice Brandeis’s clever aphorism to the contrary, sunlight is not in fact the best disinfectant; actual disinfectant is. Sunlight just makes it easier for people to look at the pus.”
“It’s hard to think of any good examples of transparency work accomplishing anything, except perhaps for more transparency.”
“A good two-minute speech can, and often does, take a half-hour for a politician with a national television audience.”
“Secrecy ultimately protected everyone’s freedom.”
