Glenn has a column today on how democracy is like sex:

My thought has been that elections play the same role for the body politic that sex plays for the body physical: Every so often, the voters throw the rascals out, and vote in a new set of rascals, meaning that the special interest groups, lobbying outfits, etc., that parasitize the body politic have to adapt to a shifting target. As scientist Thomas Ray has said, one rule of nature is that every successful system accumulates parasites. The American political system has been successful for a long time.

It’s not perfect, of course — neither is sex, since parasites remain a problem — but it does mix things up and help prevent special-interest relationships from becoming too fossilized. When the Democrats come in, Republican interest groups lose influence, and vice versa. The question is, does it mix things up enough?

He goes on to suggest additional anti-parasitical measures, such as term limits, but I still think that a sunset amendment to the Constitution could be very powerful in limiting government (since the growth of government power is the culture medium for parasitism). If we could keep the rascals busy renewing (and rejustifying) old laws, they’d have less time for creating new ones, and rent seeking. Unfortunately, it’s probably infeasible, politically.