How much right do you have to influence policy to favor your own interests?

glennmagusharvey

Let's say you own a restaurant, in a community whose policymaking decisions are done by a democratically-elected group of local council members.  How much right do you have, to do the following?  Does it depend on certain factors, such as how popular an idea is currently with the local population?  What about the expected benefits or drawbacks to the local community as a whole, besides just yourself?

A. The local council is considering building a road out to some farmlands nearby.  Regardless of the effects on other people and organizations, it would benefit your business by making it easier for you to get ingredients for your restaurant at lower cost.  You publicly voice your support for building the road because of this.

B. The local council is considering building a road out to some farmlands nearby.  Regardless of the effects on other people and organizations, it would benefit your business by making it easier for you to get ingredients for your restaurant at lower cost.  Not all council members support building this road, however.  You decide to support the re-election efforts of those council members who support building this road, through your own independent campaign efforts.

C. The local council is considering building a road out to some farmlands nearby.  Regardless of the effects on other people and organizations, it would benefit your business by making it easier for you to get ingredients for your restaurant at lower cost.  Not all council members support building this road, however.  You decide to support the re-election efforts of those council members who support building this road, by directly campaigning with them.

D. The local council is considering building a road out to some farmlands nearby.  Regardless of the effects on other people and organizations, it would benefit your business by making it easier for you to get ingredients for your restaurant at lower cost.  Not all council members support building this road, however.  You decide to oppose the re-election efforts of those council members who do not support building this road, by campaigning against them, campaigning only on this issue.

E. The local council is considering building a road out to some farmlands nearby.  Regardless of the effects on other people and organizations, it would benefit your business by making it easier for you to get ingredients for your restaurant at lower cost.  Not all council members support building this road, however.  You decide to oppose the re-election efforts of those council members who do not support building this road, by campaigning against them, using any/all potentially relevant reasons for opposing them, not just this issue.

F. The local council is not currently considering any new roads.  But they could build a road out to some farmlands nearby, and such a road would benefit your business by making it easier for you to get ingredients at lower cost.  You privately introduce this idea to local council members.

G. The local council is not currently considering any new roads.  But they could build a road out to some farmlands nearby, and such a road would benefit your business by making it easier for you to get ingredients at lower cost.  You publicly introduce this idea to local council members in a policymaking context (such as a public council meeting).

H. The local council is not currently considering any new roads.  But they could build a road out to some farmlands nearby, and such a road would benefit your business by making it easier for you to get ingredients at lower cost.  You conduct a public campaign to develop support for this idea.

 

What about these cases?

I. The local council is considering building a new road in town that would draw traffic away from the road your restaurant sits on.  Regardless of the effects on other people and businesses, it would hurt your business by decreasing the number of customers you get.  Because of this, you publicly voice your opposition for building the road.

J. The local council is considering building a new road in town that would draw traffic away from the road your restaurant sits on.  Regardless of the effects on other people and businesses, it would hurt your business by decreasing the number of customers you get.  Because of this, you decide to support the re-election efforts of those council members who oppose building this road, through your own independent campaign efforts.

K. The local council is considering building a new road in town that would draw traffic away from the road your restaurant sits on.  Regardless of the effects on other people and businesses, it would hurt your business by decreasing the number of customers you get.  Because of this, you decide to support the re-election efforts of those council members who oppose building this road, by directly campaigning with them.

L. The local council is considering building a new road in town that would draw traffic away from the road your restaurant sits on.  Regardless of the effects on other people and businesses, it would hurt your business by decreasing the number of customers you get.  Because of this, you decide to oppose the re-election efforts of those council members who support building this road, by campaigning against them, campaigning only on this issue.

M. The local council is considering building a new road in town that would draw traffic away from the road your restaurant sits on.  Regardless of the effects on other people and businesses, it would hurt your business by decreasing the number of customers you get.  Because of this, you decide to oppose the re-election efforts of those council members who support building this road, by campaigning against them, using any/all potentially relevant reasons for opposing them, not just this issue.

N. The local council is not currently considering any new roads.  But some members of the general public have been talking about the idea of building a new road, which would hurt your business by drawing traffic away and decreasing the number of customers you get.  Because of this, you privately contact council members advising them against this idea.

O. The local council is not currently considering any new roads.  But some members of the general public have been talking about the idea of building a new road, which would hurt your business by drawing traffic away and decreasing the number of customers you get.  Because of this, you publicly state your opposition to this idea, within a policymaking context (such as public council meetings).

P. The local council is not currently considering any new roads.  But some members of the general public have been talking about the idea of building a new road, which would hurt your business by drawing traffic away and decreasing the number of customers you get.  Because of this, you conduct a public campaign to develop opposition to this idea.

fourteenwings

Does it depend on certain factors, such as how popular an idea is currently with the local population?

Isn't this exactly what a democracy is, like... popular ideas that are voted for become law?

What about the expected benefits or drawbacks to the local community as a whole, besides just yourself?

This is why I don't think I could answer all the questions, what if the road goes through a public park or something? What if it isn't really all too necessary and the budgeted money could go to something more useful?

I'll try and answer the questions, but under the presumption that some other people need the road too (ie. minus the "Regardless of the effects on other people and organizations,") , because getting an entire road built just so your business can make more money isn't okay unless you're paying for the road (and not hurting anybody in the process).

A is slightly sketchy but okay while B is more sketchy and not okay since you actually don't care about the campaign. C, D and E are wrong because of the same reason as B, but D has the wonderful hint of self-service and E is basically a nicely-worded smear campaign.

Pardon my South African-ness but F is sounds sort of like some sort of corruption, it's okay if you're both at the grocery store and you mention it to him/her and they like the idea but not if you go to their office and suggest they build a road so you can get more business because it implies you're either addicted to profits or are planning to give them something in return >_>

G and H are okay. I is okay. Again, J, K, L and M are not okay for reasons already discussed. N is basically F but somehow worse because you come off as paranoid. O is fine and P is N but worse because now you're paranoid and crazy.