More ruminations on the institutionalization of covetousness in my column today. (You could call it part of my occasional series on envy). An excerpt:

Taxes are a necessary evil. But their silver lining is that they foster a sense of accountability and reciprocity between the taxpayer and the tax collector. Indeed, democracy is usually born from this relationship. Widening prosperity brings a rising middle class, which in turn demands the rule of law, incorrupt bureaucracies, and political representation in exchange for its hard-earned money. You might recall the phrase “no taxation without representation.”
The one great exception is what development experts call the “oil curse.” In countries “blessed” with oil wealth or similar resources, the relationship between the government and the governed gets distorted. These “trust-fund states” (author Fareed Zakaria’s term) don’t need taxes, so their rulers worry little about representation and accountability, opting instead for paternalism or authoritarianism. Worse, the people are less inclined to see government as their expensive servant and more as their goody-dispensing master.
Today, our politics seem to be suffering from a “rich people curse.” We treat the rich like a constantly regenerating pinata, as if they will never change their behavior no matter how many times they get whacked by taxes. And we think everyone can live well off the treats that will fall to the ground forever.