ABSTRACT
There are many explanations for the form of representative-democratic government in America. The use of legislative committees to deal with different types of legislation is an example of agenda control; certain committees have substantial power over labor, health, or natural resources, for example. There are four general models about what Americans might expect from elected political suppliers. The first is the Good Fairy model, second model is the Semigood Fairy model, third is general model of elected suppliers, the Uncertain World model, and fourth, the Wicked Witch model. In one of the most influential works of modern political economy, a book titled An Economic Theory of Democracy, Anthony Downs gave early support to the Wicked Witch model, although in somewhat benign form. The idea of political "firms" responding to all-powerful "consumers" is a very explicit analogy to competitive economic markets in the models by Downs.
