To expect a billionaire to stay out of politics is to misunderstand the meaning of power itself.

At a certain level of wealth, financial power translates into political influence which shapes public debates. In Ireland, the Collison brothers, Stripe co-founders John and Patrick, have been using their influence to do just that.

In the pages of The Irish Times, John Collison has argued that the State has become incapable of building. His essay last year offered us a reflection on what ails the country: it is the power shift from government to agencies and regulators that has rendered the State unable to perform its role.

In many ways, John’s Irish arguments mirror the political project Patrick supports in the United States; formed by the belief that institutions which can be deregulated will be able to build more, and thus restore the state’s ability to deliver at all.

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Now, Patrick has moved his sights eastward of the United States and its economic outpost of Ireland, to Europe. Alongside Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank, he will co-chair the new Rhine Group – an impressive network of elite economists, policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors created to tackle the many problems facing Europe’s stagnating........

© The Irish Times