Since there is no such entity as “the public,” since the public is merely a
number of individuals, any claimed or implied conflict of “the public interest”
with private interests means that the interests of some men are to be
sacrificed to the interests and wishes of others. Since the concept is so
conveniently undefinable, its use rests only on any given gang’s ability to
proclaim that “The public, c’est moi”—and to maintain the claim at the point
of a gun.