In Ameritopia, Mark Levin shows that Plato, More, Hobbes, and Marx and Engels’ thoughts about the best possible governments are utopian and point toward government with as few rulers and as many subjects possible. Those who would attempt to do so purport to be above the people in wisdom and goodness. Tyrannical power is insufficient to bring these ideas to reality. They have a better knowledge of the important facts than we do. They are above the greed and selfishness that characterizes everyone else. Bringing these ideas fully into reality requires a power greater than any tyranny we have seen: any move from the citizens that does not pass through the rulers’ calculations runs a high risk of derailing the system to some extent: eating more than one has been allotted, buying a product one is not allowed to have, disparaging the ruler to other citizens.
After decades of sliding away from Constitutional government, a presidential term of shocking erosion of our inalienable rights has reawakened many Americans to the importance of our first principles. Government’s bold and public having an affair with big business and raping the healthcare system has aroused a deep concern for our country. How can America pass laws against the will of a great number of the people?[1] Many American politicians act like Philosopher Kings, not representatives.
In Disquisition on Government, John Calhoun notes that man feels more intensely his own needs, desires, passions, and will than others’. That is natural and morally acceptable, but government ought to disallow behavior which causes harm to others, regardless of whether the offender intentionally sacrifices others for his own benefit or does so accidentally through misperception.
The fundamental problem in America is clear: an increasingly centralized government with its several Government Geniuses suffers from the same problem as an anarchical society: human nature. They are using the force of government bestowed on them to oppress us. They are managing and altering the value of our money more than ever and limiting more of our choices.
The most important issue of the coming election for officials at all levels must be regaining the respect for states’ rights. This is true for more than the following three reasons: (1) there would be more accountability of the leaders to their smaller constituency—every dollar spent on the broader scope of responsibilities a state would be taking back on itself would either be raised by taxes within the state or debt by the state, (2) the states would compete for human and economic capital—it is easier to move out of a state than the United States—think Levin and the need for as many subjects as possible under a utopian society, and (3) decentralization would surely lead to fewer bailouts and the like—which states would have individually bailed out Wall Street, big banks, and car manufacturers?
A return to the limiting Constitution, especially the Tenth Amendment, ought to be our most important goal in 2012 and the foreseeable future. This is the only way to deal with the myriad of problems that threaten our existence as the best and freest country in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment