Question #7: What are “legitimate foundation” and “legitimate authority” in political philosophy?
June 24, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment
| 10 Foundational Questions | Introduction | Question #1 | Question #2 | Question #3 | Question #4 | Question #5 | Question #6 |
“The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people. The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from that pure, original fountain of all legitimate authority. –Alexander Hamilton
Simply put, legitimate foundation means the will of the People at large, while legitimate authority is the express permission granted by the People to the government to perform some function.
Put together, they form the philosophical foundation of the powerful idea that man does not exist for the state, but that the state exists for man.
Legitimate Foundation
The idea that the government should exist according to the will of the People and solely to benefit the People at large was revolutionary in the 18th Century. Previously, governments primarily benefited those governing, or special interests.
The American Founders taught that the will of the People, as expressed through constitutional means, is the only solid, sustainable, and legitimate foundation of republican government.
This does not mean, however, that they were referring simply to the concept of majority rule alone, as we learn from Federalist Paper #51; the idea is to guide the nation by the will of the majority, while protecting minority rights (i.e. preventing the majority from taking private property).
Legitimate Authority
Thomas Jefferson spoke of legitimate authority in the Declaration of Independence when he wrote, “…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”
The United States Constitution was the first (and to my knowledge the only) constitution to be instigated by, or to have originated in, the People, then ratified by the People. In other words, the People, through their colonial representatives, called for the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Representatives at the Convention represented the People within their respective territories–not the government itself.
They were authorized by the People to do the will of the People. Our Constitution was initiated and created from the bottom up, rather than dictated from the top down. Then, after its creation by the representatives of the People, the Constitution was taken back to the People–once again through their colonial representatives–to be ratified, or accepted.
Previously, the historical norm was for the government–whether through a monarchy, aristocracy, or other form of ruler’s law–to dictate from the top down the laws and constitutional forms that the People must obey. As David Hume wrote in 1752, “Almost all the governments which exist at present, or of which there remains any record in story, have been founded originally either on usurpation or conquest or both, without any pretense of a fair consent or voluntary subjection of the people.”
Why It Matters
To drive the point home with these critical concepts, think of Read more
Question #6: What is more important–culture, or politics and government?
June 21, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment
| 10 Foundational Questions | Introduction | Question #1 | Question #2 | Question #3 | Question #4 | Question #5 |
“To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.” -Confucius
Although this is certainly debatable, it seems clear, when considering the four foundations of freedom, that culture is far more important than politics and government.
What I mean by culture is the social patterns, activities, mores, customs, belief systems, and sense of morality inherent to a society. It’s how the people at large behave in the absence of force. It’s how they view each other and their place in society and how they interact with one another.
In other words, in an aristocratic culture, poor members of society are unlikely to consider that they have the opportunity to attain a higher social status. In social democracies or meritocracies, however, individuals understand that they have the opportunity to be mobile in their social status. (And remember that there is a fundamental difference between a social democracy and a governmental democracy.)
Politics refers to how members of society make group decisions, and government is the institutionalization of force, or the way that political decisions are enforced.
Why It Matters
Although there is some overlap, morality is mainly the purview of culture. So if a nation has a government that stays within its proper realm–to protect unalienable rights–yet voluntary virtue is required to sustain this arrangement, then culture is far more important than its system of government.
By the way, it’s important to define morality, since there’s a tendency to think of morality only in terms of sexual purity. However, by morality I’m referring to a holistic sense of the word, a morality that includes far more than sexuality, including philanthropy, providence (or living up to one’s full potential and doing what they were born to do), personal responsibility, and stewardship.
Another way to explain the preeminence of culture of politics and government is through the principle of voluntarism, which states that the health of a society is equal to what individuals will do voluntarily without the force or assistance of the government.
James Madison explained this concept well in Federalist Paper #51. He wrote, “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”
In other words, he says that the primary way to preserve the society is through virtue in the people, but auxiliary precautions are also necessary, auxiliary precautions being the form of government.
For far too long, we’ve both depended on the government to do things we should be doing as private citizens in the realm of culture, and then blamed them when things go wrong.
It’s time for America to realize that our voluntary culture, or how we act in the absence of government, is far more important than anything the government does, since the government is nothing but a collective reflection of our private lives anyway.
Focus less on changing the government, and focus more on creating a family culture that makes illegitimate government functions unnecessary.
Recommended Reading:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Giver by Lois Lowry
1984 by George Orwell
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Copyright © 2008 by The Cause of Liberty. All rights reserved.
America is NOT a democracy?!
January 25, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment
Over the last century, politicians have exploited the word democracy to achieve misguided and subversive ends; we commonly hear our nation referred to as a democracy, which is self-evidently false.
The founders understood what Aristotle taught, that democracy is one of the worst forms of government. As James Madison wrote in Federalist Paper #10, “…democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”
To guard against the dangers of democracy, our Constitution wisely instituted a republic, a system of government that calls for a small number of citizens, elected by the citizenry at large, to represent the interests of the people by whom they are elected. The effect, according to Madison, is to “…refine and enlarge the public views, by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of their country, and whose patriotism and love of justice will be least likely to sacrifice it to temporary or partial considerations.”
America is a republic, not a democracy, and understanding this one fact alone will help us to significantly transform and improve our culture.
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The End of the Republic!
January 25, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment
Alexander Tytler, a 17th Century historian, studied the rise and fall of nations and taught what we now know as Tytler’s Cycle.
According to Tytler, all nations go from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to freedom, from freedom to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, and from dependence back to bondage.
The critical thing, said Tytler, that leads a nation to switch from abundance to selfishness, is when they vote themselves benefits from the national treasury. Benjamin Franklin showed his understanding of this when he wrote:
“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”
The Year America Flipped the Switch
America flipped this fatal switch in 1913, during the Progressive Era, by passing the 16th and 17th Amendments and the Federal Reserve Act, all of which enabled us to vote ourselves benefits from the national treasury.
The 16th Amendment gave us income tax. Prior to this amendment, the federal government was prohibited from tapping the pocketbook of individuals. They determined their budget, then levied the states for taxes. It was a huge barrier between the federal government and the individual, and it was demolished with the 16th Amendment.
The 17th Amendment changed the way that Senators are elected. Prior to this amendment, Senators were elected by state legislatures, which meant that they weren’t beholden to the people at large, at least not directly. The Senate represented the rich and the states, while the House represented the poor and the people. This scheme of representation was perhaps the single most important key to our Constitution, as it checked and balanced the interests of major factions.
“Forced to choose, the poor, like the rich, love money more than political liberty; and the only political freedom capable of enduring is one that is so pruned as to keep the rich from denuding the poor by ability or subtlety and the poor from robbing the rich by violence or votes.” -Will Durant
The 17th Amendment kicked the legs out from underneath the Constitution. Now, Senators are elected by the people, just like Congressmen. How do they stay in power? By voting more benefits to their constituents. They no longer fight for the rights and freedoms of the states, which means that with this amendment the balance of power swung heavily in favor of the federal government, to the detriment of the states.
They no longer fight against wealth redistribution — in fact, they encourage it. They no longer check and balance the House — they’re joined at the hip, representing the same interests.
Combine the effects of the 16th and 17th Amendments and you have a bloated federal government whose power multiplies like a virus. These two amendments demolished our most critical constitutional checks and balances. They, combined with the Federal Reserve Act, set the stage for the Great Depression, the New Deal, and virtually every form of wealth redistribution in existence today.
They eroded the foundations of our constitutional Republic and swayed us toward the evils of democracy. They allowed us to vote ourselves benefits from the national treasury, resulting in the legalized plunder of one group of people to benefit another.
“…a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.” -Thomas Jefferson
If we wish to transcend the bondage of selfishness and dependence, we must repeal these life-threatening amendments. In the meantime, do your part in keeping our Republic healthy by living a self-reliant life, as well as helping those in need so that the government can stay in its proper sphere of protecting inalienable rights only. The less our citizens depend on the government for their daily needs, the stronger our Republic will be and the longer it will last.
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Freedom, or Security?
January 24, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment
The desire for security in a turbulent world is natural and understandable. Yet if we seek security in place of liberty, we will inevitably be led to a counterfeit of true security: slavery.
More often than not, freedom and security are mutually exclusive. Many vote for policies that rob them of precious freedoms in order to ensure their safety. People choose jobs for their benefits and stability, as opposed to what aligns with their passion and purpose. But as Benjamin Franklin wisely observed, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
America must reclaim her heritage and choose virtue over vice, sacrifice over expediency, and courage over subservience, rather than a culture and government that usurps authority and abdicates responsibility. You can be instrumental in leading that charge by choosing freedom over false security in your own life. Follow your dreams, your passion, your purpose, and choose the difficult yet noble path of heroism, fortitude, perseverance, and creativity. Rise up to your potential and be worthy of the responsibility of freedom!
Move the Cause of Liberty by (1) subscribing to the Sentinel, a free weekly newsletter boldly illuminating the principles of freedom in a darkening nation, and (2) pledging your Life, Liberty, and Sacred Honor to the Cause by signing the Declaration of Dependence.
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