The way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the fuctions he is competent to perform best.
Let the national government be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations; the State governments with the civil rights, laws, police and administration of what concerns the State generally; the counties with the local concerns of the counties, and each ward [township] direct the interests within itself.
It is by dividing and subdividing these republics, from the great national one down through all its subordinations, until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best.
What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body, no matter whether of the autocrates of Russia or France, or of the aristocrats of a Venetian senate.
The more absolute the power, the more absolute the corruption….
would be nice to have a Jefferson clone. He was one very smart man….
Smaller, more local…easier to maintain.
It seems like simple common sense that liberty would be better guarded by multiple competing bodies. It’s funny that the lovers of nationalism all agree that monopoly is bad in business, but they seem to think it is perfectly harmless in government. I think this comes from bizarre political lies, like, “Every vote counts.” In actuality, your vote only counts if you share the majority view. Otherwise, it is just thrown away. In business, on the other hand, Every person who purchases (or refrains from purchasing) a good has a direct impact on the seller of that good.
What we have here a monstrous thing called federalism which seems to be growing and growing…….the danger of too much government….
We agree with Jefferson. Let’s start with Congressional and Senatorial offices budgets. Lets remove them from the federal budget and place them on the individual states with that state’s authority to raise or lower them.
Robert McKay, You just stated the same thing twice with different results, saying a vote at the ballot box isa bizarre political lie, but a person who purchases or refrains from purchasing a goodhasa direct impact on the seller of that good. That’s just voting with your pocket book. It’s the same thing except money is exchanged for a good rather than a vote for representation.
“… until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm by himself”… therein lies the rub… we no longer own our farms, or our houses or our lands. Everything has be subsumed under the State. If we pay taxes on it, we don’t own it. Rights cannot be taxed. Only privilege. So, Jefferson was right, but we have failed to keep that gov’t in check so that now we have a nanny state that believes it owns our children (try to not send your kids to one of their schools or educate them at home according to their “lesson plan”). We have forgotten what individual sovereignty means. We have abdicated our sovereignty to the State and the Federal State believing that they are our masters and not our servants. So now the state administers our farms, our lives, our every move.
Decentralize down to the individual. No matter the size of the majority, there is no right to infringe on the right of the non-consenting minority: neither to extort them for funding nor coerce them through regulation.
In recent history we have allowed our elected representatives to centralize and concentrate power to the point that the federal government almost acts like a monarch over everything now. We do not have a long time to de-centralize the government power before we lose the whole of all of our freedoms that were so hard won a little over 200 years ago.
“What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and power…” The centralizing of power controlled by money and resources into the hands of a “den of vipers” and the “forces of darkness”. An armed people clearly is not enough; we the people were originally intended to be armed and organized. The founders were unanimous on that. Congress unconstitutionally unorganized us under color of law in 1903. As I have said before, and as Vieira, Reddy have said before me, revitalize and reorganize .. power v. power, and then the out-numbered “forces of darkness” will be put in their place. http://www.committeesofsafety.org
LOOK NO FURTHER THAN COLUMBIA
Jefferson’s agrarianism versus the rights of corporations — two poles of a conflict that continues on in the history of constitutional law — a theme from Parrington’s “Mainstreams of American Thought”. I recently found a link to a first-hand account of the Boston Tea Party, in which the author, a Mr. Hewes, explains that the participants in that event were primarily upset about the monopoly of the East India Company, which completely trampled on the rights of American small businessmen. Today, all the Whigs in the right-wing media would have us believe that these men objected to taxes of any kind. Not exactly. They just resented paying a tax, to pay for a tax cut.
It’s on Google Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=Z_EEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Retrospect+of+the+Boston+Tea+Party+with+a+Memoir+of+George+R.T.+Hewes,+a+Survivor+of+the+Little+Band+of+Patriots+Who+Drowned+the+Tea+in+Boston+Harbor+in+1773&hl=en&ei=L2GDTYLwH424sAOV8rjtAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
As a libertarian of course I agree, I only see legitimate government involvement in the lives of the healthy man in cases where he chooses to encroach upon his neighbors. And I see such acts to prevent or punish this as legitimate use of the authority vested in it.
“It’s funny that the lovers of nationalism all agree that monopoly is bad in business, but they seem to think it is perfectly harmless in government.”
Sometimes things are funny because they are so (painfully) true. This statement is like that.
Power divided is power checked.
http://www.jasonlewisbook.com/
The sad part is that we now basically divide it by two instead of many with a system of government that is essentially run by 2 parties. We are in may ways much more similar to the England we left than the America we started back then. The Founders knew that the biggest weakness of a Republic was foreign influence, and the promise of power and money from the Parties is that type of foreign influence that has politicians selling out the People.
absolute power corrupts absolutely
Robert, I agree with what you have to say, except for voting. The vote that doesn’t count is the one that is not cast. We do not want to encourage voter apathy.
Jose, federalism is the system of dividing power between the national and the state governments.
Steven, that is an often overlooked grievance. Taxation without representation was the rallying cry, but the problem was loss of rights such as the right to buy from whomever you choose. If the colonists had allowed the tea tax to pass, then the British would have felt they could impose other monopolies on the colonies.
TFP, excellent quote! I really like this one. Divide and conquer. It has been used by those who want to rule. Here it is being used by those who don’t want to be ruled. I love the part about down to the farmer managing his own farm. We may not all be farmers, but we can all manage our own affairs, thank you very much.
Robert, I agree with what you have to say, except for voting. The vote that doesn’t count is the one that is not cast. We do not want to encourage voter apathy.
Jose, federalism is the system of dividing power between the national and the state governments.
Steven, that is an often overlooked grievance. Taxation without representation was the rallying cry, but the problem was loss of rights such as the right to buy from whomever you choose. If the colonists had allowed the tea tax to pass, then the British would have felt they could impose other monopolies on the colonies.
I have said this before, but look at voter turn out for presidential elections vs the “off years” If we want to decentralize our government (I know I do) we need to pay close attention to our local offices and state office and elect the people who will take back our intended government. Washington will never magically give up the power.
Jefferson is right again . The present problem is our tax dollars are filtered thru the Fed via the IRS that contols everything. The Constitution says Coin money , the founders where against worthless paper money. Print Print Print ! THE OLD MONEY CARROT. Control the money and control the people !
Sandi, can you still write old-style comments? Facebook now does not allow blank lines by requiring “enter” to issue comments. Meanwhile, the theory sounds good from TJ, but who enforces the right division of power? Creeping power by various divisions has aways been a problem, and judicial review was created by Marshall (if I remember correctly); however, only the President has “executive” power, unless he is impeached, convicted, and removed. [Hmm. . .maybe I will read the other comments soon . . .?]
Joe, hold the shift key down while you press enter. It lets you move down a line.
Jay, I agree about the IRS, but not about paper. I do not see a problem with its use, but maybe you have a take on it that I do not.
It should also be said that with the right to vote comes the responsibility to know the issues candidates and our system of government including the true intent of the Founders and the founding docuememnts. Sadley there are those makeing their mark on a ballot that can’t name 1 supreme court justice but know what color nail polish Snookie is wearing. And yes part of the problem is too rapid immagration that Jefferson warned us about. It seems to be an atempt by the socialists in government to dilute the voter base with people who don’t understand our sustem of government. After all despotism’s have been more successful forms of governance in the course of human kind. Self governance The American Republic ,the most successful experiment in democracy the world has ever known. My GOD how I hope we can save it.