U.S. Constitution
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Title: The American Experiment In Liberty Has Failed
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Published: Jan 12, 2016
Author: Laurence Hunter
Post Date: 2016-01-12 13:32:27 by tpaine
Keywords: None
Views: 2602
Comments: 29
Forbesonforb.es/HVjmgr The American Experiment In Liberty Has Failed It is, perhaps, a fact provocative of sour mirth that the Bill of Rights was designed trustfully to prohibit forever two of the favorite crimes of all known governments: the seizure of private property without adequate compensation and the invasion of the citizen’s liberty without justifiable cause…It is a fact provocative of mirth yet more sour that the execution of these prohibitions was put into the hands of courts, which is to say, into the hands of lawyers, which is to say, into the hands of men specifically educated to discover legal excuses for dishonest, dishonorable and anti-social acts. ______ H. L. Mencken, Prejudices: A Selection, pp. 180-82 The American experiment in liberty has failed. It is only a matter of time before people realize it. Official dogma exulting over the U.S. Constitution, which for so long was propagated through public schools, churches and government mouthpieces, will not forever withstand the exposure of the truth about American democracy now readily available on the Internet. The greatest fear of America’s Founding Fathers has been realized: The U.S. Constitution has been unable to thwart the corrosive dynamics of majority-rule democracy, which in turn has mangled the Constitution beyond recognition. The real conclusion of the American Experiment is that democracy ultimately undermines liberty and leads to tyranny and oppression by elected leaders and judges, their cronies and unelected bureaucrats. All of this is done in the name of “the people” and the “general welfare,” of course. But in fact, democracy oppresses the very demos in whose name it operates, benefiting string-pullers within the Establishment and rewarding the political constituencies they manage by paying off special interests with everyone else’s money forcibly extracted through taxation. The Founding Fathers (especially Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, and James Monroe), as well as outside observers of the American Experiment such as Alexis de Tocqueville all feared democracy and dreaded this outcome. But, they let hope and faith in their ingenious constitutional engineering overcome their fear of the democratic state, only to discover they had replaced one tyranny with another. As one contemporary libertarian has put it : “It is hard to think of other examples in history where so many checks and balances were placed upon centralized political power – and it is also impossible to think of a more dangerous and powerful government than the modern American leviathan. The abysmal failure of such a noble experiment should give all moralists pause. If the smallest possible government has grown into the largest conceivable government – within a few hundred years – it is hard to imagine what kind of theoretical system could conceivably control state growth in the future.” Perversely, at the same time the U.S. Constitution was slowly unraveling and being brazenly rewritten by lawyers and judges over the course of two centuries, the founding document and the drivel spewed forth by judges and lawyers called “constitutional jurisprudence” took on an almost sacred aura, deluding most citizens into believing it was all succeeding marvelously. A few people recognized the slow-motion failure of the Constitution right along, especially after the New Deal memorialized the dramatic alterations that had occurred since the War Between the States. For example, in a 1947 exchange of letters with Ludwig von Mises, journalist, war correspondent, and novelist Rose Wilder Lane wrote: “As an American I am of course fundamentally opposed to democracy and to anyone advocating or defending democracy, which in theory and practice is the basis of socialism. It is precisely democracy which is destroying the American political structure, American law, and the American economy, as [James] Madison said it would, and as [Thomas] Macauley prophesied that it would do in fact in the 20th century.” Some of us observed other frailties of the U.S. Constitution years later, but deluded ourselves into believing it was all just a consequence of inadequate constitutional design, which could be overcome and rectified with appropriate constitutional changes. Alas, it is impossible any longer to labor under the delusion that democracy can be fixed by tinkering with constitutions, appointing the right judges to the bench or electing the right politicians to office. As Frank Karsten and Karen Beckman have written in Beyond Democracy, democracy cannot be fixed because it is inherently broken: “The problems of democracy are inherent. It’s like having dinner with a million people and deciding up front the bill will be split evenly. Everyone has a strong incentive to order more than he would individually, resulting in a huge bill that everyone deplores but no individual could do anything about. Democracy therefore has a very limited self-cleansing capability. Our politicians have a natural short-term outlook since they are only temporarily in office. They will overspend, overtax and over borrow knowing their successors will have to deal with the negative consequences. Besides that, they spend other people’s money anyhow.” But now we come to the hard part: What is to be done? If not democracy, what? If the ballot box won’t work to reverse the arrow of democratic politics, if better constitutional design can’t overcome democratic entropy, are we left with rebellion and revolution? History demonstrates that violence begets violence and the violent overthrow of tyrants begets new tyrannies, frequently worse than those they replace. Is peaceful rebellion feasible? Will non-violent, civil disobedience work to reorder our dysfunctional politics, and if so, what kind of “new order” is to replace the old order? The fact is, we don’t know how to structure society, and any effort trying to do so by constitutional/political/social engineering—no matter how well intentioned, no matter how smart the designers—inevitably leads to disastrous outcomes. The key, therefore, is not to think about replacing what we have with something else but rather to replace it with nothing, i.e., freedom from government, not enslavement to a new form of government. The only way human societies can possibly develop successfully to satisfy the needs and desires of the individuals that make them up is through a process of gradual evolution, not juridical, legislative and bureaucratic incrementalism, but rather a social, political and economic evolution that occurs free of all three; a trial-and-error, evolutionary process where millions of free individuals work it out on a case-by-case, day-to-day basis at the individual level of bilateral trade, voluntary contract and discourse with each other. Coercive collective action in the name of the greater good not only is immoral—who decides who has the gun?—it also is destructive of human happiness and ruinous of human potential. Therefore, the only “structural” device that holds forth true hope of facilitating and nurturing a market-like process of social, political and economic evolution is to constrain government and other coercive institutions in a way that allows individuals the freedom to escape, without prejudice, the clutches of any authority that would impose non-consensual, involuntary rules upon them. That is why a true federalism—properly defined as the presence of alternative polities to which individuals can escape—is the greatest, indeed the only effective protection of human liberty. That is why contrary to James Madison’s rationalizations for an extended republic , a geographically large, powerful central government will always become the most tyrannical. That is why I wrote a while back that the greatest hope to revive freedom and prosperity in America is for the states to rise up against the oppressive federal government, exert their sovereign powers and put Washington back in its rightful place—not a revolution but a restoration of the Old Federalist Republic. Not a call to take up arms but a call for states to just deny and defy federal authority. Make no mistake though, such a call for a restoration of the Old Federalist Republic is not premised on any fallacious notion that the government closest to the people is the best government. To the contrary, Hunter’s Postulate holds that the closer one gets to the individual, the more oppressive government becomes—try working in academia, existing under the thumb of a homeowners’ association or living in an oppressive little backwater like Warrenton, Virginia if you don’t believe it. No, the virtue of a true federalism has nothing to do with the virtue, competence, or trustworthiness of local officials and the parasites they nurture but everything to do with the ability of people to escape their grimy little reach. Restrict the sphere of the monopoly to initiate violence (which is the true definition of government), and you increase the possibility of escape. Farmers in human cattle, which is all governments are, cannot survive if the livestock all walks off the plantation. In the long run, then, exit—voting with one’s feet—is the only guarantee against tyranny, which is the only reason to recommend the states rise up and overthrow the federal tyranny that characterizes the United States in the early days of the 21st century. Is it a panacea? No, but it probably offers the last exit before the cliff that our current system is headed toward. This article is available online at: onforb.es/HVjmgr2016 http://Forbes.com LLC™ All Rights Reserved Poster Comment: ---- the greatest hope to revive freedom and prosperity in America is for the states to rise up against the oppressive federal government, exert their sovereign powers and put Washington back in its rightful place—not a revolution but a restoration of the Old Federalist Republic. Not a call to take up arms but a call for states to just deny and defy federal authority. ------
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#1. To: tpaine (#0)
Greetings. Your comment is unintellibible and a distraction. It will be removed. Keep this in mind in the future. Thank You
I believe that this is the Anarcho-capitalism, form of libertarianism. It won't be long before "no government" will be replaced with a warlord tyrannical government. Nature abhors a vacuum, and some scum will move in to fill it. This is incompatible with the US Constitution. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana...ilosophical_disagreements This is the traditional constitutional view, IMO. Are you the new stealth moderator, aka TooConservative? Free Fred & Boris! --- As per the Constitution as written, which gave us, to a large extent, "freedom from government".. Your ideas about libertarianism and the Constitution are incompatible with reality.
Througout history one lesson is recurrent but unnoticed. No great nation or empire has survived the softness and stupidity made possible by its previous successes. As a corralary, its successes inevitably produce an expanded indolent class of parasites who have achieved prominance by heredity and passage of wealth from their grandparents without the development of serious effort and concrete determination who consider themselves educated elite lords entitled to rule in a state of runious pretentious licenced frivolity.
Your anarcho-capitalist warlord and Tonto You anarcho-capitalists have already been conquered by the Kenyan Warlord Obama! If you had adhered to the US Constitution, and you wouldn't be a slave on the Obongo plantation now. If it was me, they'd be banned.
Anybody over the age of 12 that supports Anarco-Capitalism should be locked away for their own good. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) American Indians had open borders. Look at how well that worked out for them.
un·in·tel·li·gi·ble. [ÌYnYnÈtelYjYb(Y)l] ADJECTIVE 1.impossible to understand: synonyms: incomprehensible · indiscernible · mumbled · indistinct · [more] If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !
No it hasn't - as the fact that we're here on DARPAnet talking about that fact illustrates. Now. Who can/will exercise their 1st Amendment responsibility and fill in the blank?
Only the bat/shit crazies, like you, know what in the (blank) you're talking about..
Says TPaine, the Meanwhile, in reality land: "And finally, that Truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them" --Thomas Jefferson; The Virginia Act for Religious Freedom
--Thomas Jefferson; We can all agree with the timeless wisdom of Jefferson. You ask: -- As I say, only the bat/shit crazy, --- would have a clue what point you're trying to make. Unless you want to make a valid point, get lost.
Tsk Tsk Clueless Parrot. The FACT that we're here on DARPAnet, and FREE to contradict governmental errors, renders the fact self-evident that American liberty has not failed. Maybe YOU'VE failed, but Liberty - Not. So. Much.
CONTRADICT, dumbass.
You ask: -- As I say, only the bat/shit and pedantic crazies , --- would have a clue what point you're trying to make. Unless you want to make a valid point, get lost. Cute - but, non-valid nonsense, from a clueless troll? I posted an interesting article that has many valid points about how our system is failing, -- and, - as it happens, -- I agree with you that it has not failed completely, yet.. Which makes you sorta clueless about me, -- correct?
Not petulant enough. At the rate things are going, there will soon be more moderators here than posters.
Wiley T. Paine, Suuuper Genius. The fact that folks are still able to CONTRADICT errors such as yours here on DARPAnet, under the systemic purview of the 1st Amendment, renders the feebile and impotently provocative assertion that "Liberty has failed" - FALSE. Qualify that "completely", Wiley.
Anybody who undertands the relationship between the Virginia Act for Religious freedom - and the 1st Amendment would have a clue. Try harder Wiley. Maybe you'll get one.
As I say, only the bat/shit and pedantic crazies , --- would have a clue what point you're trying to make. We both understand that relationship, yet you refuse to make your point. Make it, or get lost... I posted an interesting article that has many valid points about how our system is failing, -- and, - as it happens, -- I agree with you that it has not failed completely, yet.. Which makes you sorta clueless about me, -- correct? Specify what errors you IMAGINE I've made, or STFU and get lost.
re cyber censor Are you the new stealth moderator, aka TooConservative? love If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !
Poor Wiley. Have you figured out the difference between CONTRADICT and CONTRADICTED yet? Maybe you can get a dictionary from ACME.
FailING or FailED, Wiley? Read the title of your screed and then tally up another ERROR on your side of the score board.
I posted an interesting article that has many valid points about how our system is failing, -- and, - as it happens, -- I agree with you that it has not failed completely, yet.. Your trolling has failed, Specify what errors you IMAGINE I've made, or STFU and get lost. I've figured you won't shut up or get lost, so feel free to keep making a fool of yourself.
LOL @ Wiley T. Paine Consteeeetutional Suuuuuper Genius.
Poor little VxH, all s/hes got left is a silly 'lol'. Whatta clown.
ESAD Wiley. Don't forget to order plenty of ACME supplies for Der Revolution.
...who schedule an endless litany of meetings to talk about when to schedule the next meeting - and whether the schedule of meetings should be kept on a Spreadsheet or in a Word document? Uhuh. The L.I.F.E.R. teat sucklers seem to be in the process of relocating the empire to a single story ranch style retirement villa in Ecuador these days. Meh. Government Of, By, and For the People is so 1863 anyhow - who needs it. And the honored dead? Screw those fools. /sarc.
#2. To: BorisY (#1)
#3. To: tpaine, *Bill of Rights-Constitution*, minarchism (#0)
The key, therefore, is not to think about replacing what we have with something else but rather to replace it with nothing, i.e., freedom from government, not enslavement to a new form of government.
Minarchism is the form of libertarianism that believes that the state is necessary, that it should be as small as possible, and that "its only legitimate function is the protection of individuals from aggression, theft, breach of contract, and fraud, and the only legitimate governmental institutions are the military, police, and courts". 
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#4. To: CYBER WAR, TooConservative, Fred Mertz, BorisY in jail, Free Speech Zone (#2)
Greetings. Your comment is unintellibible and a distraction
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#5. To: hondo68 (#3)
The fact is, we don’t know how to structure society, and any effort trying to do so by constitutional/political/social engineering—no matter how well intentioned, no matter how smart the designers—inevitably leads to disastrous outcomes. The key, therefore, is not to think about replacing what we have with something else but rather to replace it with nothing, i.e., freedom from government, not enslavement to a new form of government. ----
I believe that this is the Anarcho-capitalism, form of libertarianism ---- It is incompatible with the US Constitution.
#6. To: tpaine (#0)
The American Experiment In Liberty Has Failed
RLK
#7. To: tpaine, the happy slave (#5)
(Edited)
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#8. To: hondo68 (#4)
Are you the new stealth moderator, aka TooConservative?
#9. To: hondo68 (#3)
I believe that this is the Anarcho-capitalism, form of libertarianism. It won't be long before "no government" will be replaced with a warlord tyrannical government. Nature abhors a vacuum, and some scum will move in to fill it. This is incompatible with the US Constitution.
#10. To: CYBER WAR (#2)
(Edited)
unintellibible
#11. To: tpaine (#0)
#12. To: VxH (#11)
Who can/will exercise their 1st Amendment responsibility and fill in the blank?
#13. To: tpaine (#12)
(Edited)
Only the bat/shit crazies, like you, know what in the (blank) you're talking about..
constitutional delusional Village Idiot.
#14. To: VxH (#11)
" --- Truth is great, and will prevail -- she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, --- errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them"
How many -- will exercise responsibly -- by filling 'contradicted' in the blank?
#15. To: tpaine (#14)
(Edited)
#16. To: tpaine (#14)
by filling 'contradicted' in the blank?
#17. To: VxH (#15)
How many -- will exercise responsibly -- by filling 'contradict' in the blank?
Tsk Tsk Clueless Parrot.
The FACT that we're here on DARPAnet, and FREE to contradict governmental errors, renders the fact self-evident that American liberty has not failed. -- Maybe YOU'VE failed, but Liberty - Not. So. Much.
#18. To: hondo68 (#4)
Are you the new stealth moderator, aka TooConservative?
#19. To: tpaine (#17)
Which makes you sorta clueless about me, -- correct?
#20. To: tpaine (#17)
As I say, only the bat/shit and pedantic crazies , --- would have a clue what point you're trying to make.
#21. To: VxH (#20)
Anybody who undertands the relationship between the Virginia Act for Religious freedom - and the 1st Amendment would have a clue.
The fact that folks are still able to CONTRADICT errors such as yours here on DARPAnet, under the systemic purview of the 1st Amendment, renders the feebile and impotently provocative assertion that "Liberty has failed" - FALSE.
#22. To: hondo68 (#4)
try working in academia, existing under the thumb of a homeowners’ association or living in an oppressive little backwater like Warrenton, Virginia if you don’t believe it.
boris
#23. To: tpaine (#21)
Specify what errors you IMAGINE I've made, or STFU and get lost.
#24. To: tpaine (#21)
(Edited)
our system is failing,
#25. To: VxH (#23)
Failing or failed?
The fact that folks are still able to CONTRADICT errors such as yours here on DARPAnet, under the systemic purview of the 1st Amendment, renders the feebile and impotently provocative assertion that "Liberty has failed" - FALSE.
Have you figured out the difference between CONTRADICT and CONTRADICTED yet?
#26. To: tpaine (#25)
#27. To: VxH gives up with a 'lol' (#26)
#28. To: tpaine (#27)
#29. To: rlk (#6)
(Edited)
its successes inevitably produce an expanded indolent class of parasites who...
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