Discussion about this post

User's avatar
jesse porter's avatar

Increasingly, America has lost, or at least forgotten, that there are certain aspects of American governance upon which we can agree. To recover our sense of agreement, I suggest the following.

Our Constitution guarantees that we will have a republican form of government, regardless which State we reside in. At the Federal level, thus far and no further, political powers will be delegated to each of the three branches, Congress, Administration, and Judiciary. Our remaining political powers are reserved to the States and to the people. It is implied that the people of each state will only delegate certain of their powers to the State and reserve all others to themselves.

Further, the Federal Constitution and the various State Constitutions enumerate what powers are delegated and others that are prohibited from being delegated. The ideological impasses to which we are increasingly coming to are caused by the extraconstitutional powers either arrogated by government officials and bodies or passively or aggressively delegated to them. So much so, we have lost sight of which governing powers we ought to jealously guard with our lives. We no longer understand, for example, what it means to be secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. Nor do we understand the concept of taxation without representation. We allow government to govern in the manner of royalty.

Perhaps we should demand the right to periodically officially re-ratify our constitutions, including each amendment. There is something to be said of the concept that laws approved by one generation ought not be enforced on subsequent generations. Of course, the re-ratification must be by the same significant majorities in congress and the states. To avoid the dangers of mob rule, it must not be subjected to popular vote.

Expand full comment
David E. Rockett's avatar

Still interesting stuff Max and well presented. Yet I continue to have similar recurring thoughts: 1) for all the cutting-edge progressive articulation in modern verbiage, I suspect your best presentation of this vision...would stir up amusing smiles if done before teleported Plato/Aristole/Solomon. Your new vision is far older and well-worn than you seem to think. 2) Madison, Hamilton, Jay, Washington, et al...would recognize your social competition as but a new iteration of their notion/intent of Real-Federalism among the States. 3) Humans have historically/heretofore naturally clustered into more complicated and diverse communities...than the a hyper-fragmented diversity of this vision. Unity and Community...always seems to trump diversity quicker than we thought (or might like). 4) a vision which demands people/humans to think radically different than they ever have in history...might itself be but the new iteration of a new-and-improved revolutionary utopia?

Expand full comment
2 more comments...

No posts