By Adam Meziani
COMMON SENSE; Revisited is a great source and I hope to share it with a few people I know. I was converted to my way of thinking by having things to read that explained core principles succinctly, and this is going to be a great tool in my arsenal to help others. I thank you for taking the time to write it.
About the central concept to the writing, that of indigenous power, I always thought it was best explained by Ezra Taft Benson, former secretary of Agriculture. He was also President of the LDS church, of which I am a member ─ so when I saw his writings in an essay called the “the Proper Role of Government,” I paid it some serious attention. I found that he lays out the best case I’ve ever seen for defending the Constitution and that of limited government. It was the first thing I ever read that helped me see that limited government meant limited in scope of powers, not just “big government vs. small government” that seems to be the level political discourse nowadays. This is still the foundation of my beliefs, and this principle was critical to guiding my current thinking. It seems so clear to me now, but I almost never talk with anyone, or even see on numerous internet discussion boards ANYONE who understands this core principle! But once I learned it, it became an idea which helped me sort everything else into place.
I think using an example of how indigenous power is the only source of governmental power would be useful. The sheriff example Ezra Taft Benson gave is always the one I use when considering the subject. Please pardon the lengthy quote, but I thought you might like it. The crucial sentence for me when I first read it (and the one that still has the most profound meaning to me, is in the second paragraph: “The important thing to keep in mind is that the people who have created their government can give to that government only such powers as they, themselves, have in the first place.”) It was beautiful in its simplicity:
THE SOURCE OF GOVERNMENTAL POWER
Leaving aside, for a moment, the question of the divine origin of rights, it is obvious that a government is nothing more or less than a relatively small group of citizens who have been hired, in a sense, by the rest of us to perform certain functions and discharge certain responsibilities which have been authorized. It stands to reason that the government itself has no innate power or privilege to do anything. Its only source of authority and power is from the people who have created it. This is made clear in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, which reads: “WE THE PEOPLE… do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The important thing to keep in mind is that the people who have created their government can give to that government only such powers as they, themselves, have in the first place. Obviously, they cannot give that which they do not possess. So, the question boils down to this. What powers properly belong to each and every person in the absence of and prior to the establishment of any organized governmental form? A hypothetical question? Yes, indeed! But, it is a question which is vital to an understanding of the principles which underlie the proper function of government.
Of course, as James Madison, sometimes called the Father of the Constitution, said, “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.” (The Federalist, No. 51)
NATURAL RIGHTS
In a primitive state, there is no doubt that each man would be justified in using force, if necessary, to defend himself against physical harm, against theft of the fruits of his labor, and against enslavement of another. This principle was clearly explained by Bastiat:
“Each of us has a natural right – from God – to defend his person, his liberty, and his property. These are the three basic requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the preservation of the other two. For what are our faculties but the extension of our individuality? And what is property but and extension of our faculties?” (The Law, p.6)
Indeed, the early pioneers found that a great deal of their time and energy was being spent doing all three – defending themselves, their property and their liberty – in what properly was called the “Lawless West.” In order for man to prosper, he cannot afford to spend his time constantly guarding his family, his fields, and his property against attach and theft, so he joins together with his neighbors and hires a sheriff. At this precise moment, government is born. The individual citizens delegate to the sheriff their unquestionable right to protect themselves. The sheriff now does for them only what they had a right to do for themselves – nothing more. Quoting again from Bastiat:
“If every person has the right to defend – even by force – his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right – its reason for existing, its lawfulness – is based on individual right.” (The Law, p. 6)
So far so good. But now we come to the moment of truth. Suppose pioneer “A” wants another horse for his wagon, He doesn’t have the money to buy one, but since pioneer “B” has an extra horse, he decides that he is entitled to share in his neighbor’s good fortune. Is he entitled to take his neighbor’s horse? Obviously not! If his neighbor wishes to give it or lend it, that is another question. But so long as pioneer “B” wishes to keep his property, pioneer “A” has no just claim to it. If “A” has no proper power to take “B’s” property, can he delegate any such power to the sheriff? No. Even if everyone in the community desires that “B” give his extra horse to “A”, they have no right individually or collectively to force him to do it. They cannot delegate a power they themselves do not have. This important principle was clearly understood and explained by John Locke nearly 300 years ago:
“For nobody can transfer to another more power than he has in himself, and nobody has an absolute arbitrary power over himself, or over any other, to destroy his own life, or take away the life of property of another.” (Two Treatises of Civil Government, II, 135; P.P.N.S. p. 93)
THE PROPER FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT
This means, then, that the proper function of government is limited only to those spheres of activity within which the individual citizen has the right to act. By deriving its just powers from the governed, government becomes primarily a mechanism for defense against bodily harm, theft and involuntary servitude. It cannot claim the power to redistribute the wealth or force reluctant citizens to perform acts of charity against their will. Government is created by man. No man possesses such power to delegate. The creature cannot exceed the creator. In general terms, therefore, the proper role of government includes such defensive activities, as maintaining national military and local police forces for protection against loss of life, loss of property, and loss of liberty at the hands of either foreign despots or domestic criminals.
-Ezra Taft Benson (click here for source)
(I think this little flash video also does a good job explaining these principles. -Eliyah Finkelstein)