In the last post, I made the comment that government can’t do anything that you yourself cannot do. This is because government has no powers except those that its citizens lend it. This concept really changed the way I looked at taxation, war etc. For example, if I have two neighbors and one is rich and one is poor, I cannot force the first neighbor to give money to the second. Of course it is the responsibility of the neighbors too look out for each other, but force cannot be involved. One of our most important natural rights is the right to personal property, so you own yourself and your other property, and other’s are not to rob you of any these. The same principal may apply to taxation by government, which is essentially removal of your funds by force. If you don’t think taxation is backed up by force or the threat of force, try not paying them sometime! This is not to say that we shouldn’t pay some taxes for some things like defense or roads, but our current system is by definition immoral.
War is another good example of this idea. Are there times when one nation is fully justified in invading and occupying another? You bet! But throughout history war has occurred a lot more often than is justifiable by the moral conditions set by Natural Law. If I have a neighbor who has something that I want, or doesn’t mow his grass enough etc., I cannot invade his house and take over his property. In the same way one nation doesn’t have the authority to do such things to another. However, if my neighbor is threatening me, or has invaded my home, then I have the Natural Right to take action in order to defend myself. Our founders proclaimed that our nation should be a lot like modern day Switzerland. We were to be a strong, free nation, changing other nations through example, not through entangling alliances or police action, unless a direct threat to our own security was present.
Our founders knew that government by its very nature grows more and more each year and grabs for more and more power that it really has no authority to reach for. This is why they set up our country to be a nation of laws not of man. Our laws are (at least 0rigonally) written to apply to everyone equally. This is to prevent individuals from gaining power over others through unethical means or through pure charisma. This also prevents the foundation of a royal class and requires politicians to be elected every so often instead of gaining their offices by heredity.
To conclude this post I will add the remainder of Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man.
- Four: Political Liberty consists in the power of doing whatever does not Injure another. The exercise of the Natural Rights of every Man, has no other limits than those which are necessary to secure to every other Man the Free exercise of the same Rights; and these limits are determinable only by the Law.
- Five: The Law ought to Prohibit only actions hurtful to Society. What is not Prohibited by the Law should not be hindered; nor should anyone be compelled to that which the Law does not Require.
- Six: the Law is an expression of the Will of the Community. All Citizens have a right to concur, either personally or by their Representatives, in its formation. It Should be the same to all, whether it protects or punishes; and all being equal in its sight, are equally eligible to all Honours, Places, and employments, according to their different abilities, without any other distinction than that created by their Virtues and talents.
- Seven: No Man should be accused, arrested, or held in confinement, except in cases determined by the Law, and according to the forms which it has prescribed. All who promote, solicit, execute, or cause to be executed, arbitrary orders, ought to be punished, and every Citizen called upon, or apprehended by virtue of the Law, ought immediately to obey, and renders himself culpable by resistance.
- Eight: The Law ought to impose no other penalties but such as are absolutely and evidently necessary; and no one ought to be punished, but in virtue of a Law promulgated before the offence, and Legally applied.
- Nine: Every Man being presumed innocent till he has been convicted, whenever his detention becomes indispensable, all rigour to him, more than is necessary to secure his person, ought to be provided against by the Law.
- Ten: No Man ought to be molested on account of his opinions, not even on account of his Religious opinions, provided his avowal of them does not disturb the Public Order established by the Law.
- Eleven: The unrestrained communication of thoughts and opinions being one of the Most Precious Rights of Man, every Citizen may speak, write, and publish freely, provided he is responsible for the abuse of this Liberty, in cases determined by the Law.
- Twelve: A Public force being necessary to give security to the Rights of Men and of Citizens, that force is instituted for the benefit of the Community and not for the particular benefit of the persons to whom it is intrusted.
- Thirteen: A common contribution being necessary for the support of the Public force, and for defraying the other expenses of Government, it ought to be divided equally among the Members of the Community, according to their abilities.
- Fourteen: every Citizen has a Right, either by himself or his Representative, to a free voice in determining the necessity of Public Contributions, the appropriation of them, and their amount, mode of assessment, and duration.
- Fifteen: every Community has a Right to demand of all its agents an account of their conduct.
- Sixteen: every Community in which a Separation of Powers and a Security of Rights is not Provided for, wants a Constitution.
- Seventeen: The Right to Property being inviolable and sacred, no one ought to be deprived of it, except in cases of evident Public necessity, legally ascertained, and on condition of a previous just Indemnity.
Now I didn’t read all of this stuff before I felt the way I do about liberty, I knew in my gut that it was right and was very excited to see that our founders felt the same and were eloquent enough to put it in writing!
Now I’ve tried my best to explain where our personal rights come from, next time I’ll talk about the ideal distribution of power in a free republic. As we continue I’ll build up and add to the concepts previously discussed and use them to explain why I feel the way I do about current issues.
Live Free!
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