So far we have broken out the fundamentals of the American experiment as it was called in 1776. You may have picked up that its fairly simple, and current American government is quite far from that now. The point is not to say that we have strayed from the ideal and need to get back to that, but rather we need to understand how and why it broke down over time. Knowing how the system took more and more freedom away as time progressed will help us create an America 2.0 that will make the next step forward in human governance.
So when will America 2.0 be needed? Perhaps now, maybe 2, 5 or 10 years from now. Maybe the need skips this period of reset and it rolls out in 80 years. We can hope it skips this reset, having to restart will be very painful for everyone. But hope is not a plan, and we need a plan. We need a plan that creates options should the worst happen.
Most people are pursuing removing corruption and returning freedom through the existing channels. That is a good thing. But an option is good for three reasons. One, it helps in negotiating. Two, it offers hope even if not used. Three, in the worst case scenario, it can be used.
Let us get started on this process by going over what happen to America 1.0.
First off, there was not full agreement on the limited government natural law concept. So compromises were added to the original document. These compromises were need to get ratification by all 13 States. We can’t be sure that some of these compromises were not specifically made so that the currently powerful could gain more power. We are not here to find fault with the founders. They did a good thing, creating a system that was the greatest system on earth for many years.
There was also an assumption that the concepts of freedom and limited government were well understood. There was no method to determine the constitutionality of laws passed by the federal government because it was assumed that the house would not pass an unconstitutional law, and that if they did the senate would not pass it, and if they did the president would not sign it, and if he did the States would not obey it. The supreme court declared itself the sole arbiter of constitutionality and slowly became a political body. By the 1940s laws that were clearly unconstitutional were routinely being passed by both houses, signed by the president and approved by the supreme court, and obeyed by the States.
The biggest problem is not defined by its cause, but rather its effect. This effect is that elected officials were seen to have power and were helped to get elected or motivated in other ways by rich or powerful people. These elite people were then granted special privileges that allowed them to become richer and more powerful. Government increased its power so that it could grant increasingly valuable privileges to increasingly powerful groups and individuals. US federal as well as most State elections are driven by a cynical process where special interest candidates tell stories to voters that appeal to their values, while candidates are in reality representing more lucrative interests. For every campaign promise kept, at least 100 items of substantial value are handed out to the already powerful. There are some principled candidates, but its unlikely that you can find out which ones they are.
In what ways do you think that our current system has failed? In what ways has it succeeded?