Category: General
-
Federalist No. 29
Federalist No. 29 is really a continuation of Nos. 26 – 28. My favorite line from this one is: To render an army unnecessary, will be a more certain method of preventing its existence than a thousand prohibitions upon paper. This expresses a truth that applies to any “necessary evil” as a standing army is…
-
Federalist Nos. 26 – 28
These papers encapsulate the central issue being tackled win the constitution – namely the balance of powers between branches of government. Of course these are concerned specifically with the authority to raise a standing army, but the central point is important even today. An insightful question from Federalist No. 26 illustrates how times have changed…
-
Real Capitalists
My reaction to Obi wan’s claim that "pro-capitalist conservatives have pushed for governmental intervention into our capital markets" was that nobody who supported the bailout has any claim to being a capitalist. I find that my position is much more clearly stated by Judy Shelton in the Wall Street Journal: Honest capitalism requires the following:…
-
Incentives to Get Off Welfare
Another spinoff from the discussion about Equality Under the Law clicked a switch in my brain. Nothing that Anti-PC Infidel says in his post should surprise anyone who has seen the discussion already, but for some reason the following statement made a connection to another issue that I have struggled to resolve for a long…
-
Rights and Liberty
This is 8 minutes well spent if you have any question about what constitutes a right and why rights are more than simply good things that deserve legal protection or assistance. (Hat tip: The Anti-PC Infidel)
-
Federalist Nos. 21 – 22
Federalist No. 21 and Federalist No. 22 close the enumeration of the deficiencies of the United States under the Articles of Confederation. The argument that the federal government was impotent under the articles is well known but I did pick up two important points here. From Federalist 21: It is a signal advantage of taxes…
-
Government and Religion
I was reading Doctrine and Covenants section 134 today. I have read it before on various occasions, but my perspective on government has sharpened considerably since the last time I read it and it struck a chord with me as a wonderful description of the proper interaction between government and religious organizations. We believe that…
-
Very Well (Under)Stated
“There’s always the chance that politics are involved in politics.” Steve Urquhart I wonder if Steve chuckled to himself when he crafted that bit of wisdom today.
-
Federalist Nos. 18 – 20
These papers offer an analysis of other governments which might be compared and contrasted with the system being outlined in the Constitution. I don’t consider myself expert enough to critique the analysis, but it is very interesting to see that advantages of this new system as perceived by Hamilton and Madison when compared to Greece…
-
Articles of Confederation
In the midst of my efforts to evaluate all the Federalist Papers, I realized that I had never read the Articles of Confederation which was the basis against which the Constitution was written and against which the Federalist Papers were generally basing their arguments. The Articles of Confederation were the first attempt by the states…