Brian Blackwell
Senior Member
- Mar 10, 2018
- 994
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- #1
This thread explores an argument that runs parallel to the one discussed in CDZ - The Government of No Authority, Part 1: Law and Morality. You needn't have read that thread to participate here, as the two threads discuss different arguments.
It is commonly accepted that the origin of governmental authority resides with "the people". The idea being that the people elect representatives to act on their behalf. Since so much of the discussion on these boards is founded upon the belief in the legitimacy of governmental authority, it behooves us to explore the core principles at play within this system. First, a few "Yes or No" questions to establish a basis for discussion, beginning with the poll question:
1. Can a person validly delegate rights/powers that they don't have to someone else?
(e.g. can I delegate the right to paint my neighbor's house a different color to my brother, when I do not have that right to begin with?)
2. Can any number of people validly delegate rights/powers that none of them have individually?
(i.e. does the number of people involved change the scenario?)
3. Can governmental representatives have rights/powers that none of the people they represent have?
Considering the assertion that "Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes...", and that representatives write laws which the people are expected to obey under threat of punishment, how can it be that no individual who elects said representatives may claim the same powers? Better said, how did representatives get these rights and powers when none of the people they represent had them in the first place?
-If you answered "Yes" to any of the above questions, please explain how this is so.
-If you answered "No" to any of the above questions, but still support governmental authority in this country, please explain how you resolve the apparent contradiction.
"...Thus the principle of collective right — its reason for existing, its lawfulness — is based on individual right. And the common force that protects this collective right cannot logically have any other purpose or any other mission than that for which it acts as a substitute." - Frederic Bastiat, "The Law"
It is commonly accepted that the origin of governmental authority resides with "the people". The idea being that the people elect representatives to act on their behalf. Since so much of the discussion on these boards is founded upon the belief in the legitimacy of governmental authority, it behooves us to explore the core principles at play within this system. First, a few "Yes or No" questions to establish a basis for discussion, beginning with the poll question:
1. Can a person validly delegate rights/powers that they don't have to someone else?
(e.g. can I delegate the right to paint my neighbor's house a different color to my brother, when I do not have that right to begin with?)
2. Can any number of people validly delegate rights/powers that none of them have individually?
(i.e. does the number of people involved change the scenario?)
3. Can governmental representatives have rights/powers that none of the people they represent have?
Considering the assertion that "Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes...", and that representatives write laws which the people are expected to obey under threat of punishment, how can it be that no individual who elects said representatives may claim the same powers? Better said, how did representatives get these rights and powers when none of the people they represent had them in the first place?
-If you answered "Yes" to any of the above questions, please explain how this is so.
-If you answered "No" to any of the above questions, but still support governmental authority in this country, please explain how you resolve the apparent contradiction.
"...Thus the principle of collective right — its reason for existing, its lawfulness — is based on individual right. And the common force that protects this collective right cannot logically have any other purpose or any other mission than that for which it acts as a substitute." - Frederic Bastiat, "The Law"
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