“The Coming of the Fourth American Republic”

[JBeukema]

Fabius Maximus

The United States has been called the oldest nation in the world, in the sense that it has operated the longest without a major upheaval in its basic institutional structure.

From one perspective, this characterization is fair. The nation still rests on the Constitution of 1787, and no other government can trace its current charter back so far. Since then, France has had a monarchy, two empires, and five republics. England fudges by never writing down its constitutional arrangements, but the polity of Gordon I is remote from that of George III. China’s political convolutions defy summary.

Shift the angle of vision and the continuity is less clear, because we have had two upheavals so sweeping that the institutional arrangements under which we now operate can fairly be classified as the Third American Republic. Furthermore, this Third Republic is teetering (these things seem to run in cycles of about 70 years) and is on the edge of giving way to a revised Fourth Republic with arrangements as yet murky to our present-bound perceptions.


This prediction should be seen as optimistic, not pessimistic, despite the stresses the transition puts on those of us standing on the ice as it cracks. At the risk of practicing “Whig history”—a term applied to the interpretation of history as a story of progress toward the enlightened present—the infelicities of the Third Republic grow tedious, and reform is needed to clear space for the progress of American, and world, civilization.

Understanding the current upheaval is aided by a brief description of the earlier ones.

The first was the Civil War and its aftermath, which established that sovereignty belongs to the nation first and the state second, and that the nation rather than the state claims a citizen’s primary loyalty.

… The next great institutional upheaval was the New Deal, which radically revised the role of government. … The crisis of the Great Depression provided a great opportunity, and it was seized. Starting in the 1930s, the theoretical limitations on the authority of governments-national or state-to deal with economic or welfare issues were dissolved, and in the course of fighting for this untrammeled power governments eagerly accepted responsibility for the functioning of the economy and the popular welfare.

… This Third Republic has had a good run. … It is characteristic of political arrangements that they go on long after an observer from Mars might think that surely their defects are so patent that they have exhausted their capacity for survival. … But it is more likely that the Special Interest State has reached a limit.

Few Washington lawyers and lobbyists know that it was once questioned whether the Special Interest State is an appropriate form of organization for a polity.This may seem a dubious statement, at a time when the ideology of total government is at an acme, but it is not unusual for decadent political arrangements to blaze brightly before their end. Indeed, the total victory of the old arrangements may be crucial to bringing into being the forces that will overthrow it. … A catalogue of its insoluble problems includes: …

While we await events, none of this analysis should be regarded as a counsel of pessimism. Political arrangements should change with time and experience, and to expect the political architects of any era to foresee all the problems inherent in their institutions is to demand the impossible. By 2090, it will probably be time for the Fifth American Republic, and, Heaven willing, more after that.

On the other hand, it would be unwise to treat the issues with anything other than utter sobriety. The nation made a fundamental political transition peacefully on one occasion, and only with appalling bloodshed on another, and it is hard to buy ammunition these days because the dealers’ shelves are bare.

 

[editec]

Fabius Maximus

The United States has been called the oldest nation in the world, in the sense that it has operated the longest without a major upheaval in its basic institutional structure.

Well...not entirely true, but really not a major flaw which in any way matters for what follows, either.

From one perspective, this characterization is fair. The nation still rests on the Constitution of 1787, and no other government can trace its current charter back so far. Since then, France has had a monarchy, two empires, and five republics. England fudges by never writing down its constitutional arrangements, but the polity of Gordon I is remote from that of George III. China’s political convolutions defy summary.

Yeah, history is mess, without doubt.

Shift the angle of vision and the continuity is less clear, because we have had two upheavals so sweeping that the institutional arrangements under which we now operate can fairly be classified as the Third American Republic.

Yeah I can see that. The real character of our nation and its governance has changed rather considerable in the last couple centuries, without doubt.

Furthermore, this Third Republic is teetering (these things seem to run in cycles of about 70 years) and is on the edge of giving way to a revised Fourth Republic with arrangements as yet murky to our present-bound perceptions.

I actually think that 4th Republic has in the drivers seat since WWII.

It really happened when the corporatization of America became SO dominant thanks to the Second world war and the happy state of economy which followed WWII. The ascendence of the CORPORATOCRACY which started with the FED seems fairly obvious to me.

This prediction should be seen as optimistic, not pessimistic, despite the stresses the transition puts on those of us standing on the ice as it cracks.

How thin the ice any of us happen to be standing on really depends on our relationship to those corporationscaptured control of our government, methinks.

Most of us are already adrift in the icy cold waters of the 4th republic and more and more of us are beinging to feel the icey fingers reaching down to our bones, now.

At the risk of practicing “Whig history”—a term applied to the interpretation of history as a story of progress toward the enlightened present—

Social progress is in the eye of the belholder, so don't worry about it, Fab.

the infelicities of the Third Republic grow tedious, and reform is needed to clear space for the progress of American, and world, civilization.

Reform won't be enough, I think.

Understanding the current upheaval is aided by a brief description of the earlier ones.

The first was the Civil War and its aftermath, which established that sovereignty belongs to the nation first and the state second, and that the nation rather than the state claims a citizen’s primary loyalty.

Okay, I can buy that. The Civil war was the Federalization of our Republic of States.

… The next great institutional upheaval was the New Deal, which radically revised the role of government. … The crisis of the Great Depression provided a great opportunity, and it was seized.

I put it back to 1913 when the banking establishment gained control over the economy.

Starting in the 1930s, the theoretical limitations on the authority of governments-national or state-to deal with economic or welfare issues were dissolved, and in the course of fighting for this untrammeled power governments eagerly accepted responsibility for the functioning of the economy and the popular welfare.

This was more the FIRST real implementation of the FED power that they gained in 1913, and it also helped to cement the power which control over currency really gave the that corporatocracy.

… This Third Republic has had a good run. … It is characteristic of political arrangements that they go on long after an observer from Mars might think that surely their defects are so patent that they have exhausted their capacity for survival. … But it is more likely that the Special Interest State has reached a limit.

Contrary to popular belief, there is really only ONE special interest that this nation serves...the special interest of the obscene wealthy and their servant class. that's, of course, the heart of what makes me appear to many of you as a leftist.

Few Washington lawyers and lobbyists know that it was once questioned whether the Special Interest State is an appropriate form of organization for a polity.

Oh I suspect one hell of a lot of lawyers understand perfectly why special interests powers are antithetical to democracy. NOt that most of them who are part of that cozy system mind, too much, of course.

This may seem a dubious statement, at a time when the ideology of total government is at an acme, but it is not unusual for decadent political arrangements to blaze brightly before their end.

YUP! The end of an historic epoch and a radical sift from one system to another is often marked by a seeming indefeatibility of the institutions which are in power.

Indeed, the total victory of the old arrangements may be crucial to bringing into being the forces that will overthrow it. …

The fatal flaw of most governments is found in what originally was their greatest strength. Power corrupts everything sooner or later.

A catalogue of its insoluble problems includes: …

An economic system which insures that power begats still more power and virtually insures that them what hain't got power will forever be outside the walls of the citadel would be my FIRST insoluable problem were I listing those problems that will eventually destroy this republic.

While we await events, none of this analysis should be regarded as a counsel of pessimism. Political arrangements should change with time and experience, and to expect the political architects of any era to foresee all the problems inherent in their institutions is to demand the impossible. By 2090, it will probably be time for the Fifth American Republic, and, Heaven willing, more after that.

I doubt this system we have will last till 2050 to be honest.

On the other hand, it would be unwise to treat the issues with anything other than utter sobriety. The nation made a fundamental political transition peacefully on one occasion, and only with appalling bloodshed on another, and it is hard to buy ammunition these days because the dealers’ shelves are bare.

People are frightened.

Justifying so, I think.

Of course, frightened people are themselves part of the problem, but given the amount of sheer bullshit they're constantly being exposed to, people sense, rather than understand that something is terribly wrong with the system as it stand right now.

They may be blaming all the wrong people, their solutions might be completely insane, but they're very sane in sensing that something is going completely off kilter with what we've ALL come to expect as citizens of this once great republic.