Democracy at Gunpoint

Too many persons today believe — incorrectly — that the state is sovereign. They seemingly believe that government has been divinely appointed or at least divinely inspired to reign over us. Law is afforded the position of dogma and government operates with an undeserved air of inerrancy. The combination of presumed omniscience and omnipotence is a recipe for certain disaster.

Self-serving political minions and technocrats, who necessarily rise from the ranks of exceedingly flawed and naturally fallible human beings, act in fits of hubris and in demonstrations of arrogance (if not ignorance). Such parties crave vicarious power, and they covet the position, prestige, and profit to be derived therefrom. As power trends toward absolute, so does the certainty for corruption, and with corruption come abuse, oppression, and tyranny.

Government has no inherent authority. The only legitimate authority, which may be exercised by government, is only that which has been voluntarily ceded to it by the people. With regard to the federal government specifically, that body has only the limited and specifically enumerated powers as contained within the text of the Constitution. It has no presumed or implied powers not specifically conferred. Any attempted exercise of powers outside of those conferred by the Constitution are ultra vires and thus illegitimate.

Government has no legitimate authority and should not be privileged to do on behalf of the collective — or any segment thereof — anything that an individual acting on his own behalf should not be empowered or privileged to do, including institutional theft and involuntary servitude.

A thief realizing his thievery is improper, immoral, and illegal should not be privileged and encouraged to change the nature of that criminal act merely by teaming up with a band of thieves. Acting in unison they might declare the formation of a body politic. The “collective” would include that band plus some smaller group or number of individuals, who are the desired targets of forced takings.

Collective action does not negate individual sins. Interposing “government” between a thief and the target(s) of the theft and denominating the ill-gotten booty a “tax” does not change the inherent nature of the improper and immoral act. The thieves (and resulting beneficiaries) might be heard to argue that the forced taking is “legal” — having the blessing and support of the state, but it is an illegitimate exercise of government power. One cannot enjoy the absolution, which might be offered by even a host of accomplices or hordes of coconspirators.

Proponents of “democracy” like to think that a disadvantaged, disaffected, and disfavored minority should (or must) defer to the collective will of a self-serving electoral majority. Interestingly, democracy may be the most dangerous of all forms of government. It is easy to identify the abuse and corruption of a single deranged despot.; however, within a democracy, would-be beneficiaries act with a perverse moral certitude, which they mistakenly believe can be derived solely from their number.

To the extent that any minority or individual refuses to comply, proponents of government action feel privileged to use the compulsory authority of the state and the coercive powers of government to compel compliance and conformity. Any resistance is subject to being met with increasing levels of coercion and punishment. Government agents are privileged to use physical force, potentially including the shooting and killing of an “offender.” Let there be no doubt: Every single law is ultimately enforceable at the point of a gun.

All of this offers an interesting and important perspective:

If we, as a society, do not think that government should enforce a particular rule, regulation, law, or promulgation at the point of a gun, then it should NOT be on the books … PERIOD.

If you do not believe that individuals should be threatened with a gun in order to provide you some privilege or benefit, then you should NOT seek government intervention to compel those “others” to do so.