4 ms·
It used to be that we recognized the fact that the feds had a very limited constitutional scope. That has been obliterated in the 20th century, with everything
by mises 7y ago
It used to be that we recognized the fact that the feds had a very limited constitutional scope. That has been obliterated in the 20th century, with everything being justified under the necessary and proper clause and the commerce clause. A centralized bureaucracy has been gradually sapping the sovereignty of individuals, municipalities, and states; and replacing effective, local solutions with broad-brush national solutions that don't work for every one.
This also diminishes the ability of the individual to push for change: one man may convince enough people in a town to do something, but it is much harder for him to do so on a national level.
- tinix 7y agoImagine if all of Europe was supposed to fall under a common legal system. Yeah, it's that absurd, geographically, politically, and realistically. Don't get me started about EU mandates. I'm all for standardization, but only if adherence is elective.
- mises 7y agoI assume this is sarcastic? I wasn't saying any thing about the EU. It's quite different from America, if for no other reason than because citizens of EU nations see themselves first and foremost as citizens of said nation, not the EU (which is understandable, as that is the case). The question here was concerning America. Do you really believe the bulk of federal overreach in America is comprised of "standardization"? The Constitution authorizes such measures: weights and measures, currency, etc. That's not part of it.
- tinix 7y agoIt was tongue in cheek, for sure. My contrast of the EU was to draw a parallel between many sovereign nation states falling under a common union. Hey, kind of like a United States or something. We are not in disagreement there... and also, I'm definitely not against standards... as long as said standards are electively participatory, and not mandated from a high level government.
- tropo 7y agoLong ago, citizens of US states saw themselves first and foremost as citizens of said states, not of the US. Famously, this influenced Lee's choice to serve in the Civil War, so the change in viewpoint is more recent than then. The EU may go through a similar transition.
- mises 7y agoMaybe the EU ought to take a lesson from the fate of America, and remain a voluntary confederation of states. For reasons outlined in my above post, it may be better that way.