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The US Constitution does protect Americans from the federal government, though, far more than almost any Western nation. States' rights are still very real. In

The US Constitution does protect Americans from the federal government, though, far more than almost any Western nation. States' rights are still very real. In fact, states' rights are the whole reason why that case went to the Supreme Court in the first place. What hope does the world have? Give it a few months yet.

sofixa 6y ago
> The US Constitution does protect Americans from the federal government, though, far more than almost any Western nation Citation needed. ( And don't forget, there aren't that many federal Western nations, so the entire argument is close to nonsensical)
- waterheater 6y ago
  The difference between the USA and other Western nations is explainable by understanding the difference between a federation and a confederation. All confederations are federations, but not all federations are confederations. The difference comes from the federal government's power. Both constitute a union of regions under a federal government. However, the confederation is distinguished by a union of sovereign regions under a federal government. Independence of the state was so important at the founding of the USA that the first governing document of the country is names the "Articles of Confederation". However, the Articles of Confederation were too weak and did not allow the federal government to levy taxes, so they were scrapped for the present-day Constitution to grant the federal government a bit more power. The USA isn't an ideal confederation, but the confederal elements pop up from time to time (e.g. any person talking about "state's rights") Canada is also close to being a confederation, but the executive power is still vested in the British monarchy. I don't believe any European nation can be considered a confederation. So, to your point: the most free nations in the world are those espousing confederal values. Even among Western nations, only a handful qualify, and the USA is one of those.

sofixa 6y ago

> The US Constitution does protect Americans from the federal government, though, far more than almost any Western nation Citation needed. ( And don't forget, there aren't that many federal Western nations, so the entire argument is close to nonsensical)

waterheater 6y ago
The difference between the USA and other Western nations is explainable by understanding the difference between a federation and a confederation. All confederations are federations, but not all federations are confederations. The difference comes from the federal government's power. Both constitute a union of regions under a federal government. However, the confederation is distinguished by a union of sovereign regions under a federal government. Independence of the state was so important at the founding of the USA that the first governing document of the country is names the "Articles of Confederation". However, the Articles of Confederation were too weak and did not allow the federal government to levy taxes, so they were scrapped for the present-day Constitution to grant the federal government a bit more power. The USA isn't an ideal confederation, but the confederal elements pop up from time to time (e.g. any person talking about "state's rights") Canada is also close to being a confederation, but the executive power is still vested in the British monarchy. I don't believe any European nation can be considered a confederation. So, to your point: the most free nations in the world are those espousing confederal values. Even among Western nations, only a handful qualify, and the USA is one of those.