TulsaRevolution
12-19-2008, 04:24 AM
I'm bored and I've been trying to get my thoughts together on things. Here is my last 30 minutes with notepad, on the topic of Decentralized government:
Let's think hypothetically about an airplane hijacker. Which is the hijacker more prone to target, a small jet with 10 people on it, or a Jumbo-Jet carrying 400 passengers? A hijacker is either looking to do damage, or is looking to have demands met. Both the sheer size of the Jumbo-Jet, and the large amount of power that could be commanded by hijacking the Jumbo-Jet, make it a bigger and better target for a hijacker for both possibilities. Now imagine that power entrusted to government authority is kind of like an airplane. The larger you build the authority, and the more people you include under that authority, the bigger a target it becomes for hijackers. Hijackers in this case would be anyone who wants a piece of that authority to control others to further their own agenda. Now, look at the current state of the Federal Government and tell me it has not been hijacked?
The founders had the right idea. Decentralized government, and decentralized power was what the Constitution laid groundwork for. The Constitution was a list of powers the government could NOT have over the people, and the primary function of the federal government would be to PROTECT the liberties of individuals. They saw what happens when a tyrannical empire rules from one center of power. They saw what happens when a central bank has control over a fiat currency. They knew that whatever government is put into place is naturally going to want to expand in power over the people, so they put limits in place. And ever since this country was founded, there have been power-seeking individuals and groups who have wanted to do anything possible to break through the barriers of individual freedom and decentralized power so they can reap the benefits of having influence over a collective.
Limited government is not about anarchy, it is about decentralized power. While those who wish to have more control over more people like the idea of a federal government which takes care of people from cradle to grave, those who disagree are not in opposition to certain services being provided. In a decentralized model, the community will take care of its own. Bringing things down from a federal level to a state level, city level, or neighborhood level, the individual can actually have a say in what is appropriate for his own way of life. Wealth on a local level is increased because you are no longer sending unnecessary overhead to a federal headquarters and getting less of it back in exchange for them having more control over you. And the positions of control and power on a local level are not going to draw the attention of rich corrupt entities looking to get the most amount of control for the least amount of work. Right now, all a corporation needs to do is lobby in one place to have control over an entire people. If it had to be done community by community, I imagine some of the corrupt would just give up, and more individuals would be involved in stopping it on a scale that is manageable.
Eluding back to the plane analogy, you now have a federal government the size of which no one could have ever imagined even 100 years ago. Think of the money, power, and control available by hijacking the federal government being akin to a 100,000 passenger airliner. Think of a local government taking care of all its needs as that jet carrying 10 people. Which one is a bigger target for hijackers? Which one, if hijacked, will cause more damage? Which one, if hijacked, could better get the hijackers demands met?
Let's think hypothetically about an airplane hijacker. Which is the hijacker more prone to target, a small jet with 10 people on it, or a Jumbo-Jet carrying 400 passengers? A hijacker is either looking to do damage, or is looking to have demands met. Both the sheer size of the Jumbo-Jet, and the large amount of power that could be commanded by hijacking the Jumbo-Jet, make it a bigger and better target for a hijacker for both possibilities. Now imagine that power entrusted to government authority is kind of like an airplane. The larger you build the authority, and the more people you include under that authority, the bigger a target it becomes for hijackers. Hijackers in this case would be anyone who wants a piece of that authority to control others to further their own agenda. Now, look at the current state of the Federal Government and tell me it has not been hijacked?
The founders had the right idea. Decentralized government, and decentralized power was what the Constitution laid groundwork for. The Constitution was a list of powers the government could NOT have over the people, and the primary function of the federal government would be to PROTECT the liberties of individuals. They saw what happens when a tyrannical empire rules from one center of power. They saw what happens when a central bank has control over a fiat currency. They knew that whatever government is put into place is naturally going to want to expand in power over the people, so they put limits in place. And ever since this country was founded, there have been power-seeking individuals and groups who have wanted to do anything possible to break through the barriers of individual freedom and decentralized power so they can reap the benefits of having influence over a collective.
Limited government is not about anarchy, it is about decentralized power. While those who wish to have more control over more people like the idea of a federal government which takes care of people from cradle to grave, those who disagree are not in opposition to certain services being provided. In a decentralized model, the community will take care of its own. Bringing things down from a federal level to a state level, city level, or neighborhood level, the individual can actually have a say in what is appropriate for his own way of life. Wealth on a local level is increased because you are no longer sending unnecessary overhead to a federal headquarters and getting less of it back in exchange for them having more control over you. And the positions of control and power on a local level are not going to draw the attention of rich corrupt entities looking to get the most amount of control for the least amount of work. Right now, all a corporation needs to do is lobby in one place to have control over an entire people. If it had to be done community by community, I imagine some of the corrupt would just give up, and more individuals would be involved in stopping it on a scale that is manageable.
Eluding back to the plane analogy, you now have a federal government the size of which no one could have ever imagined even 100 years ago. Think of the money, power, and control available by hijacking the federal government being akin to a 100,000 passenger airliner. Think of a local government taking care of all its needs as that jet carrying 10 people. Which one is a bigger target for hijackers? Which one, if hijacked, will cause more damage? Which one, if hijacked, could better get the hijackers demands met?