The 2020 Presidential Debate season begins on Tuesday September 29, 2020. Prepare for the usual hermetic incantations of what Government can (and will) do for you.
(Image from Conde Nast)
One of the things that bothers me most about elections are the lies. Not the little lies like stealing a speech 30 odd years ago, or taking advantage of our arcane and porous tax code; one almost expects politicians to be aggressively motivated by self-interest. The lies that bother me are the ones that center on Magical Thinking. The ones that lure voters into supporting candidates based on programs and agendas that are illusionary, illegal, impractical or just plan daft.
Oh yes... I know. We are the dream-makers and we are the dreamers of dreams (cue Willie Wonka and John Lennon singing a duet) but the simple fact of the matter is this: governments can do very little.
So in the spirit of the presidential debate season, I have put together a handy guide as to what governments can (and cannot) do based on law, history and convention. I hope it will be helpful to you as you as listen to your favorite candidate for the highest (and in many ways, least powerful) office in the land.
What Government Can Do:
National Defense:
According to international law (as expressed in Article 1 of the Montevideo Conference, of 1933) there are four essential conditions for the recognition of a state (bold indicates a defined term): A permanent population; a definite territory controlled by that population; governance of that definite territory by a government; and that same government's capacity to enter into relations with other states. In each of these cases, borders (and the integrity of a government within those borders) must be defended to retain a state's sovereignty.
Protection of Property:
Government is a contract: citizens pay taxes and in exchange for those taxes, governments provide services. One of the most venerable of these services is the protection of property rights. In fact, the whole concept of governance stems from the protection of property rights. Tribal elder or vast legal system, determining who owns what and why is foundational to government. Whether this is enforced by land laws, commercial codes, or civil courts; the protection of contract integrity and ownership of property is paramount to a successful government.
Infrastructure: Along with protecting property rights and national defense, a government has a responsibility to support an infrastructure that underscores and encourages those rights, and the sovereignty of the state. Roads, bridges, tunnels, electrical grids, railroads, and telecommunications are all imperative for commerce and national defense. One could also include social safety nets, medical care, old age relief and protection of the disabled as infrastructure, since these concepts too have a direct effect on national defense and the protection of property rights.
Provide Sound Currency: To pay for national defense, support property rights, and promote viable infrastructure, governments have the responsibility to provide sound currency. Diminishing the"full faith and credit" of any government is a grave threat to its primary responsibilities (as well as to its sovereignty) since it affects the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
What Government Cannot Do:
Legislate Taste, Morality or Ethics: People comprising the citizenry of a government are diverse and complex. Whether it was Protestants burning Catholics, Catholics burning Jews and Muslims, or Puritans burning witches-- history is full of social legislation that failed miserably. Ask yourself these questions: Did Reconstruction end racism? Did Prohibition end drinking? Did the New Deal end the Great Depression? Did the Great Society end poverty? Has the War on Drugs eliminated the drug trade? Governments can coerce or shame people into behaving a certain way, but that does not mean they can change the culture, taste, morality or ethics of those same people. To that end, we still have Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, and witches, despite the many social restrictions against them over the centuries. This is not dissimilar to the pigeon in the above cartoon who thinks if he picks-up the cigarette butt for a third time, it will somehow be good to eat.
What results instead are pursuits made taboo, clandestine or illicit by government. Reconstruction/the KKK; Prohibition and the War on Drugs/gangster-ism; the New Deal and the War on Poverty/entrenched resistance to social welfare. The less government becomes involved in taste, morality and ethics, the better for society in general.
Create Patriotism: Allegiance to all things is earned; and government is a contract. As Jefferson pointed out in the Declaration of Independence, when the contract between a government and the governed is broken, the citizens of said government have a right to dissolve and disregard that contract (much like any other breached contract). Just as a government cannot legislate taste, morality or ethics, it cannot likewise force it citizenry to follow its prerogatives and orthodoxy blindly without question in the name of "patriotism."
Protect You: One of the most magical of all the Magical Thinking concepts is government protection. In fact, perhaps the most dangerous limitation of the contract between governments and their citizenry is the exchange of freedom for security. Whereas it is possible for a government to mitigate risk, it is impossible for a government to eliminate risk. Risk of terrorism, crime, corruption, disease, natural disaster, war, famine, pestilence (take your pick); no government can protect you from harm. The best any government can do is promote national defense, secure property rights and provide support to an infrastructure. True, the level of mitigation can depends upon the level of involvement, but any voter thinking their government can eliminate danger, prevent occurrences of nature, or save lives, is misguided in the extreme and bound to be disappointed by the results.
Protect Other People: If a government cannot protect its own citizens, it is even less likely to be able protect another county's citizens (or the planet in general). Nation building, promotion of democracy (Socialism, Communism, Fascism, Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism), humanitarian intervention, controlling environmental and climate issues, protecting civil and human rights-- have cost nations trillions of dollars and millions of lives with very limited success. The main problem stems from the fact that every line-item regarding governments and their prerogatives as listed above, works against the idea of third party intervention. Governments have always (and will always) work to the advantage of their proprietary interests; the entirety of foreign policy is founded on that notion. Regardless of good intentions, the ability of one government to influence another government (even with force) is highly suspect in both efficacy and legitimacy.
An Editor's Note In Closing: As citizens of the United States we are the government. Many of the precepts mentioned in this essay are put forward without regard to the level of government which, is to say: Local, State or Federal. Our constitution is very specific in what can and cannot be done by each level of government-- and for that matter-- each branch of government. This guide does not attempt to speak to that issue or to federalism in general. It is intended to speak broadly, not only to our readers in the United States, but to our readers everywhere. Understanding the limitations of government was the cornerstone our founders used to build the American republic, a republic that has drawn people (and capital) from all over the world. We can only hope their good thoughts and reasoned deliberations are not lost in the throes of idyllic passions.
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