How to Set Up a
Free Country
By Susan Shelley
An open letter to citizen revolutionaries
everywhere:
So, you've toppled your dictator and you're celebrating
your nation's liberation from tyranny.
Congratulations!
Now what?
If you're an aspiring tyrant yourself, you already
know what you're going to do. But if you're like hundreds of millions of
people around the world, you want to live in freedom. You don't want to trade
one tyrant for another. You want liberty and prosperity and a normal life,
the kind of life that people have when they live in a free country.
But how do you set up a free country?
It's easier than you think.
Freedom is not a mystical and incomprehensible force
that penetrates some borders and not others. It's simple: Freedom is a condition
that exists under a government of limited power.
Don't make the mistake of thinking elections are the
key to freedom. Limited government power is the key to freedom. Without
limits on government power, elections are just mob rule.
So if you want to set up a free country, the first
thing you need is a written Constitution that sets up a government and identifies
exactly what it is allowed to do. It's a good idea to divide the government
into sections as a safeguard. Limit the power of the government, then limit
the power of each section of the government, then limit the terms of each
person in the government.
You may want to spell out the rights that all citizens
have, rights that the government will not be permitted to infringe. Even
though you've already limited the power of the government, it never hurts
to be extra clear that you really mean it.
It's very important to have an independent judiciary.
Make sure your judges can't be fired by government officials who don't like
their rulings. You don't have a free country unless the law applies to everybody,
especially government officials.
You may not be a fan of the British Empire, but if
you want to set up a free country you'll like the work of Sir William Blackstone,
the 18th century legal scholar who said the fundamental rights of free men
are life, liberty and property.
Blackstone wrote that the foundation of freedom was
the right to your own life and limbs, the right to move freely from place
to place, and the right to own and enjoy your property. In a free country
these rights can be taken away only by "due process of law" and not by arbitrary
power. An example of due process would be a properly authorized law enforcement
action and a fair trial. An example of arbitrary power would be someone knocking
down your door and taking you away in the night, then holding you for some
indefinite period on some unspecified charge.
Whatever you do, don't make the mistake of thinking
that all the goods and services produced in your country belong to everyone,
and the government's job is to distribute them fairly. It may sound like
a good idea, but it makes the government all-powerful, and then you're not
living in a free country. Freedom is a condition that exists under a
government of limited power. In a free country, the goods and services
produced belong to the individuals who produce them, and the government's
job is to protect private property from those who would take it by force
or by fraud.
When people can keep the fruits of their own labor,
they are free to study and invest and work and build, secure in the knowledge
that eventually they will reap the benefits of their efforts. That's how
freedom creates prosperity.
When everything belongs to everybody and the government
is the distributor, there is no incentive to study, invest, work or build.
That's how collectivism creates poverty.
Really, it's simple. Limit the power of government,
protect the individual's right to life, liberty and property, pick out a
national anthem, and join the free world.
Welcome. Give us a call if you need any help.
Best regards,
The American Tea Party
January 29, 2011
© Copyright 2011 by Susan
Shelley
|
----------------------
