Canoeing

Lauren and Anne enjoying a leisurely paddle

Yesterday we went to Bastrop State Park with our new friends, Vaughn and Mary and their six lovely kids. We had a picnic and went canoeing.  After getting used to the canoes, there were races and games. The boys were stronger, but the older girls surprised us with their skill and control. We all enjoyed good conversation and a relaxing day outdoors.

The girls took the moms for a ride; such serious faces!

isms

“How do Socialism, Communism, Fascism, and Libertarianism (and any other "isms") fit into 5 forms you listed early in your post?”

Thanks for asking. I have neither read anything in relation to this nor thought about it before, but here's what I've come up with. I hope you don’t mind if I take a long detour in reply.

Capitalism, Socialism, Communism and Fascism are economic (as well as political) systems; Libertarianism and Authoritarianism (or Statism) are political philosophies. There are others, of course, but these are the relevant categories at this point in history.

Capitalism is based on the principle of individual rights and the belief that individuals working to benefit themselves and their families and engaging in trade will create the greatest benefit for all. It is characterized by private ownership of capital.

In a Socialist system a centralized government owns all capital and controls the economy by means of regulation and legislation.  In theory Socialism is a temporary intermediate stage in the progression toward the ultimate goal of communism.

Fascism is similar to socialism:

The main characteristic of socialism (and of communism) is public ownership of the means of production, and, therefore, the abolition of private property. The right to property is the right of use and disposal. Under fascism, men retain the semblance or pretense of private property, but the government holds total power over its use and disposal . . . .

Under fascism, citizens retain the responsibilities of owning property, without freedom to act and without any of the advantages of ownership. Under socialism, government officials acquire all the advantages of ownership, without any of the responsibilities, since they do not hold title to the property, but merely the right to use it—at least until the next purge. In either case, the government officials hold the economic, political and legal power of life or death over the citizens . . . .*

In a Communist system ownership and control of the economy is by the people as a collective and government is no longer necessary. A true Communist system has never existed. Nations have always fallen during the Socialism stage in every time and place that it has ever been implemented.

On the spectrum of political philosophy, all people believe in various levels of self-government. An extreme Libertarian believes that individuals should have complete moral and economic self-government while an extreme Authoritarian (Statist) believe that individuals should have no moral and economic self-government, but rather ought to be completely controlled by the State. Most of us are somewhere in the middle.

Now to answer your question. A pure Libertarian would prefer Anarchy. A Monarchy or an Oligarchy, because it needs to maintain power, will always be Statist. A Democracy seems at first to be Libertarian, but the majority will always vote to benefit themselves at the expense of the minority, therefore becoming Statist. The only form of Government in which Authoritarianism is restrained is a Republic. This is because everyone is obligated to follow the Law. The only way around this is to corrupt the people and/or the system in such a way that it no longer functions.

Economic systems are servants of political philosophy. The more Authoritarian the philosophy is, the more Socialist or Fascist the economic system will be. The more Libertarian the philosophy is, the more Capitalist the economic system will be. Very rarely is any philosophy or economic system pure. Usually it falls somewhere on a broad spectrum.

For decades the two major political parties have both stood on the Authoritarian end of the spectrum. One is simply moving faster toward Statism than the other. Click here to take a quick quiz to see where you stand.

2006 House rankings. The one at the top is Ron Paul, with Jeff Flake slightly lower and to the right. Red is Republican, blue is Democrat. Notice how nearly all fall toward the Authoritarian (Statist) side.

*the Fascist New Frontier, The Ayn Rand Column, 98

America's Form of Govt.

George Washington impersonator educating teens about America

What form of Government does America have?

What type of Government did our founding fathers establish?

If you answered Democracy to these questions, you answered with the vast majority of people. I believe the answer to the first question is Oligarchy and the second is Republic. Let me explain.

The misunderstanding arises, I believe, from the mistaken belief that the form of government describes the method in which a nation's leaders are chosen. It does not. It is rather a description of the ultimate source of authority a nation looks to for its government.

Government appears in 5 basic forms:
1. Anarchy: rule by none
2. Monarchy/Dictatorship: rule by one
3. Oligarchy: rule by committee/elite
4. Democracy: rule by majority
5. Republic: rule by law

Anarchy is rare and always short-lived. Chaos results in a vacuum, opening the door to any who are able to gain support or seize power, creating a Monarchy or Oligarchy. This is how Hitler was able to come to power in post World War I Germany.

A true Monarchy is also rare and short-lived. This is primarily because it is rather easy for another power-seeking individual to dispose of the monarch/dictator and replace him.

Oligarchy is the most common form of government. Most governments that appear to be Monarchies/Dictatorships are actually Oligarchies. This is why when the leader is deposed he is always replaced so quickly and easily. He is simply a "front man" for the Oligarchy.

Most often America is described as a Democracy. I hear this all the time by students, Presidents, media and others. I will let the founders themselves speak on this point.


"...democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they are violent in their deaths."--James Madison


"The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity."--Alexander Hamilton


“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”--John Adams


"The experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived."--John Quincy Adams

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship."--Alexander Tyler


Clearly, our founders did not intend to establish what they, in their own words, saw as a dangerous and reprehensible form of government.

The four forms of government that we have mentioned so far look to men as their source of authority. There is one remaining form that stands apart from the rest. A Republic.

“Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos.”--Chief Justice John Marshall

A Republic is rule by law. Lex Rex, Law is King. Under a Republic, all men are equally under the law, from the lowliest commoner to the most powerful politician. In America's case, this means the Constitution and it's preface, the Declaration of Independence.

Our country has been in a steady decline as we have turned away from God and away from the principles our nation was founded on. We need first to turn our hearts toward God. Then we need to educate ourselves on those principles given to us in his Word--principles our nation was founded on-- elect representatives who understand those principles, and teach those principles to our children.

When asked what type of government the people had been given, Benjamin Franklin answered, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

Can we?