If
anything can be learned from the recent John Roberts/Supreme Court
decision to uphold the ObamaCare mandate as constitutional, it is that
constitutionalists cannot rely on any branch of the federal government
to curb the steady rise of federal government power that has taken place
over the last hundred years.
This is not the way our constitutional system is supposed to work. The Founders were insightful students of human nature and understood that the drive to amass ever greater power was as fundamental an appetite in many human beings as thirst, hunger, and sex drive. This presented a problem for the Founders, who wanted to establish a society of "ordered liberty," a society where the citizen enjoyed the maximum freedom from government interference consistent with a stable and orderly community.
The primary political philosopher of the Constitution, James Madison, brilliantly sought to solve this problem by dispersing government power among many power centers. The state governments had their power (in those days more than the federal government), and so did the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the president. If any one of these power centers tried to unduly expand its power, the other power centers, jealous of their prerogatives, would be highly motivated to mobilize and thwart those ambitions. With the primordial power drive of each center checked by the others, the citizens could maintain their own freedom from the travails of overweening government power. As still another check on government power, the Founders created the Supreme Court, which had the duty of interpreting the Constitution and laws, which assumed the power of striking down any unconstitutional power grab from any branch of government.
This is not the way our constitutional system is supposed to work. The Founders were insightful students of human nature and understood that the drive to amass ever greater power was as fundamental an appetite in many human beings as thirst, hunger, and sex drive. This presented a problem for the Founders, who wanted to establish a society of "ordered liberty," a society where the citizen enjoyed the maximum freedom from government interference consistent with a stable and orderly community.
The primary political philosopher of the Constitution, James Madison, brilliantly sought to solve this problem by dispersing government power among many power centers. The state governments had their power (in those days more than the federal government), and so did the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the president. If any one of these power centers tried to unduly expand its power, the other power centers, jealous of their prerogatives, would be highly motivated to mobilize and thwart those ambitions. With the primordial power drive of each center checked by the others, the citizens could maintain their own freedom from the travails of overweening government power. As still another check on government power, the Founders created the Supreme Court, which had the duty of interpreting the Constitution and laws, which assumed the power of striking down any unconstitutional power grab from any branch of government.
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