Freedom isn’t free, and it certainly has not been furthered by America’s interventionist forays all over the world. From Ryan McMaken at mises.org:
In his article on conscription today, Ron Paul writes:
Some proponents of a military draft justify it as “payback” for the freedom the government provides its citizens. Those who make this argument are embracing the collectivist premise that since our rights come from government, the government can take away those rights whether it suits their purposes. Thus supporters of the draft are turning their backs on the Declaration of Independence.
In his use of the Declaration of Independence, Paul is likely referring specifically to Jefferson’s core argument found in the second paragraph:
[…Persons] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it. [Emphasis added.]
These lines are so often blithely and casually quoted that they’ve become cliché. Nevertheless, a mindful reading of the text shows there is a specific logical argument here:
1. Humans have rights, including life and liberty. (The list provided by Jefferson is explicitly stated to not be an exhaustive list of rights.)
2. The rights do not come from governments, but from some other source that precedes governments and are separate from them.
3. Governments exist for a specific purpose: to secure rights.
4. The governments are instituted by the governed, and the legitimacy of the government depends on the consent of the governed.
4. If the government fails to secure rights, the governed are entitled to abolish or alter the government.
Although the text of the Declaration likely strikes many Americans as rather prosaic, it represents a historically radical strain of thought within the liberal tradition that significantly limits the prerogatives of states.
Civil Government Has a Very Specific Purpose
Predating Jefferson by centuries, the liberal ideas behind the Declaration go back even to medieval Thomist thought which regarded civil government as an institution designed to accomplish very specific ends. Thus, the state was limited in its authority to those specific activities necessary to achieve the ends.
Later, British liberals like John Locke limited civil governments to the realm of protecting “life, liberty, and property.”
In practice, therefore, institutions for policing and security (i.e., military and law enforcement institutions) exist for a single purpose: to secure property rights. If these institutions fail at their jobs, or if the governed withdraw their consent for any reason, military and law enforcement institutions cease to be legitimate.
To continue reading: Freedom Isn’t Free: It Costs the Taxpayers $700 Billion Per Year
