I've been trying for years to put that glorious, succinct argument into modern English. (I tried one early version on the folks on this board; it was both amusing and depressing to see how many thought the whole thing was too radical and libertarian, not realizing where the argument came from!)
:banghead:
Here's the latest version:
We believe that certain truths are so obvious that they do not require an elaborate proof, and so obvious that it is ridiculous to attempt one. Among these truths is the obvious fact that all human beings are equally responsible for themselves, for their own consciences, behaviors, and actions. All human beings have some basic rights, just because they are human beings. Those basic rights include a right to live their own lives, to do whatever they wish as long as it doesn't interfere with the basic rights of others, and to make their own decisions about what will give them the happiest life.
The reason people agree to submit themselves to a government is to protect these basic and fundamental human rights. That's how governments are made.
Thus, a government does not get its power from force. The government is there not simply because it is able to force people to obey it, and not from any moral obligation of its citizens towards it. A government gets its power from the free, voluntary, and willing consent of ordinary people. The power of government comes from people who agree to be bound by it.
Because the government gets its power from willing agreement, and because the purpose of that agreement is to protect basic human rights, it follows that whenever a government no longer protects those rights, citizens then have the right to either change that government or to destroy it. This is because they are the ones who agreed to make the government in the first place, and because the government is no longer doing what the people agreed the government would do.
More than that, if the government either does not or cannot protect basic human rights, the only moral course that a human being can take is to participate in changing or abolishing the existing government. People don't just have a right to change the government or get rid of it; they have a responsibility to do so.
When people change governments, or build a new government, they have the right to change to whatever form of government seems to them most likely to protect their basic rights, so the people can be both safe and happy under the new government.
But it isn't a good idea to change governments, or to get rid of the old government, unless the situation is very serious and long-lasting. You can tell, from looking at history, that most people aren't willing to do that anyway. They prefer to put up with all sorts of nonsense from the familiar old government, at least as long as they are able to cope with it, and only change governments when things have become really bad.
pax
You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. -- Charles Austin Beard
