Salter: The principles of ’76: libertarianism and the Declaration of Independence – LubbockOnline.com

ALEXANDER SALTER| Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Libertarianism is a rational reconstruction of Americas founding principles. In other words, its as American as apple pie. You dont need to take my word for it. The Declaration of Independence proclaims the importance of liberty in virtually every sentence.

Remember, the United States was born in an uprising against tyranny. This basic fact reveals why libertarianism matters for contemporary American politics. Regardless of the questionable prudence of securing liberty through rebellion a strategy that has a rather unimpressive track record the American colonists-turned-citizens won their freedom, including the right to govern themselves. Both freedom from any government, as well as the right to choose our government, are important components of liberty, and hence libertarianism.

We all know the Declarations most famous passage: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This is a beautiful and concise statement of the essence of libertarian philosophy. All human beings have rights upon which no agent, public or private, may trespass. Our rights are not handed down to us by the government. We possess them in virtue of our humanity and the inherent dignity that comes with it.

Furthermore, to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. We take this idea for granted today. But it was quite radical in 1776! In declaring to the world their reasons for seeking independence, Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers asserted the state exists to serve man, not man to serve the state. The Founders believed in virtue and piety. They would never reject their civic duty or moral obligation to serve their fellow men. Instead, they asserted a limited scope for government in securing human flourishing. As Jefferson wrote elsewhere, defenders of liberty deny anybody is born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God.

Governments everywhere too easily become oppressive. Power tends towardconcentration, and the state is the ultimate form of coercive power. When the government oversteps its bounds, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Obviously, this is an extreme remedy. Losing an election, or even several elections, isnt a good enough reason to grab your musket. Nevertheless, a core tenet of libertarianism is citizens right to discipline the state when it tramples human dignity.

These three principles animate libertarianism. Libertarians passionately believe in mans natural rights, foremost among them the right to be free from force and fraud. Libertarians assert an instrumental function for government: Its to be judged according to its defense of natural rights. And libertarians hold government officials are agents of the citizenry, nothing more. Hence if politicians and bureaucrats get too big for their britches, its good and just to send them packing. Libertarianism is nothing more than a consistent witness to, and defense of, the Principles of 76.

Libertarians ideological foes often claim they believe in these principles. Conservatives (the right) and progressives (the left) each see themselves as the inheritors of the American tradition. But in crucial ways, both violate natural rights by using government coercion to advance their own goals. Conservatives are far too quick to overlook rights violations committed by domestic law enforcement and the military. Progressives ignore the ways their reckless taxing, spending, and regulatory plans violate property rights. Even more concerningly, both deny the right to speak and gather freely when they disagree with the speakers and gatherers purposes.

For libertarians, all rights violations are unacceptable. If we only defend peoples rights when we like what theyre doing, then we dont really believe in universal human dignity. Instead, we believe in a transitory and conditional dignity, which exists only if other people like what we like and do what we do. Nothing could be more inimical to freedom. Nothing could be more un-American. The Founders rightly rejected this servile philosophy. Libertarians honor them by continuing their work.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction, warned President Reagan. This is why we need libertarianism. Citizens must never rest on their laurels. Freedom wasnt achieved once and for all in 1776. Liberty must be fought for, protected, and passed on to our posterity. Thankfully, we dont need an armed uprising or a divisive, us-versus-them mentality to keep our freedoms. For all its faults, the American political system is responsive to the demands of its citizens. Liberty is a fire that has lit the minds and hearts of men for hundreds of years. Libertarians are proud to tend that flame, in the hope that equal liberty for all may one day be ours.

Alexander William Salter is the Georgie G. Snyder Associate Professor of Economics in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University and the Comparative Economics Research Fellow at TTUs Free Market Institute.

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Salter: The principles of '76: libertarianism and the Declaration of Independence - LubbockOnline.com