Ameritopia_ The Unmaking of America - Mark R. Levin [26]
• Liberty, which is praised by the Greeks and Romans, is liberty of the Sovereigns, not of private men (Subjects). For example, a commonwealth has the liberty to defend itself or invade other people, but the Subjects do not have the liberty to resist their own Sovereign. (139, 140)
• Subjects have limited liberty to disobey a Sovereign command. A subject is not bound to a Sovereign command to hurt himself, or to “kill, wound or maim himself, or not to resist those that assault him, or to abstain from the use of food, air, medicine or any other thing without which he cannot live.…” (142)
• Only in cases where the Sovereign has “prescribed no rule” may the Subject act or forbear at his own discretion. “And therefore such liberty is in some places more, and in some less, according as they that have the sovereignty shall think most convenient.” (143)
Public Ministers are appointed by the Sovereign to represent him in the Commonwealth and to the Subjects. These Public Ministers have either general administrative authority or special administrative authority. They also have the authority to teach or enable others to teach, including instructing people as to what is just or unjust. Public Ministers are also the judges appointed by the Sovereign. They execute judgments, publish the Sovereign’s commands, “suppress tumults,” apprehend and imprison “malefactors,” and generally act to preserve the peace. They also serve abroad to represent the Sovereign in all foreign matters. (155, 159)
“DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS”
• The Sovereign assigns each man a parcel of land the size of which is determined by the Sovereign. The Commonwealth is also assigned a portion. (162, 163)
• The Sovereign controls all foreign trade and its distribution. (163)
• The Sovereign decides all laws for transferring property, including borrowing, buying, selling, exchanging, lending, letting, etc. (163)
• Using collectors, receivers, and treasurers the Sovereign controls the collection of money from the public and the dispersing of payments to the public. (164)
Only the “Commonwealth” can make laws. Whether the Sovereign is a monarch or an assembly of men, they legislate and only they can legislate (173). The Sovereign is not subject to the civil law, including written and unwritten laws (174, 175). All laws, written and unwritten, need interpretation, and their interpretation depends on the Sovereign and those he appoints (180).
Subjects are to be taught not to envy any form of government they observe in neighboring nations, for the success of the Commonwealth comes from the Subjects obeying the Sovereign. Any attempt to reform the Commonwealth will destroy it. Subjects are not to follow charismatic leaders or to dispute (“speak evil”) of the Sovereign power (222, 223). Days are to be set apart for Subjects to attend assemblies to learn their duties to the Sovereign (223). Universities are to teach the youth and give instruction from the Sovereign (225, 226).
Those with strong bodies may not be idle; they are forced to work, with work provided by the Commonwealth. The poor but strong are sent to other countries not sufficiently inhabited to grow food in order to sustain themselves (228, 229).
For Hobbes, man in his natural state is out for himself. He must be prepared to fight, and in fact fight, to preserve himself and that which is his. And he has a right to all he claims, as does every other man. In such a natural state, there can be no justice or injustice. Therefore, man is in a constant state of war with man. In essence, Hobbes is describing anarchy.
Is anarchy, however, the true state of man in nature? Are there not occasions when man conducts himself honorably, morally, and civilly? Is man not also altruistic and compassionate? Do not most religions promote charity and selflessness? Moreover, even when acting in his