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By Root 963 0

menagerie creates a considerable burden for the moose. Besides the weight he must carry, though, things are much worse: the eleven conspire to rob him of his liberty entirely. They claim that he, Thidwick, has no right to move to the south of the lake because that would entail moving “their” home against their wishes. At this point, Thidwick is functionally a slave: he is not permitted to use his own body for his own purposes but is obliged to use it to serve others. Again, it is just as wrong by a Lockean view for Thidwick to enslave himself as for him to be enslaved by others. Even though they are not physically coercing him, they are making a claim to the effect that he has no right to liberty, which he erroneously acquiesces in. Note, however, that his enslavement is the product not only of the other creatures’ sense of entitlement but also to Thidwick’s continuing to base his decisions on the premise that “a host must be nice to his guests” (Thidwick). This is a perfectly good principle as far as it goes; the mistake lies in thinking, one, that the eleven are his guests, and two, that being nice to them entails giving up his very bodily integrity.

One Vote, Two Votes, I Vote, You Vote

It does occur to Thidwick, at this point, to note the unfairness of his not being able to move to the south shore. The Bingle Bug’s response is to put the matter to a vote, which Thidwick loses eleven to one. The Bingle Bug defines fairness in terms of the outcome of voting, but this begs the question. If Thidwick’s fundamental right to self-ownership and liberty is subject to the majoritarian voting of others, then he doesn’t actually have a fundamental right of self-ownership or claim to liberty at all. A voting procedure can represent fairness in certain circumstances; for example, when all parties are on an equal footing and have agreed to subject a particular decision to a vote (think of a group of friends selecting a restaurant or a town council voting on a date for a festival). But if a voting process can override fundamental liberty rights, as it does in Thidwick’s case, then the premise of equality that democratic processes presuppose is undermined. This is incoherent.

To highlight the idea that democratic voting procedures cannot be understood as trumping fundamental liberty rights, Robert Nozick’s thought experiment “The Tale of the Slave” is instructive.2 Nozick describes a series of transitions whereby a slave gradually finds his master allowing democratic voting about how the fruits of the slave’s labor are to be distributed and how the slave’s free time may be spent. Even in the best-case scenario, the slave never actually enjoys real liberty and fails to have Lockean self-ownership. Nozick’s point is that just because you use democratic voting procedures, it doesn’t guarantee that you are protecting fundamental liberties, or indeed the moral equality on which a democracy is predicated. This is presumably the same rationale for the various antidemocratic features of the U.S. Constitution. Take, for example, the protections afforded by the First Amendment: rights to speak and publish freely are protected even if it thwarts the will of a majority. The founders had a clear conception of natural rights to basic liberties as being conceptually prior to and more fundamental than the administrative structures of the government designed to protect those rights and liberties.

After outvoting Thidwick, forcing him to remain on the north shore despite the dwindling supply of Moose-Moss, the eleven take steps to make sure they can continue to dominate Thidwick. They invite more creatures to take up residence on Thidwick’s horns: a fox, a bear, three mice, an indeterminate number of fleas, and 362 bees. With over 379 votes, the menagerie will be sure to dominate Thidwick in perpetuity. As long as democratic voting overrides fundamental liberty rights, Thidwick’s autonomy can never be restored, as he will always be outvoted by the parasitic creatures. This is a central insight of the “public choice” school of economic thought. James