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correctly refuted this claim by stating that it was not only despite these government institutions and interventions that the American economy progressed, but that these interventions hindered progress by creating four stock market crashes, and several other boom-and-bust cycles. It is a shame that it is Buchanan’s, and not DiLorenzo’s, views that are accepted in the mainstream today. Sadly it seems that in the long run, the American Revolution did not change Americans’ loyalty to the throne of England; it only replaced the throne of England with the federal government of the United States of America.

That Is Absurd to Me Because I Have Lost My Common Sense

Paine then addressed the next argument, which was that Britain’s army and navy provided necessary protection to the American colonies. But the protection of the American colonies was for Britain’s own financial gain and nothing more. In addition, Paine pointed out that since the colonies were dependent on British rule, they were seen as allies with Britain, and thus forced to be enemies with Britain’s enemies. However, if they were independent, then they would no longer be enemies with nations such as France and Spain, with which they had no quarrel.

Why Doesn’t the Earth Revolve Around the Moon?

Paine then explained that if the colonies were to reconcile with the British government, the abuses of the present condition would only repeat themselves, which would make it impossible to return to a state of tranquility. Paine called it absurd to believe that Britain possessed adequate ability to govern such a large and intricate land, and we can see this when he wrote,

Small islands not capable of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island. In no instance hath nature made the satellite larger than its primary planet, and as England and America, with respect to each other, reverse the common order of nature, it is evident they belong to different systems: England to Europe, America to itself.

This size and population disparity is the crux of Paine’s just form of government. The old system had a crown in the nation’s capital that ruled over all the subjects of the land. You can imagine a pyramid of power with the king being on top, then the nobles and military right below him, with the common folk, accounting for most of the population, all the way at the bottom. How could one man be expected to create all the laws that were designed to govern the lives of so many people?

Pyramids Are Naturally Upside Down

Paine attempted to flip this pyramid right on its head. The common folk, or every individual, would make up the laws that were to govern their own lives and property. They would then elect representatives who would create laws, in accordance with the laws of nature (natural rights), which governed social interactions between individuals with the only goal of preserving the individual’s rights. These representatives would elect a leader of the colony who would enforce the laws, once again in accordance with the Natural Law, regarding inter-colonial matters.

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Surely a system with a localization of power, where every individual is in charge of dictating his behavior, based on what is in his rational self-interest makes a lot more sense than having some Congress with a few more than 500 members create the laws for approximately 310 million Americans. Happiness, peace, and liberty clearly cannot be achieved when one institution is making laws for an entire population, especially when the population it is making laws for is 620,000 times larger than the population of the people making the laws. We have seen in America what happens when 500 people are in charge of making the laws of the land; it is those 500 people whose best interest those laws are designed for. It is certainly not your best interest they are legislating for, but their own. Corruption, cronyism, favoritism, corporatism, and despotism are the likely results