Free Liberal

Coordinating towards higher values

Land of the Free or Evil Empire?

by Carl Milsted, Jr.

Once upon a time Rome was a republic, something of a model of good government for the time. But over time it degenerated into becoming an oppressive empire.

Could the same thing be happening to the United States? Mother Jones proves it has already happened. One in four of the world's prison inmates are in jail in this country! This is hideous! For those who value liberty this is a much bigger issue than tax rates, eminent domain, monetary policy etc.


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Comments

Another reason Huckabee would have been a good President. He would have released quite a few druggies.

# posted at by Xianleftist_Michael [TypeKey Profile Page]

When the American Founding Fathers were in the process of writing the US Constitution they carefully studied the fate of Republics.
That's why the USA has got improved checks and balances.

Republics risk the rise of an oligarchic cloud that gradually takes over. It happened in Rome, it happened in the North Italian City state republics (Venice, Genua, Florence). It happened after slightly more than two centuries in the Dutch Republic.

The only Republic of considerable wealth and population that has been able to avoid the creation of an aristocratic oligarchy and last more than roughly 240 years is the Swiss Republic.

All other Republics either devolved into it, or moved on to aristocratic monarchies or some authoritarian ruling class that after a century or so also became an aristocracy of its own.

Harsh truth, Republics do not have much staying power. Even with the very well designed checks and balances in the US Constitution, it seems that they hardly last longer than two centuries.

# posted at by Fred Peters