IM-1776: The Making of a Constitutional Crisis
The struggle is for power
“In the modern administrative state, the power of government is unlimited, and the rights of citizens, and the rule of law, itself rests on a precarious ground. For if the government alone creates and confers rights, the constitution can no longer limit the power of government, nor can it protect the civil and religious liberty of its citizens.” —John Marini
We are years into a cold civil war, and the border standoff between the White House and the State of Texas underscores the core of that conflict. What is commonly referred to as the “culture war” is really just the latest iteration in a struggle between a young administrative regime and the remnants of an older, freer America that respects constitutionalism over administrative authority. At the heart of this struggle is a question of sovereignty: who or what is the source of power and authority? Are We the People sovereign, as our founding documents insist? If so, this administrative regime is a creation of and servant to the People, and Jefferson’s words still ring true that government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. Preserving the sovereignty of the People (of the States) was the explicit purpose of the US Constitution, whose authority theoretically subordinates all state institutions.
But if we are honest with ourselves, this all sounds like ancient mythology in the year 2024. Constitution and government appear to us as one and the same, and Washington’s power and authority seem to be unlimited. Does popular consent truly undergird such a system? Can unlimited power be separated? Are We the People sovereign?
I try to tackle this problem in a recent essay for IM-1776, “The Making of a Constitutional Crisis.”
In the piece, I agree with John Marini that administrative government and American constitutionalism are at odds and have been for nearly a century. Sometime in the 1930s our nation’s moral foundation was upended, the state claimed unlimited power and authority, and the sovereignty of the American people was undermined. By all means it was a revolution, but despite its unlimited power and authority, the revolution’s legitimacy was never secure. Indeed, if the story of the 20th century is how the American people were slowly divorced from the political, their ancient rights and privileges outsourced to an administrative authority, the story of the 21st century just might be how the American people seized upon the illegality of that revolution and brought the entire machine to a grinding halt… well, that’s my hope anyway.
As I say in the piece, this is but one chapter, maybe the last, in an ongoing constitutional crisis. It is a struggle between authority and legitimacy, with our nation’s most fundamental principles at stake and the sovereignty of the American people hanging delicately in the balance. Whichever side wins will decide the fate of self-determination for this country and possibly for the rest of the West.
An excerpt:
It can be difficult to comprehend this ongoing constitutional crisis, let alone trace its origins. Much of what we think we know about constitutional government and its underlying principles has been distorted, making the past largely inaccessible to us. But we can still detect the symptoms of the crisis. The disintegration of citizenship, elected officials’ shameless disregard for their constituents, the sectarian character of our federal bureaucracy, and widespread disorder in the shadow of unprecedented state control all point to a deeper disease. Most Americans cannot articulate in constitutional terms the source of such problems, and very few would blame the US Constitution itself. But their disillusionment and feelings of powerlessness are real, and not the result of a collective moral failing, as many professional observers insist.
Whether they can explain it or not, ordinary Americans sense that their way of life is slipping away, that a strange new civil religion has replaced the one they were born into, that their consent no longer undergirds the political system, and that the Constitution has been rendered toothless by a nameless, faceless, and, ultimately, incomprehensible power in Washington. There was no debate, no vote, and no notice given — they were never asked. Even as millions of foreigners enter the country illegally, overwhelming public services and subsisting entirely on the taxpayer dime, citizens who object have no recourse until November, when they can cast a single vote in an intensely managed nationwide election.
I hope you enjoy this essay, and if you have any questions or additional comments, I would love to hear them.
Don’t forget to follow IM-1776 for more great content, and if this subject interests you, I strongly recommend reading John Marini’s book, Unmasking the Administrative State: The Crisis of American Politics in the Twenty-First Century.
Thanks again for all the support.
Always,
Lee