How would life be different if local communities had real sovereignty? Would people be happier or not? Would there be less social unrest or more?
If people divided themselves into local communities along ethnic, religious, or cultural lines, would there be more violence and disorder? More to the point, does a melting pot democracy like America require a single one-size-fits-all culture? Some would say“yes” to both questions. For example, one writer said that of the acclaimed British political philosopher, John … Read more
What did the great minds of history have to say about local self-government? In an earlier post I showed that both Thomas Jefferson and Alexis De Tocqueville called for local self-government. That is, local citizens should have authority over their local public decisions without state or national interference. And many more people have expressed the … Read more
Citizens of a local community will always know what benefits them far better than politicians in a faraway city. And there are many more benefits of local control or self-government. For example, different communities have far different needs and desires, as well as different climates, resources, and philosophical and religious views. So, one-size-fits-all solutions don’t … Read more
Thomas Jefferson believed that local community self-government was essential for freedom. Jefferson’s archenemy, Alexander Hamilton, and others wanted to concentrate all American power at the national level. And this made states and local communities as well as individual citizens dependent on a tyrannical national government. Consequently, it greatly troubled Jefferson: Were not this great country … Read more
