Don't forget the Anti-Federalist Papers. http://www.constitution.org/afp/afp.htm
Ed$ --- In Libertarian@yahoogroups.com, Jon Roland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Those who are seriously interested in this question should read The > Federalist Papers, all of them, at > http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa00.htm . Madison, Hamilton, and > Jay do a good job of arguing for the position that the Articles of > Confederation were inadequate for their main purpose of protecting > against infringements of individual rights and liberties, and that the > balance between delegated powers and reserved rights needed to be struck > at a different point, with different structures and procedures to enable > a vigorous, vigilant, and educated public to keep government under > control, while using it for its legitimate purposes. They implicitly > recognized that in real life we don't get a choice between what we might > want and what we don't want, but among the alternatives that are > actually available, and that the Constitution represented that best > available alternative. > > Some anarchists have argued, illogically and disindigenously, that > limited government is impossible and that therefore the Constitution is > intrinsically flawed. They try to put the blame on the Constitution > instead of where it belongs, on the people whose duty is to enforce it > (including themselves). That is an attempt to evade responsibility for > one's own failures. Only fools proclaim that a Constitution or other law > will magically "protect" our rights without us having to make a huge > effort to do our parts. You can argue that human beings are so > hopelessly corrupt that they won't make a Constitution work, but that > ignores the historical facts that they often have made it work for > lengthy periods of time over extended territories. There is nothing to > prevent people today from doing what they successfully did in the > 1787-1824 timeframe, especially after 1800. They just have to make up > their minds to do it. Our job as libertarians is to lead them toward > doing that. > > -- Jon > > ------------------------------------------------------------------- > Constitution Society 2900 W Anderson Ln C-200-322, Austin, TX 78757 > 512/299-5001 www.constitution.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ------------------------------------------------------------------- >
