David, Craig's comments were philosophical, mine on the practical
nature of property. But nevertheless:
"If US political traditions consider individuals as sovereigns, what
do they consider them sovereign over? If you say 'his body' then who
is the government to say 'you shall not use your body to assault
another man'?"
The core idea of government is that it exists pretty mush solely to
prevent you from assaulting others Several Property. The "government
premise" is that rational coexisting men agree (only) to let the
government stop one from intruding on anothers Several Property.
I direct you to the essay Man's Rights by Ayn Rand, as it is
pointless retyping it.
{"On a man's land a man may not murder or defraud his neighbour" ..
in Texas you may shoot and kill anyone on your land. In some
counties, only after dark!}
"The idea that individuals are sovereigns is a fringe theory ..."
That just makes no sense David.
Essentially the entirety, "every," major political-philosophical
writer from the American Revolution until now has focussed on that
question.
There's a Large Bookcase of everyday major political-philosohpical
figures, just in this room, on the issue!
The central basic idea of the constitution is that man -- per se --
has certain rights. ie, not merely rights granted by some king.
{If you're point is that the average man on the street wouldn't even
know what the terms mean one way or the other, whatever. The average
man on the street couldn't state which continent Delhi's on :) }
Nevertheless:
>Individuals as sovereigns is a form of anarchism...
You are perfectly reasonable if you desire to retain the word
"sovereign" for a hard anarchic ("armadillo" as Vernor Vinge says)
lifestyle.
Oh, f--- it, it's so perfect, I'll type it out:
"All previous systems had regarded man as a sacrificial means to
the ends of others, and society as an end in itself. The United
States regarded man as an end in himself, and society as a means to
the peaceful, orderly, _voluntary_ co-existence of individuals. All
previous systems had held that man's life belongs to society, that
society can dispose of him in any way it pleases, and that any
freedom he enjoys is his only by favor, by the _permission_ of
society, which may be revoked at any time. The United States held
that man's life is his by _right_ (which means: by moral principle
and by his nature), that a right is the property of an individual,
that society has no such rights, and that the only moral purpose of a
government is the protection of individual rights."
And that's why without e-gold, we're all stuffed.
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