Judicial Tyranny
is the genius of American “democracy”. As designed, the Constitution gives practically all power to the Judicial Branch. Since the Judiciary has the Power of Interpretation, the Constitution’s Legitimacy backs whatever they say. As I have pointed out before, if they interpret “The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office,” to imply that they are owed sexual Favors from interns, who is to say it means otherwise?
And this is the way it should be. Good Government is a complicated affair (apparently), not easily understood by the majority of people. That or, more likely, as I have hypothesized before, people are stupid. Now, some of my readers may be thinking that I have this all backwards: the Legislature orders around the Executive, and the Judiciary exists just too make sure the Executive does what the Legislature tells it too. That is the genius of the design.
I will make and analogy, and compare the government to a television. The Legislature is like a bunch of people on the couch telling the Executive how to adjust the color Settings, Volume, and Channel Number. The Judiciary is a TV repairman/cable guy. While he is fixing the cable box, he lets the technically deficient crowd occupy themselves by arguing over what channel to watch. That way, since they feel potent by being able to change channels, so they are distracted enough that they don’t disturb the Judiciary while he installs the Fox Blocker. In this way, the Judiciary really has total control. He could, in theory, make it so the TV only plays on one channel at a certain volume, but that would defeat the primary purpose of the Elected Branches of government: providing the people a toy to distract them while the Judiciary does the real work.
Do I mean to say the best government is produced from a tyranny? Almost. The weakness of hierarchy is that it does not punish complacency, allowing corruption and inefficiency to spread (observe the problems of a standing army). A democratic means of succession prevents corruption and inefficiency from spreading (one corrupt [nepotistic] administrator appoints further corrupt administrators, etcetera) through the system.
Without democratic input to the succession process, corruption takes over the system causing stagnation. However, direct election is inferior to appointment by elected officials. Elected officials have to pick someone who will act as an advertisement for the quality of their party. If the elected officials appoint Judges who do not advertise for their party well, they could be forced out of power for half a century or longer. Since there is only a limited amount of litmus testing that can be done before an appointment, technical proficiency and integrity become more important qualifiers then raw ability to marshal power.
Even if Our Judicial despots are less then benevolent, their Power is severely limited. They are not actually in control of the apparatus of government, the Executive is. If the Judiciary does not practice care in the execution of their despotic Duties, the Legitimacy of the Constitution suffers. In a state of moderate Chaos, the Executive assumes greater Authority due to the weakening of the Legitimacy of the Law which is the result of inept Judicial Tyranny. (If the Executive then squanders its own remaining authority, the ensuing chaos would be ruled by the people themselves, who are supposedly represented in the Legislature.)
And this is the way it should be. Good Government is a complicated affair (apparently), not easily understood by the majority of people. That or, more likely, as I have hypothesized before, people are stupid. Now, some of my readers may be thinking that I have this all backwards: the Legislature orders around the Executive, and the Judiciary exists just too make sure the Executive does what the Legislature tells it too. That is the genius of the design.
I will make and analogy, and compare the government to a television. The Legislature is like a bunch of people on the couch telling the Executive how to adjust the color Settings, Volume, and Channel Number. The Judiciary is a TV repairman/cable guy. While he is fixing the cable box, he lets the technically deficient crowd occupy themselves by arguing over what channel to watch. That way, since they feel potent by being able to change channels, so they are distracted enough that they don’t disturb the Judiciary while he installs the Fox Blocker. In this way, the Judiciary really has total control. He could, in theory, make it so the TV only plays on one channel at a certain volume, but that would defeat the primary purpose of the Elected Branches of government: providing the people a toy to distract them while the Judiciary does the real work.
Do I mean to say the best government is produced from a tyranny? Almost. The weakness of hierarchy is that it does not punish complacency, allowing corruption and inefficiency to spread (observe the problems of a standing army). A democratic means of succession prevents corruption and inefficiency from spreading (one corrupt [nepotistic] administrator appoints further corrupt administrators, etcetera) through the system.
Without democratic input to the succession process, corruption takes over the system causing stagnation. However, direct election is inferior to appointment by elected officials. Elected officials have to pick someone who will act as an advertisement for the quality of their party. If the elected officials appoint Judges who do not advertise for their party well, they could be forced out of power for half a century or longer. Since there is only a limited amount of litmus testing that can be done before an appointment, technical proficiency and integrity become more important qualifiers then raw ability to marshal power.
Even if Our Judicial despots are less then benevolent, their Power is severely limited. They are not actually in control of the apparatus of government, the Executive is. If the Judiciary does not practice care in the execution of their despotic Duties, the Legitimacy of the Constitution suffers. In a state of moderate Chaos, the Executive assumes greater Authority due to the weakening of the Legitimacy of the Law which is the result of inept Judicial Tyranny. (If the Executive then squanders its own remaining authority, the ensuing chaos would be ruled by the people themselves, who are supposedly represented in the Legislature.)
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home