A fast-growing government of the United States launched a bureaucratic mechanism empowered with unlawful methods of controlling and administering the state.
The unlimited power granted to the government deprives citizens of the right of ownership and allows them to ignore the rules and premises established by the Constitution. Therefore, one can definitely state that the rise of the administrative state is a real threat to the rights of the mere population stipulated by American Law. In addition, the increased size of the government provides fewer opportunities for civil people to participate in administering the country. The American Founding Fathers expressed their negative attitude to the unlimited government imposing considerable restrictions on the rights and liberties of citizens.
With the advent of unlimited power, the government was more in the habit of using the law for their individual purposes and neglecting the rule of law. It subjected the law to their personal needs through the establishment of legal restrictions. In this respect, the law was not perceived as a means of advocating human rights irrespective of social status and position, but as an effective tool of controlling and benefiting at the expense of other people (Bastiat, p. 220). Slavery and tariffs were two main issues that could be referred to as two legally accepted ones that did not secure and sustain any liberties and, therefore, could be regarded merely as a legal crime.
The rise of the industrial age created the illusion of respecting and observing the rule of law. Instead, the key concepts of the American constitutions were considerably distorted by the American Progressive movement in the first half of the past century. A considerable distinction made by the new government was illustrated on the example of the Public Utility Holding Act accepted in 1935 (Pestritto, p. 204). This did not conform to any standards established by the law but to the concepts founded by the Securities and Exchange Commission (Pestritto, p. 203). It did not also contradict the law and the Constitution itself. However, the problem is that the established standards neglected the natural or positivist laws advocating human rights and freedoms (Locke, p.272).
Apparently, the main purpose of the government should consist in providing favorable conditions for a community. In case it is incapable to accomplish this, it must be limited since a good but limited power can be accepted if it serves the community’s interests (Messmore, p. 235). In addition, as the law primarily derives from moral concerns and judgments, the government subjected to the rule of law should also consider the presence of moral order and express its social meaning with reference to justice. Correspondently, the bigger government is the more needs it has, which seldom correlate with the needs of society. Indeed, the growth of the administrative government does not contribute to securing natural laws. The exaggerated role of power in the formation of the rules of law with no regard to the needs of the population posits a negative correlation between the government and individual freedom. To crawl it all, the excessive power of the government imposes some sort of tyranny and despotism on the democratic system (De Tocqueville, p. 290).
In conclusion, the more federal government contributes to the denial of individual freedoms, the more powers it gains. The reluctance to observe democratic principles of separating powers provides negative consequences for the welfare of the community. However, the limitation of powers does not fully guarantee the rights and liberties to physical entities. Neither does it provide clear and distinct responsibility that should be taken by the citizens.
Works Cited
- Bastiat, Frederick. How to Identify Legal Plunder. Kirkpatrick Signature Series Reader. Nebraska: Bellevue University Press, 2008.
- De Tocqueville, Alexandre. What Sort of Despotism Democratic Nations Have to Fear. Selections from Democracy in America. US: Wildside Press LLC, 2008.
- Locke, John. The Second Treatise on Government. Kirkpatrick Signature Series Reader. Nebraska: Bellevue University Press, 2008.
- Pestritto, Ronald. The Birth of the Administrative State. Kirkpatrick Signature Series Reader. Nebraska: Bellevue University Press, 2008.