government theory

Chapter 52 On the Dissolution of Government (1)
211．If we want to have a definite discussion of the disintegration of government, we must first distinguish between the disintegration of society and the disintegration of government.The agreement that each man makes with the others brings men out of their disorganized state of nature, into a political and social community, from which they act as a whole, and thus become a single state.The usual, and almost the only, way of breaking up such unions is the invasion of foreign powers which conquer them.In this case (since they cannot protect themselves or survive as an independent and complete whole), the whole they themselves constitute must end, and people return to their original state, free to move freely in other societies. To make a living, you can only think about your own safety.Once a society is disintegrated, of course the government of that society cannot continue to exist.In this way, the government that was supposed to protect the people from violence is overthrown, the multitude is conquered or disintegrated, and the force of the conqueror fundamentally breaks not only the government, but society as well.Without too much explanation, the world has already had a deep understanding and experience of this method of dismantling the government, but people cannot tolerate this method.Once society is dissolved, government ceases to exist, and this needs no further argument to prove—just as a storm blows away the materials of which a house is composed or is blown out of its place, or an earthquake makes a house There was a pile of rubble, and the skeleton of the house could no longer exist.

212．In addition to this external force that can overthrow the government, the government will also disintegrate from within:
First, when changing the legislature.The members of civil society are in a state of peace because of the existence of the legislature.When disputes arose between them, the legislature acted as an arbitrator to settle the matter for them, and thus the state of war was abolished.The members of a nation, therefore, can unite into one united organism only because of the existence of the legislature.The legislature gives form, life, and a unified soul to the nation, and its dispersed members interact, sympathize, and relate to each other.Therefore, when the legislature is destroyed or dissolved, the government is disintegrated and dies.For the elements and associations of society require a unified will, and when the majority establishes the legislature, this will finds expression, and the legislature, so to speak, becomes the custodian of this will.

The organic laws made by the legislature are the first and fundamental acts of society, and fix the periods for which they are united under the direction of those who are bound by laws authorized by the consent and appointment of the people some of them; and without this consent and delegation of the people, any one or several of them has no power to make laws and bind others.If any one person or many others make a law without the consent of the people, the law is void, and the people are under no obligation to obey; People accept some kind of binding force, and people are free to rebel.If those who are entrusted by society to express the public will are excluded, and the will of the people is not expressed, and their place is usurped by others who have no power or entrustment of the people, then everyone can do as he pleases.

213．This situation is usually the result of domestic abuse of power.This being the case, it is difficult to examine it properly, and to know who is responsible, without knowing what form of government the situation has taken place.We assume that legislative power belongs to three different persons at the same time:

First, a hereditary individual, often enjoying supreme executive power, possessing the power to summon and dismiss others for a certain period of time.

Second, a hereditary council of nobles.

Third, a conference composed of representatives chosen by the people for a certain period of time.If the form of government is this, it is obvious that:
214．First, the legislature expresses the will of the community, and if any individual or prince substitutes his arbitrary will for the laws of the legislature, this alters the legislature.For, since it is the legislature, its statutes and laws are enforced, and men are bound to obey them; and if the enacted statutes are not enacted by a legislature composed of society, it is evident that the legislature has been altered.Whoever enforces new laws, or overturns old laws, without the basic commission of society, denies and subverts the power to make them, and a new legislature is required.

215．In the second place, the legislature is altered, if the sovereign prevents it from meeting regularly, or exercising freely, for the purposes for which it was first organized.For what makes a legislature a legislature does not lie in the number of people who make it up and how many meetings it meets, but in the fact that they are free to debate and serve the welfare of society at their ease.If these are taken away or altered so that their rights cannot be properly exercised, then the legislature is altered.Governments are not constituted by their names, but by the powers which wield and exercise those names; so that whoever deprives the legislature of its liberty, or prevents it from exercising its powers, in effect he abolishes the legislature, and ends the government.

216．Thirdly, Another circumstance which changes the legislature is when the sovereign uses arbitrary power, without the consent of the people, and alters the electorate or the manner of elections, contrary to the common interest of the people.Because the legislature appointed by the people is to be elected by those authorized by the society. If it is not like this or the election is not carried out in the manner prescribed by the society, then the final election will not be the legislature of the people.

217．Fourthly, If either the prince or the legislature submits the people to a foreign power, this changes the legislature, and thus constitutes a dissolution of the government.For men join society for the purpose of maintaining a whole, free, and independent society, subject to their own laws, and that purpose is lost as soon as they are renounced to be governed by the laws of other nations.

218．Under such an organization, and on these occasions, it is evident that the dissolution of the government should be attributed to the sovereign's causes.Because he has the power, wealth, and institutions of the state at his disposal, and he is often so self-confident, that he is flattered, that he thinks himself free as a prince, he alone can carry out such reforms in a large way, and it is his legal authority.And he can intimidate or suppress opponents, viewing them as criminals of secession, insurrection, and enemies of the government.As to other parts or persons of the legislature, they cannot alter it, except by some noticeable and obvious mutiny, which, if successful, will have almost as much effect as an external one. like the conquerors.Moreover, the sovereign in that constitution possesses the power to dissolve the other parts of the legislature, and thereby remove them from the legislature, while they can never change the legislature by applying a law against the will of the sovereign, or without his consent, Because a decree must be approved by the monarch to take effect.But if the other parts of the legislature sponsored or encouraged the subversion of the government in any way, or if they failed to prevent it, they too were guilty, and their participation must have been the greatest sum in the history of men's crimes.

219．There is another way of dissolving such a government: the neglect of those who hold the supreme executive power, so that the laws made cannot be enforced.This obviously leaves everything in a state of anarchy, and in effect dissolves the government.Because the formulation of laws is not for itself, but for the purpose of enabling each part of the country to get its place and perform its due functions through the implementation of laws, thus becoming a social constraint.When these cease altogether, the government is like a boat that runs aground, and the people become a disorderly or disorderly mass.There is no government in a nation without justice to secure its people, and other powers to direct force, and to provide for the necessities of the public.If the law cannot be enforced, it is the same as if there is no law; and a government without laws, I think this is an unimaginable, politically inconceivable thing, and it is incompatible with human society.

220．On these or similar occasions, if the government is dissolved, the people are free to erect a new legislature, different in persons or form from the former, and they may do so in the best interest to their safety and security. Benefits depend on the grounds.For society has an inherent and original right of self-preservation, which can never be lost through the fault of another; Selflessly enforce the laws it makes.But the human condition is not so miserable that it can only be remedied by this remedy when the time has passed and no remedy can be sought.If the old legislature disappears because it is oppressed, plotted, or controlled by foreign powers, the people are told to plan for themselves and a new legislature can be established, which is the same as treating the sick when they are too terminally ill It is the same as saying that I hope that the medicine will cure the disease.In fact, it is the same as making the people slaves and then fighting for their freedom; not telling them to act like free men until they are in chains.If that's the case, it's not a relief, it's a fool.If men have no means of escape from tyranny when they are not entirely under it, they cannot be free from tyranny.So people not only have the right to be free from tyranny, but also have the right to prevent tyranny.

221．Therefore, in the first place, there is yet another avenue by which the government may be dissolved, and that is, when either the legislature or the prince acts contrary to the trust of the people.

Second, When legislatures seek to encroach upon the property of the people, and make themselves, or any part of the community, masters of the life, rights, or wealth of the people, or be disposed of at will, they betray their trust.

222．Men join society for the protection of their property; they choose a legislature and empower it because they hope to make laws and establish rules for the protection of the property of all members of the society, and for limiting the powers, and regulate the dominion between them.Let the idea that every man wants to acquire by taking part in the society be destroyed, and that by which the people subject themselves to the legislators they have chosen, we must not suppose that these are the ends for which the will of the society makes the legislature exist.So when the legislators contrive to take and destroy the property of the people, or degrade them into servitude under arbitrary power, the legislators put themselves and the people into a state of war, so that the people have no need to obey Its administration, but only to God, grants people a common refuge against violence.

When legislatures violate this fundamental rule of society, and, through ambition, fear, stupidity, or corruption, seek to give themselves or others an absolute power over the lives, rights, and estates of the people, they renege on the people's trust. , lost the power given by the people.The people possessed this power, and were able to restore their former liberty.For their safety and security, the people will establish such new legislatures as they see fit, and these are the objects for which they have entered into society.What I have said here in connection with the legislature is equally true of the supreme executor, for he has a double trust from the people, and is at the same time the supreme executor of the laws, so that if he acts with an arbitrary will In substituting the laws of society, he acts in violation of both trusts.If he uses the powerful wealth of society and government agencies to buy representatives to serve his purposes, or openly prequalifies the electorate to elect those whom he has threatened to promise or otherwise bought, and uses The voters let them elect a man who had promised beforehand what to vote and what laws to make, and he acted in violation of both of these commitments.

(End of this chapter)