Limited Aristocracy
Sam Aurelius Milam III
Most
people think of aristocracies as hereditary, like the ones in Europe or
China in recent centuries. However, heredity isn't the only way to
establish an aristocracy. It can also be done by legislation.
In general, any time that one group of people enjoys access to some special
privilege from which other people are forcibly excluded, an aristocracy,
at least a limited one, exists.
Example
— If some people are permitted by legislation to hunt game for food, and
enjoy the benefits associated with such behavior, and other people are
prohibited by legislation from hunting game for food, and punished for
doing so, then the privileged group is a limited aristocracy, defined by
legislation.
Example
— If some people are permitted by legislation to be lawyers, doctors, beauticians,
airline pilots (or whatever) and enjoy the benefits associated with such
behavior, and other people are prohibited by legislation from being lawyers,
doctors, beauticians, airline pilots (or whatever) and punished for doing
so, then the privileged group is a limited aristocracy, defined by legislation.
Example
— If some people are permitted by legislation to sell a product, and enjoy
the benefits associated with such behavior, and other people are prohibited
by legislation from selling the product, and punished for doing so, then
the privileged group is a limited aristocracy, defined by legislation.
In
each case, membership in the aristocracy is secured by means of a license,
issued by some agency which has jurisdiction over the privileged behavior
of the aristocrats. The license is the means by which some people
are permitted to engage in the privileged behavior, and are therefore members
of the aristocracy, and other people are denied the privileged behavior,
and are therefore excluded from the aristocracy. Such a license is,
in fact, a Title of Nobility in the constitutional sense. An aristocracy
may or may not be a good thing but, in the USA, a Title of Nobility is
unconstitutional.
Aristocracies
might arise in many ways, but licenses which create limited aristocracies
are usually "justified" by claims of necessity. Many activities are
considered to be potentially dangerous, and the licenses are alleged to
exclude unqualified people from those activities. However, the various
licenses required in the USA haven't enhanced safety. They have only
created agencies that convert rights into privileges, then sell the privileges
to some and deny them to others — a very effective means of controlling
people. Furthermore, such licenses aren't the right way to promote
safety. A certificate, testifying to a man's qualifications, without
constituting permission to engage in a privileged activity, and not prohibiting
others from participation in the same activity, is just as effective as
a license, and less repressive. It can serve as documentation of
qualifications without restricting anybody's behavior. The difference
isn't in the effectiveness of one kind of document over the other in verifying
qualifications. The difference is the mandatory restrictions inherent
in a license, but not inherent in a certificate. With a certificate,
entry into a job isn't controlled by government. People can apply
for whatever work they prefer. Their qualifications can be judged
by certification, by resumes, or by any other appropriate means.
It's
an evil bargain to sacrifice liberty for a promise of safety. Liberty
will certainly be lost in the transaction, probably without any increase
in safety. When licensing is the method, people will probably become
subservient to the licensing agency. I would rather be responsible
for protecting myself from (for example) drunk drivers than to be subjected
to the authority of (for example) a police force sufficiently strong, intrusive,
and pervasive to make the roads a safe place to drive.![10x5 Page Background GIF Image](../../Images/10x5_Page_Background.gif)
Frontiersman@ida.net |
Frontiersman,
479 E. 700 N., Firth, Idaho 83236
Also see The Pharos Connection at http://www.ida.net/users/pharos/ |
October 2000
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