Roger,

Thanks for posting this, in general it seems a decent list, and I agree with most of it, but it seems to me that Dr. Skousen misses (or skirts) the fundamental principles from which his ideas derive. I believe that the basic principles can be summed up with these two principles:

1. Agency
   


2. Accountability
   

All mankind is created equal in the sight of God and should be treated equal under the law. Mankind are endowed with unalienable rights, principally, the right and responsibility to be an independent agent and to be held accountable for their actions. Men have no right to interfere, in any way, with the agency of another accountable person except by persuasion. Men have the right and responsibility to defend their agency.

Agency cannot exist without accountability; and accountability cannot exist without agency. There must be consequences for our good or bad use of agency, and with a singular exception, those consequences cannot morally be shifted to others.

When men form governments they grant to that government some of the powers of agency that they possess in order to facilitate cooperation, however, no man or group of men have the right to grant to government powers of agency that they do not individually possess. A government of, by and for the people cannot possibly possess more agency than does the individual from which that agency is derived. I.e. you as an individual cannot confer upon anyone, or upon the government authority which you do not possess. To do so is is to make the creation greater than the creator and the servant greater than the master--it is tyranny. http://www.zionsbest.com/proper_role.html

If even God refused to force his children to do the right things, what moral principle can justify a man or a government in doing so? The answer of course is that there is no moral principle that can.

As a direct answer to Roger's post, I'm pretty sure that Dr. Skousen elaborated upon these statements, but in and of themselves, I find them insufficient to be useful. My comments are in-line.

1. The only basis for sound government is Natural Law.

There is a great deal of debate and confusion about what is meant by Natural Law so this point must be clarified if it is to mean anything.



2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong



3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous people is to elect virtuous leaders.

This is something of a chicken/egg argument.



4. Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.

He's omitting one crucial word here: It should read "Without true religion..." False religion leads to tyranny just as readily as atheism or humanism.



5. All things were created by God, therefore upon him all mankind are equally dependent, and to him they are equally responsible.



6. All mankind are created equal.



7. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.



8. Mankind are endowed by God with certain unalienable rights.



9. To protect human rights, God has revealed a code of divine law.



10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.

I'm not even sure what this means. Surely he's not suggesting that unanimous consent is required?



11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.



12. The United States of America shall be a republic.

This one strikes me a kind of weird, it's not a principle, it's a statement. A republic may be a good form of government (I believe it is) but it's not inconceivable that a different form of government COULD preserve correct principles.



13. A Constitution should protect the people from the frailties of their rulers.



14. Life and liberty are secure only so long as the rights of property are secure.

This one is, in my mind, the great key. The most fundamental form of property is the individual himself. If one is not free to control and benefit from his own labors, then you are not free in any real sense of the word.



15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and a minimum of government regulations.



16. The government should be separated into three branches.

Once again, this is a particular mechanism chosen but is not necessarily the only one that could be profitably utilized.



17. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power by the different branches of government.



18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written Constitution.

Certainly this is one of the reasons that the U.S. has been slower in adopting socialism than most other countries, but it's certainly no guarantee, just look around you now...



19. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained by the people.

Yes, but which powers? And why? Without a solid grounding on the principles I outlined above, the delegated powers become merely a matter of preference.



20. Efficiency and dispatch require that the government operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.

Not the minority, but the INDIVIDUAL, rights are meaningless if they depend on group membership.



21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.

This is one of the reasons behind a republican form of government, but just because a government is local doesn't mean it's moral.



22. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.

Exactly what is meant by "the rule of law" is again a subject of great debate, and without a solid foundation of correct principles, it's pretty meaningless.



23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.

Once again, I'm not sure what he means. By general education does he mean taxpayer funded education? If so, that violates the fundamental principles. If he's just making the point that an educated public is vital to a republic, I agree.



24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.

This, of course, is one of the cardinal legitimate purposes of government. "Peace through superior firepower!"



25. "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations -- entangling alliances with none."



26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.

This one is another statement that gives me some trouble, at least the second part of it. How can a government foster and protect the integrity of the family? I can think of lots of things the government can do to undermine the family, but I'm at a loss to think of anything it can actively DO to foster it.



27. The burden of debt is as destructive to human freedom as subjugation by conquest.

Hence the Tea Parties... Our politicians are selling us and our children into slavery.



28. The United States has a manifest destiny to eventually become a glorious example of God's law under a restored Constitution that will inspire the entire human race.

I'm not so sure about this one either. The U.S. should do this, and we might still, but there is nowhere that I'm aware, any divine guarantee. This is why complacency on the part of those who should know better is so terrible.