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From: fagin@ucbvax.ARPA (Barry Steven Fagin)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: How governments might be kept from economic intervention
Message-ID: <10203@ucbvax.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 26-Aug-85 02:29:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.10203
Posted: Mon Aug 26 02:29:04 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 27-Aug-85 01:19:11 EDT
References: <9563@ucbvax.ARPA> <1106@umcp-cs.UUCP> <10166@ucbvax.ARPA> <245@pedsgd.UUCP>
Reply-To: fagin@ucbvax.UUCP (Barry Steven Fagin)
Followup-To: net.politics.theory
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 25
Summary: This is an attempt to answer CW's $64 question

Charley Wingate has asked what would stop political intervention in the
economy in Libertaria.  No question, this is a toughie.  The best, and
admittedly imperfect, solution I can think of is a constitutional one.
Currently, what protects civil liberties from infringement, and what
protects the rights of the minority from the majority is the existence
of a constitution and a supreme court sworn to uphold it.  It has done
a fair to good job of curbing governmental power in at least some areas
of our lives.  To limit the power of government in the economy, I'd
suggest a constitutional amendment outlining property rights.

The real upsetting thing is that modification of the Constitution is
hardly necessary (just as well, since it isn't politically feasible
at this point in time).  All that is necessary is to have the Supreme
Court define a right to property as a "fundamental right".  Once the
S.C. has articulated a right as fundamental, it becomes very difficult
for governments to muck with it.

Obviously this mechanism is not an easy one, and is not without problems.
After all, property rights are often difficult to define.  But it's
a starting point, and the existence and defense of other "fundamental
rights" in the U.S. leads me to think that it would work.

--Barry
-- 
Barry Fagin @ University of California, Berkeley