Sunday, July 17, 2016

Radical Whig Theory

"Why should I trade one tyrant 3000 miles away for three thousand tyrants one mile away? An elected legislature can trample a man's rights as easily as a king can."
--Benjamin Martin (The Patriot)

Prof Sarah Burns explains one of the ideological motivators of the American Revolution: Radical Whig Theory.  Radical Whig Theory posits that individuals in a free society must closely guard their liberty from government encroachment. Freedom is hard to obtain and easy to lose.

When liberty is compromised, then it is within the rights of individuals to throw off problematic government for a better design.

Jefferson, of course, incorporated these aspects of Radical Whig Theory into America's first law.

No comments: