The earliest and most eloquent case for eliminating voter secrecy was made in 1870 by jurist Lysander Spooner in his No Treason:
A man is none the less a slave because he is allowed to choose a new master once in a term of years...
The right of absolute and irresponsible dominion is the right of property, and the right of property is the right of absolute, irresponsible dominion. The two are identical; the one necessarily implying the other. Neither can exist without the other. If, therefore, Congress have that absolute and irresponsible law-making power, which the [U.S.] Constitution — according to their interpretation of it — gives them [in I:6:2], it can only be because they own us as property. If they own us as property, they are our masters, and their will is our law. If they do not own us as property, they are not our masters, and their will,...is of no authority over us.
But these men who claim and exercise this absolute and irresponsible dominion over us, dare not to be consistent, and claim either to be our masters, or to own us as property. They say that they are only our servants, agents, attorneys, and representatives. But this declaration involves an absurdity, a contradiction. No man can be my servant, agent, attorney, or representative, and be, at the same time, uncontrollable by me, and irresponsible to me for his acts.
For still another reason they are neither our servants, agents, attorneys, nor representatives. And that reason is, that we do not make ourselves responsible for their acts. If a man is my servant, agent, or attorney, I necessarily make myself responsible for all his acts done within the limits of the power I have intrusted to him.... But no individual who may be injured in his person or property, by acts of Congress, can come to the individual electors, and hold them responsible for these acts of their so-called agents or representatives.
If, then, nobody is individually responsible for the acts of Congress, the members of Congress are nobody's agents. And if they are nobody's agents, they are themselves individually responsible for their own acts, and for the acts of all whom they employ. And the authority they are exercising is simply their own individual authority; and, by the law of nature — the highest of all laws
— Lysander Spooner, No Treason, Essay VI (1870)
We have a "limited liability" US Government just like "limited liability" corporations. The American legal encyclopędia Corpus Juris Secundum (19:XVIII, Sections 883-4) defines the United States Government as a foreign corporation with respect to the states. Corporate stockholders (voters) have no liability for the acts of their managers (Congressmen), who are themselves rarely legally responsible for corporate injuries to the public.
Our "democracy" operates with even more irresponsibility. The government cannot be sued unless it so consents, and its corporate managers (Congressmen) cannot be held accountable outside their boardroom. The corporate charter (Constitution) says so in I:6:2!
Spooner continues in Essays VIII and XIX:
A tacit understanding between A, B, and C, that they will, by ballot, depute D as their agent, to deprive me of my property, liberty, or life, cannot at all authorize D to do so. He is none the less a robber, tyrant, and murderer, because he claims to act as their agent, than he would be if he avowedly acted on his own responsibility alone.
...[The voters'] ballots are given in secret, and therefore in a way to avoid any personal responsibility for the acts of their agents.
No body of men can be said to authorize a man to act as their agent, to the injury of a third person, unless they do it in so open and authentic a manner as to make themselves personally responsible for his acts... Therefore these pretended agents cannot legitimately claim to be really agents.
Men honestly engaged in attempting to establish justice in the world have no occasion thus to act in secret; or to appoint agents to do acts for which they (the principals) are not willing to be responsible.
The secret ballot makes a secret government; and a secret government is a secret band of robbers and murderers. Open despotism is better than this. The single despot stands out in the face of all men, and says: I am the State: My will is law: I am your master: I take responsibility for my acts: The only arbiter I acknowledge is the sword: If any one denies my right, let him try conclusions with me.
But a secret government is...a government of assassins. Under it, a man knows not who his tyrants are, until they have struck, and perhaps not [even] then.
This is the kind of government we have; and it is the only one we are likely to have, until men are ready to say: We will consent to no Constitution, except such a one as we are neither ashamed nor afraid to sign; and we will authorize no government to do anything in our name which we are not willing to be personally responsible for. (Essay VIII, No Treason)
The lesson taught by all these facts is this: As long as mankind...are such dupes and cowards as to pay for being cheated, plundered, enslaved, and murdered — ...soldiers, can be hired to keep them in subjection. But when they refuse any longer to pay for being thus cheated, plundered, enslaved, and murdered, they will cease to have cheats, and usurpers, and robbers, and murderers and blood-money loan-mongers for masters.
(Essay XIX, No Treason)
Whatever program the voters demand through their Reps, it's only those voters who benefit from and pay for that program. For example, take capital punishment. Those against it would pay for a murderer's life imprisonment. And, they would fund an insurance pool on each lifer to compensate any future victims in case the murderer escapes. Conversely, those in favor of capital punishment agree to be randomly chosen to "pull the switch" and would fund an insurance pool in case innocent persons were executed.
The whole point is to make voters personally responsible for their own actions and for those of their Reps, instead of distributing (in secret) the consequences of their poor choices across the state. Every enforcer is hired by some official, who is appointed by some elected officer, who is voted in by the people. It's about time we all learned what is being committed (however indirectly and unknowingly) in our name, and own up to it.
The answer is usually simple. Accepting the question is difficult.
— Jeff Cooper, The Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip 2 (2001), 144
A final word about democratic representation
Even by eliminating legislative districts to elect a reformed unicameral house, the democratic process remains inherently unfair.
In affirming that a man may not be taxed unless he has directly or indirectly given his consent, it affirms that he may refuse to be so taxed; and to refuse to be taxed is to cut all connection with the state. Perhaps it will be said that his consent is not a specific, but a general (implicit) one, and that the citizen is understood to have assented to everything his representative may do when he voted for him. But suppose he did not vote for him, and on the contrary did all in his power to get elected someone holding opposite views — what then? The reply will probably be that, by taking part in an election, he tacitly agreed to abide by the decision of the majority. And how if he did not vote at all? Why, then he cannot justly complain of any tax, seeing that he made no protest against its imposition. So, curiously enough, it seems that he gave his consent in whatever way he acted — whether he said yes, whether he said not, or whether he remained neuter! A rather awkward doctrine, this.
— Herbert Spencer, Social Statics (1850), Chapter XIX
Democracy is "consent of the governed" but true liberty requires the unanimous consent of the governed. This is called the free market. However, until the state apparatus is pared down to its bare essentials, democracy will remain, as Winston Churchill described, "the worst form of government, except for all the others."
What can we, personall
y, do to encourage the return of liberty?
1) Decide which is more important — security or freedom. Money or freedom. Everything else you ever do will hinge on this.
2) Know and understand the Bill of Rights; don't just memorize it; know what it means in real-life situations. Understand that the Bill of Rights isn't a Chinese menu; you can't just pick the parts you like or the groups you want to protect.
3) Decide that you are not going to be a victim — that you are not going to passively accept the conditions of the police state. Resistance is risky, but as the Jewish partisans of World War II learned, those who resist have a chance; those who don't are defeated already.
4) Decide that you are not going to be a collaborator, either. Don't work for police state agencies. Don't send your children to government schools if you can possibly avoid it. Think twice before you support ruthlessness perpetrated in the name of law and order, or before you call for more laws or regulations.
5) Realize that governments fear mindset more than weaponry. If you have the tools but aren't prepared to fight, the tyrant won't fear you.
6) Protest injustice and bureaucratic outrage — whether small or large — and not just on Internet newsgroups. Protest to the editor, the postmaster, the chief of police — whoever is responsible or who can help right the wrong.
7) Don't purchase items made in police states or countries that use slave labor. If you order merchandise, make a point of asking its origin, and tell the vendor why you are refusing to buy an item that is the product of tyranny.
8) Read historic and modern works on the philosophy of liberty. Understand the meaning and causes of events.
9) Study and teach our children the principles of freedom.
10) Do not vote for or contribute to politicians whose votes violate the Bill of Rights — no matter how much their rhetoric proclaims otherwise.
11) Support only those politicians or organizations that take a no-compromise stance on liberty. "Compromise" that always moves us in the direction of tyranny and never in the direction of liberty is not genuine compromise; it is slow death.
12) Do not obey morally unlawful orders.
13) Gently educate those neighbors and friends who are receptive; don't harangue those who aren't — but do be ready on the day your most oblivious or statist neighbor finally feels the lash of arbitrary government power.
14) Develop an inner conviction of being a free human being.
15) Live by what you value and not by what you fear.
(From The State vs. The People, by Claire Wolfe and Aaron Zelman — jpfo.org)
by Kenneth W. Royce (Boston T. Party)
Modules for Manhood
(2014)
What Every Man Must Know (Volume 1)
What do women want? What does America need? Men! Do you want to become a capable well-rounded man? Learn your unique Purpose in Life, and how to achieve it? Start your exciting journey today!
360 pp. softcover (2014) $27 + $7 s&h (cash, please)
Hologram of Liberty
(revised for 2012)
The Constitution's Shocking Alliance with Big Government
The Convention of 1787 was the most brilliant and subtle coup d'état in history. The nationalist framers designed a strong government, guaranteed through purposely ambiguous verbiage. Many readers insist that it's Royce's best book. A jaw-dropper. Revised for 2012 and Obamacare.
360 pp. softcover (2012) $27 + $7 s&h (cash, please)
You & The Police!
(revised for 2009)
The definitive guide to your rights and tactics during police confrontations. When can you refuse to answer questions or consent to searches? Don't lose your liberty through ignorance! This 2009 edition covers the USA PATRIOT Act and much more.
168 pp. softcover (2009) $16 + $5 s&h (cash, please)
One Nation, Under Surveillance
(2009)
Privacy From the Watchful Eye
Explains precisely how to lay low from snoops of all types. Extremely thorough on computers, data, Internet, VoIP, digital gold, and prepaid cellphones. This is the huge replacement of his 1997 Bulletproof Privacy. Boston retired in 2009; this was his last new title.
480 pp. softcover (2009) $27 + $7 s&h (cash, please)
Boston's Gun Bible
(new text through 2009)
A rousing how-to/why-to on our modern gun ownership. Firearms are "liberty's teeth". No other general gun book is more thorough or useful! Indispensable! Covers the D.C v. Heller case. Our best seller.
848 pp. softcover (2002-2009) $33 + $7 s&h (cash, please)
Molôn Labé!
(a novel)
If you liked Unintended Consequences by John Ross and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, then Boston's novel will be a favorite. It dramatically outlines an innovative recipe for Liberty which could actually work! A thinking book for people of action; an action book for people of thought. It's getting people moving to Wyoming! www.freestatewyoming.org
454 pp. softcover (2004) $27 + $7 s&h (cash, please)
Safari Dreams
(2008)
A Practical Guide To Your Hunt In Africa
Possibly the most useful "one book" for making your first safari. Thoroughly covers: rifles, calibers, bullets, insurance, health, packing and planning, trip prep, airlines, choosing your PH, shot placement, and being in the bush. Don't go to Africa without it!
352 pp. softcover, 100 color photos (2008) $30 + $5 s&h
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