When citizen consent is limited to elections, institutions that look democratic can operate like disciplined clubs, which is why elite circulation and oligarchic drift need counterweights. Two classic blueprints for political organization still shape local government. John Locke’s account of democracy treats office as a revocable trust grounded in majority consent and limited powers. Vladimir… Continue reading Locke, Lenin, and Local Power: Claremont’s Test of Consent
Tag: philosophy
The Liquidation of the Kulaks and the Politics of Redistribution: An Ethical Comparison
The Kulaks and Stalinist Redistribution In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Joseph Stalin initiated a campaign against the so-called kulaks—peasants accused of being wealthier than their neighbors. The label itself was fluid; it could encompass anyone who owned a few more cows or harvested a little more grain than the village average. The state… Continue reading The Liquidation of the Kulaks and the Politics of Redistribution: An Ethical Comparison
Against Term Limits: Liberty Requires Vigilance, Not Automation
By: Kevin Tyson An Appeal to Conservatives and Classical Liberals In the American political imagination, term limits are often portrayed as a structural solution to corruption, elitism, and the inertia of entrenched power. For many on the center-right, they symbolize a necessary check against career politicians and the professionalization of governance. Yet beneath the intuitive… Continue reading Against Term Limits: Liberty Requires Vigilance, Not Automation
The Sullivan County NH Republican Committee 