What's so great about federalism?

As a follow-up to my last post, I would like to explain why I see so much wisdom in the federal system of government, as it was originally set up in the Constitution. Since limited government and federalism are closely related, these reasons are very similar to my reasons for supporting limited government.

The federal system, as originally laid out in our Constitution, calls for two equal levels of government -- the central national government and the state and local governments. The state and local governments are now little more than lackeys to the national government, but it was not always this way. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The rights given to the central government in the Constitution are few and limited, while the rights given to the states and the people are numerous. This was a very wise way to set up the government because it avoids the concentration of power in the hands of a few people. The way I see it, massive central governments cause two types of problems.

The first type of problems caused by government are the result of having an unrealistic view of the limitations of people. These problems include the bursting of the housing bubble and rising college tuition rates, just to name a couple. The eagerness of many politicians to use government to solve problems reveals their foolish arrogance. I am just a 27-year-old computer science student working on a master's degree, but I can imagine that even if I had a Ph.D. in economics and experience as the CEO of a major corporation, I would still not have the expertise necessary to fix all of society's ills. Even if I had a law degree and a short political career, I would still not be qualified. (I'm talking to you, Obama.) I am not saying that Americans should silently tolerate the problems in society. What I contend is that government should not try to fix all of society's problems because it cannot do so, and the attempt will probably make things worse.

In the 1980s, economist Milton Friedman made a series of short films called Free to Choose. In one of these films, Friedman used an example to illustrate the complexity of the economy. He described all the products and labor which go into the manufacture of a pencil. The inputs include wood, metal (for the eraser-holder thingy), graphite, and rubber (for the eraser). The raw materials must be mined (in the case of the metal and graphite) or harvested (in the case of the rubber and wood). Then the raw materials must be shipped, processed, and assembled. As Friedman pointed out, no single person has the knowledge and expertise to carry out all the steps that go into the manufacture of a pencil, a simple device which people have been using for centuries. Therefore, it is ludicrous to think that a small group of politicians -- as compassionate and well-intentioned as they may be -- can regulate our $14 trillion economy, which includes millions of transactions each day.

Given the complexity of the economy, I trust the collective wisdom of the American people a lot more than I trust the concentrated wisdom of a few self-important politicians with an overinflated opinion of their knowledge and intelligence. (I have only touched on economic freedom so far. I am pretty confident that government intervention has caused many social problems as well. As the lazy authors of math textbooks say, this is left as an exercise for the reader.) By dividing power between the national and local governments, the founders of our nation have enabled more people to participate in the decisions which affect their lives. With more people comes a wider variety of experience and a smaller chance that government policies will be disastrous.

The second type of problems are caused by politicians who want to control other people. As many authors and politicians seem to point out, we live in a divided nation. I think that our nation would not be nearly as divided if these meddlesome politicians would let the people govern themselves under the powers mentioned in the 10th Amendment. (Note that I said the powers mentioned, not given. Our rights are given by God.) Then the tax-loving people of Massachusetts could have their welfare state without imposing their will on the citizens of Texas. Also, the citizens of Texas could ban gay marriage, while the more open-minded and progressive people in...Massachusetts again...could allow it.

Allowing the states and the people to govern themselves should result in a larger percentage of people who agree with the laws that affect their daily lives, since they are able to vote with their feet. If the laws of one state or community become too restrictive, then they can move to a neighboring state or community. However, moving to another state does not help at all if the same laws apply to the entire nation. (The alternative would be moving to Canada, I guess. The upside is that Canada has lots of Tim Horton's restaurants. The downside is that Canada is more highly regulated than the United States.)

I think that distributing political power widely among many people results in individual freedom, peace, and unity. The people and their elected representatives should not be so eager to throw their rights away.