The Constitutional limits socialism wants to devour
Last year, American Habits interviewed Kelly Shackelford, president and chief counsel of First Liberty Institute, about the state of religious liberty in America. One theme ran through our conversation, mainly that freedom and religious liberty depend not merely on good laws or sympathetic leaders, but on limits to what government is allowed to do.
His latest piece at Blaze Media raises that question once again, but he specifically talks about the aims of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and their goals against our Constitution.
Shackelford rightly notes that the debate over socialism is about so much more than taxes, spending, or more big government programs. It is also about the dismantling the institutions designed to restrain political power.
“The goals of the DSA and the promises made in campaign rallies should be understood by all Americans for exactly its aim: a complete overhaul of the U.S. Constitution and the governing laws that have ensured our freedoms for the last 250 years,” writes Shackelford.
He deftly points out that destroying institutions such as the courts, separation of powers, and other constitutional restraints makes it easier for political majorities to exercise more power over everyone else. His larger warning is that liberty depends on preserving those limits, particularly for our first freedom: religious freedom.
“In the DSA’s program for the current year, the objective is quite clear: “Our goal is to put workers in charge of the government through a new democratic constitution …” and “Replace the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress,” Shackelford notes.
“This “new society” would eliminate the three co-equal branches of government that provide essential checks and balances. Gone are the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights that protect the rights of all Americans,” he adds.
Whatever our views, we should be at least able to admit that history and the words of socialists themselves give us ample reason to conclude that their ideology and aims are incompatible with freedom.
—Ray Nothstine
— The Federalism Beat