“If men [people] of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honour of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the commonwealth; if men possessed of these other excellent qualities are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation.” – Samuel Adams
Subsidiarity
… and the Power of Local Government
The Competitive Governance Institute presents a video on the concept of subsidiarity. Subsidiarity describes the principle of making decisions and taking action at the lowest, smallest possible level of authority. It is the conservative principle that gives power back to local institutions and de-emphasizes the brute force of the national government.It’s clear that Americans are deeply upset with the status quo of our political systems. In this short video, Leo Linbeck III offers insights about why all our discontent and protests seem to be making no difference–is it possible we’re confused about the cause of our issues. Perhaps the answer to the meta-failure we are seeing today is tied up in our answer to the following question: is what we decide or who decides more important for good governance?
