Tuesday, December 3, 2019

National Collective Action Essays - James Madison, United States

National Collective Action The framers of the U.S. Constitution were men who wanted to solve the problems of collective action and agency loss. The Articles of Confederation contained many weaknesses, and to amend this, the framers sought to create a strong central government that could delegate authority and cut down transaction costs. Many compromises were necessary in order to solve these conflicts. The framers adopted certain changes that helped to balance the need for effective national collective action against the dangers inherent in the delegation of any authority. This balance represented the political theory that was the basis for the Constitution, and it created the background for the incredibly arduous equality struggle endured by African Americans. The first task that needed to be accomplished at the Constitutional Convention was disposing of the Articles of Confederation. Under this document, there was no strong central government and legislature could not impose taxes. Instead, they had to rely on the states to voluntarily contribute tax money, which created a huge free rider problem and would not let the US pay off the debts incurred during the war. There was also no central currency under the Articles of Confederation, which led to an unstable economy and high transaction costs during trade. The framers knew that in order to solve these problems, they needed to create a strong central government that could delegate authority and cut down transaction costs. The conflicts and compromises that ensued because of this decision would frame the United States government. In settling these conflicts, the framers of the Constitution attempted to protect against the dangers inherent in the delegation of authority to government officials required to produce it. For example, the fight between sparsely populated states and heavily populated states for representation was settled by creating a bicameral Congress. This revelation was a product of Madison's blueprint for a new Constitution, now known as the Virginia Plan. It was the first major step in shifting the focus of deliberations from fixing the confederation to reconsidering the requirements of a national union, and it provoked the proposal of the New Jersey Plan, which advocated state power. With a bicameral legislature, two houses would exist within the government. The Great Compromise stipulated that a lower chamber (House of Representatives) would be composed of representatives based on pop ulation, while an upper chamber would consist of equal representation for every state. The authority to levy taxes was reserved to the lower chamber as well. This was one of the ways the framers of the Constitution ensured against the abuse of delegated authority while pursuing the effective collective action they needed. The framers feared that a concentration of power in any one group or branch of government would lead to tyranny. In an effort to avoid the domination of government by one group, they devised the system of checks and balances in the Constitution. In this system, each of the three branches has some capacity to limit the power of the other two. It largely originated with the French philosopher Charles de Montesquieu, who argued that the power to govern could be effectively limited by dividing it among multiple branches of government. For example, while Congress passes legislation, the president can veto that legislation, and courts can declare executive acts unconstitutional. The executive was decidedly to be chosen in a manner that exercised the states' rights as the electoral college was created. This inspired political parties, for there was no other easy way to gain the majority of electors. The framers also agreed to include the Bill of Rights in the Constitution to ensure that cit izens would not be tyrannized by the powerful elite. The framers created multiple ways to amend the Constitution so that power did not rest too heavily upon one group. One way allowed states to begin the amendment promise, while another began it with Congress. Although this system of operation represents the need for effective national collective action, the framers had to come up with a way to protect against those with delegated power. Because of this, the Constitution allows an amendment to be proposed either by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress of by an application from two-thirds of the states.

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