Length: 336 Words Reading Time: 2 Minutes
There was a time in America when social power (the power of We the People) was paramount, and political power was limited. That balance has dramatically shifted over the last 100 years. We have lost most of the social power in our country, as political power has expanded to the degree we see today. I hope we can regain social power at the state and local level. If we are unable to do so, then we cannot restrain or curb the ever-increasing political power we see at the Federal level. The centralized control that is evident in Washington is a cause for great concern, in my opinion. To believe that the Federal Government knows what is best for the 50 sovereign states is an egregious example of fallacious thinking.
The most direct way to regain social power is to decentralize political power to the maximum extent possible. The concept of subsidiarity is the best way to accomplish this goal. So, let’s begin with a simple definition of what subsidiarity means? “Subsidiarity is … a principle that holds that social and political issues can be resolved best by the people who are immediately affected by the issue.” An example will help to clarify, so let’s take the education of the children in a local community. What group of citizens knows what is best for children than the parents of those children acting through a local schooi board comprising parents and school administrators. There is no one at the Federal level in the Department of Education or in any other agency who is knowledgeable enough to create a rational school policy for the 50 states or the counties that constitute those states. To think that such a one-size-fits-all policy approach is possible is both arrogant and wrongheaded. How any right-thinking or rational politician would ever proffer or suggest such ludicrous legislation as “No Child Left Behind” and “Common Core” is beyond my comprehension. These kinds of laws are political nonsense of the worse kind and must be stopped.