The shire as the fundamental unit of government
Adapted extracts from a review in 'Reason' (USA), by Donald Boudreaux, of 'The Vermont Papers' by Frank Bryan and John McClaughry ($18-95, published by Chelsea Green Publishing Company, PO Box 130, Post Mills, Vermont 05058, USA, tel 802 333 9073); review monitored for the Institute by Roger Knights.
The authors of 'The Vermont Papers' propose that the fundamental unit of state government be the 'shire' - a geographic region small enough to ensure that its members share similar values and perspectives and, hence, a genuine sense of citizenship. They claim that the number of citizens in the optimal-size shire is 10,000.
'Each town in a shire will hold town meetings at which citizens vote for town officers, state senators, and for shire reeves who will represent the town in the Shire-Moot'
Each town in a shire will hold town meetings at which citizens vote for town officers, state senators, and for (archaically named) shire 'reeves' who will represent the town in the shire legislature, called the 'Shire-Moot'. The Shire-Moot will have all legislative authority for the shire, as well as the right to elect a shire council. The shire council, along with a hired shire manager, will administer the day-to-day business of the shire. A system of shire courts will replace the existing state superior and district courts, with shire judges elected by the Shire-Moot. Each shire will be part of a federation of shires, much as the several states in the United States are now part of a federation of state governments.
The state government has a definite place in the Bryan-McClaughry plan, but its role would be greatly reduced in scope from the role it currently plays. Significantly, 'delegated powers go to the state, reserved powers to the shires ... always with the presumption that power resides in the shires.'
The state government will be 'radically smaller,' concentrating its efforts on protecting the environment, providing technical services to the shires, and conducting state 'foreign policy' - mainly state relations with other states and with Washington DC. The shire will remain the fundamental unit of government.
The authors correctly understand that, all other things being equal, smaller and more localised governments - because of competition from other jurisdictions - simply cannot get away with being as tyrannical and redistributionist as more centralised regimes.
If we applaud the market system for supplying individuals with their favourite flavour of ice cream, consistency requires that we applaud a political system that supplies each person with his or her preferred style of community life, without violating the rights of others.
'If we applaud the market system for supplying individuals with their favourite flavour of ice cream, consistency requires that we applaud a political system that supplies each person with his or her preferred style of community life'
The address for John McClaughry, the book's co-author, is: Institute for Liberty and Community, Concord, Vermont 05824, USA (tel 802 695 2555).
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