O Intermitente
(So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good-bye)

sexta-feira, outubro 01, 2004

Benjamin Constant e a UE

Artigo na Tech Central Station.

Objections against taxes sparked the French Revolution. For Constant the purpose of a constitution is to protect citizens against interference by authorities. That is why taxes and public debt are so important to a body politic. With every tax governments interfere in citizens' lives and restrict their liberty. It would be tempting to speculate what Constant would have to say about moves to relax the Maastricht Treaty's debt ceilings and discussions to harmonize taxes in the EU.

Debt and taxes amount to the same thing, a transfer of buying power from citizens to governments. The two issues are inseparable. Benjamin Constant was far ahead of his time in arguing that property rights are the best guarantee against government intrusion, and that international trade makes a more lasting contribution to international security than even the best equipped army.

Constant was an untiring writer. His main work, Principles of Politics Applicable to All Government, has appeared in a new English edition. But for anyone on a tighter time budget there is a recent German Constant reader, Die liberale Demokratie ( Ein Benjmain-Constant-Brevier, Ott Verlag). One would wish every MEP had a copy.

posted by Miguel Noronha 10:27 da manhã