Subsidiarity In 2010
Posted in 2010 Election, Politics on January 27th, 2010As America truly enters into the 2010 midterm Congressional Election cycle the one word that Americans, especially Conservatives of all varieties, should keep in the font of their minds is subsidiarity.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition:
Subsidiarity
Pronunciation: \,s?b-si-d?-‘er-?-t?, s?b-,si-\
Function: noun
Date: 1936Definition(s):
- a the quality or state of being subsidiary
- a principle in social organization: functions which subordinate or local organizations perform effectively belong more properly to them than to a dominant central organization
Simply put, subsidiarity is the idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary, or secondary and lesser, function and perform only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level. Among other things it is the foundational concept underlying the 10th Amendment to US Constitution.
This concept should be a touchstone for Americans in the 2010 Congressional elections and in any state and local elections that may arise in the upcoming months. While not the only issue that Americans should consider when choosing a political candidate, subsidiarity should be one of the key issues analyzed when making those choices.
At the local, district, and state levels Americans need to look for candidates that will “step up to the plate” and take action and responsibility, one’s willing to fight to take power back from higher, more centralized authority and hold it in trust for the People that they serve. At the federal level Americans need to look for candidates that will relinquish those improper powers currently co-opted and/or seized by the federal government back to the states.
Frankly, most of the current ills inflicted upon America are because we, the People, have allowed the federal government to take too much power unto itself, power that rightly belongs to the the people of states and the local municipalities. That can be corrected, but it will take work – and the upcoming elections are a good place to start.
Subsidiarity In 2010 – learn it, love it, vote for it.