Me to Dr Ross> 

Your system puts much weight on the individual. The Alt Right has been arguing for some time the problems in the USA are a natural development of the Constitution itself.

Dr Ross" That depends.  What the individual cannot do for themselves, the statist thinks the State can do.  But libertarians have more trust in private organizations, which de Tocqueville already noticed were robust and active in America – but that now have declined, driven out by the Welfare State.  It is clear from Europe and the U.S. that the State actually always creates a moral hazard and political corruption.

Me: I wrote on the blog Amerika :I do think a lot of the problems came with Rousseau and his particular approach to equality more than John Locke.

The answer of the author [Brett Stevens] was "No doubt. But do we need the concept of equality in the first place? Is anything in nature equal?"

My answer to that was : "My learning partner said that the way things are today in the USA are a natural development of the system, and I have almost never been able to out argue him. So I will have to take some time to figure out if perhaps you are right. That will take time. I will have to go through in my own mind what I remember of John Locke, and the pluses and minuses of the American system of government. Plus, I will have to consider the Kant school which does put the center of gravity in the individual."

So is there a way to defend the more John Locke kind of system that is in the USA? Or should we return to Throne and Altar? Or how would you react to all this. These questions about government and culture have become more and more common on the internet.

Sincerely, Avraham Rosenblum

Dr Kelley Ross wrote back : In the decades since the New Deal and the Great Society, where the consequences of both are obvious, with parallel evils in Europe, it is astonishing that people still talk like that they never existed and that the unemployment, slow growth, and dependency evident in Europe and here are the result of Capitalism!   This is delusional.  Like Greek voters continuing to vote for Leftists, or Americans voting for Obama and Hillary.  American government now has more in common with Otto von Bismarck that it does with Locke, Madison, or Jefferson.  Complaining about the Constitution as the “System” is like complaining about Las Vegas as the Protestant Work Ethic.  The Socialists and Democrats already shredded the Constitution, and when their plans and predictions failed, they have never wanted to admit that the failures were due to their own foolish brainstorms and programs.

Best,

KR