Bouvard on Washington's Anti-Factionalism and Constitutional Reform

George Washington was strongly opposed to "factions," i.e., the entire party system that emerged following his own presidency. Have any of the postliberals inquired into his objections, and considered whether therein might lie resources for constitutional reform?

@patrickberzai And Washington was fanatical about paying off debts. The Constitution was most immediately this but long term about opening the Western territories, which it did. And all this might be true without infirming the case against factionalism (which does bear on credit, as well).

@patrickberzai There can be no markets without debt, and western expansion and Whisky taxes would have generated conflicts, but conflicts don't need to take the shape of factions.

@patrickberzai I don't assume that disagreement and conflict need to take the form of factionalism. That depends on how much the legal system can handle. But there's also a problem of enclosing debt and markets within the legal order past a certain point. Keeping money local would't solve this.

@patrickberzai Yes, but a disagreement is also a perfect opportunity to go to court and have it adjudicated by a third party both trust. Right, so the constitution had to address that and making the federal government the holder of all state debt was the only way to do it.

@slooperbia50068 1) Yes, we will need significant constitutional revisions in one form or another. A high proportion of substance to disruption is my preference. 2) We are not bound indefinitely, and there are always ways out escalation in a given situation.

@slooperbia50068 People have deferred violence since the way before Girard came around

@slooperbia50068 They would then be preliminaries to violence, however far removed, but the same principle holds.

@slooperbia50068 Social media is already a space of deferral and nothing gets decided there.

@slooperbia50068 No, but they are more uninhibited on social media than they would be in other arenas.

@slooperbia50068 Are they hoping to escalate?

@slooperbia50068 I'm against what the painting on the car implicitly proposes, except in the very rare case of catching someone in the act, but I don't think it rises to the level of incitement, or a confession. One could just as easily have "I shoot burglars" inscribed there.

@slooperbia50068 Maybe the term was deliberately chosen to refer to law breaking. People can distinguish between those who commit a crime and those who would like to do something that would be a crime. In fact, it would be hard to tell someone is a pedophile if they don't cross that line.

@slooperbia50068 If he means a 16 year old boy having sex with his 15 year old girlfriend he's going to find himself treated way more harshly than if it's a grown man with a 10 year old. I don't know that there's a good legal way to draw that line, though.

@slooperbia50068 I'm distinguishing two situations, each of which, strictly speaking, are equally illegal but which would be seen in a very different light by most people and even, I assume, by law enforcement as well.