John C Calhoun

John C. Calhoun’s A Disquisition On Government Essay, Research Paper

John C. Calhoun

A Disquisition on Government (1848), selections

“The Nature of Man and the Origin of Government”

According to Calhoun, to understand the nature of government, one must also understand the nature of its creator, man. He begins by asking, “What is that constitution or law of our nature without which government would not exist and with which its existence is necessary.” In answering this question, Calhoun makes two assumptions: First, man is a social being whose physical and moral inclinations and wants lead him to associate with his fellow man. Second, some form of government must exist in man s social state. Calhoun offers as proof of this second assumption that no society has ever been found without some form of government.

Calhoun next asks, “What is that constitution of our nature which, while it impels man to associate with his kind, renders it impossible for a society to exist without government.” He contends that even though man is a social creature who feels the wants and needs of others in his community, at the same time man s stronger inclination is to feel what affects him directly. Calhoun avoids using the word “selfish” because it implies an unusual excess of the individual over his social feelings. Calhoun believes man s individual feelings are stronger.

Calhoun goes on to say that since man is so constituted that government is necessary to the existence of society, and society is essential to the existence of man and the perfection of his faculties, that government has its origin in this two-fold constitution of man s nature. Social feelings constitute the remote cause and individual feelings the proximate cause of government. If man had evolved differently, then government would not be necessary.

However, government itself has a strong tendency to disorder and abuse of its powers, as evidenced by history. This is because government is administered by men in whom the individual feelings are stronger than the social feelings. Government cannot repress violence and preserve order on its own. The nature of man to prevent injustice and oppression of the community is what Calhoun means as “constitution” when applied to “government.”

Calhoun states that forming government is like breathing necessity forces it on all communities in some form. On the other hand, constitution is one of the most difficult tasks imposed on man.

So, how can those who are entrusted with the powers of government be prevented from running amok instead of protecting and preserving society. The same tendency of man that leads rulers to oppress the ruled with equal strength leads the ruled to resist when given the means of a peaceful and effective resistance. Therefore, resisting “rulers” is the first step in forming a constitutional government. This can only be achieved by the right of suffrage, the right of the ruled to chose their rulers at proper intervals and hold them responsible for their conduct. This is the foundation of a constitutional government. The right of suffrage should then give control to those who elect over the conduct of those they have elected and should serve to make those elected the true and faithful representatives of those who elected them.

But the right of suffrage is not all-sufficient to counteract the government s tendency to oppression and abuse of its powers because a community does not have the same interests for each and every individual. Conflict among the different interests of the community creates a struggle for a majority. If one interest is not strong enough to take majority status on its own, then a give and take process between those who have the most like interests will slowly, over time, create a majority.

In order to fully protect a community, government must be able to call on the resources of the community and be able to command them when a crisis arises. Calhoun believes that large civil and military establishments are necessary to achieve this. He calls for “a host of employees, agents and officers” to run these establishments. To meet the necessary expenses, Calhoun states that “large sums must be collected and disbursed, and for this purpose heavy taxes must be imposed, requiring a multitude of officers for their collection and disbursement.”

Calhoun goes on to explain that it is impossible to equalize the action of the government so far as its fiscal operation extends. One part of the community must pay more taxes than it receives back in disbursements and vice versa. In this unavoidable consequence, government necessarily divides the community into taxpayers and tax-consumers. The greater the gain of one side, the greater the loss of the other. Therefore, the more the policy of the government is to increase taxes and disbursements, the more it will be favored by one side and opposed by the other. Government could, in effect, elevate one side into wealth and power while depressing the other side to poverty.

Calhoun states that government can and will be used this way, save the constitution of man. If the government is used this way, then the right of suffrage cannot counteract the tendencies government and becomes moot because a wealthy majority holds controlling power. The way to avoid such government exclusive control is by dividing and distributing