SHORT NOTES ON MIXED GOVERNMENT AND CHECKS & BALANCES

AM | @agumack

"Checks and balances are our only security" — John Adams

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[1] Robert Schuett. In a Twitter conversation yesterday, Dr. Robert Schuett (@RobertSchuett) —author of a slim but excellent volume published last year, Hans Kelsen's Political Realism (Edimburgh University Press)— kindly reminded me that "Kelsen and Hayek were NOT seeing eye to eye." The point is vividly made in the book in a discussion about their divergent views on the rule of law (pp. 124-127). I may come back to this topic—but I need to read some of the background material first, especially Judge Richard Posner's 2001 article on "Kelsen, Hayek and the Economic Analysis of Law". Two more things: (1) the paperback edition of Dr. Schuett's book is set to be published in November; (b) the book is reviewed by Giovanni Damele: "Hans Kelsen: realista politico?", Quaderni di scienza politica, 2/2021, pp. 225-238 (@giovanni_damele). 

[2] Notes on Glenn Morrow (*). I finally received the book, thanks to ZVAB.com. It's a pleasure to read. In his discussion of Sparta's dual kingship (56-57), Morrow mentions "the first limitation on the royal power" provided by this unsual scheme. In the secondary literature that I have read on Laws.III (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), the obvious shortcoming of the dual monarchy —a divided 'executive'— is never mentioned. Yet it was a serious issue in classical Sparta already [see]. Disclaimer: the problem is easier to spot for anyone who has lived in Argentina, where a divided executive is destroying the republic as we speak [see].

[3] James Madison. The Twitter account @ghostofJmadison is relentlessy pushing the point that the U.S. House of Representatives is now too small for a country of 329.5 million inhabitants. Here's a recent tweet: "Forgive us for sounding like a broken record but the 435 representative limit is not sacrosanct. It’s not in the Constitution, but set by statute and Congress can #UncapTheHouse by passing a simple bill. So pass #hr996 to protect democracy. The stakes couldn’t be higher." Interesting!

[4] Brain drain. Argentina is undergoing an unprecedented brain drain, according to Swiss network RTS [see]. The andecdotical evidence at my disposal fully corroborates that view. The collapse of judicial independence and the lack of an independent central bank are quickly eroding Argentines' real wages, just as the sense of personal security is collapsing. Loosely following Montesquieu, Adam Smith established an explicit link between the lack of 'judicial independence' and personal security. To me, this passage (V.1.2) is the clé de voûte of Wealth of Nations.

(*) Glenn R. Morrow. Plato's Cretan City. A Historical Interpretation of the Laws. Princeton University Press, 1960.
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