#23: An energetic national government

Government should be sufficiently well funded and staffed to do its work well. That is the message of Federalist #23 in a nutshell.

Is it a good argument.

Americans like to talk about whether government is bad or good — the problem or the solution. But those ideological stances makes no sense until you’ve established what government activity you’re talking about. If it’s a necessary service provided at a reasonable cost (e.g., good government) then it is worth it. If it’s a meddlesome government operation that interferes with individual freedoms at great cost and little or no public benefit, then even the most progressive liberal ought to oppose it.

Hamilton makes a fair point in #23. America in 1787 faced the possibility of attack from Britain, Spain, and the Indian tribes beyond the frontiers. It was literally surrounded by enemies capable of overwhelming state militias. The national government needed to be sufficiently “energetic” to help. Hamilton admits there is often a preliminary question whether government should do a thing at all. But he rightloy insists that once its decided government should do a thing, it follows that it should be authorized and equipped to do the job well.

 During the Constitutional Convention, someone suggested the national army should be capped at 3,000 soldiers. In one of his rare comments, George Washington remarked that he could not guarantee that enemies would limit their invasion forces to less than 3,000 troops. Hamilton suggests in Federalist #23 that the national government’s power to make war should be unlimited.

These powers ought to exist without limitation, BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FORESEE OR DEFINE THE EXTENT AND VARIETY OF NATIONAL EXIGENCIES, OR THE CORRESPONDENT EXTENT AND VARIETY OF THE MEANS WHICH MAY BE NECESSARY TO SATISFY THEM.

Today, the US has military intelligence capable of telling precisely where every enemy ship and submarine is at every moment, and of monitoring troops and material movement anywhere on the globe. And it seems that the more it knows, the more it judges needs to be spent on defense. It could be that the American military is overextended. But that, if its true, is a fault not to be blamed on the Constitution.

Hamilton states in #23 the very wise principle that whatever the people ask government to do, they should be willing to support the government enough to do that job well.

Discuss

• Is it ever right or reasonable to give someone a job to do, but deny them the resources to do it well?

• Are there things government should just not attempt to do, because the powers necessary are more than government ought to have?