Title: The Historical Framework for Local Government in the United States
1The Historical Framework for Local Government in
the United States
- A Presentation of David Miller
2Life a Thousand Years Ago
- Cities and rural fiefdoms not Nation-States
- City is sanctuary from lawlessness of countryside
- A freedom from not a freedom to
- Cities are becoming the nodes of a
proto-mercantile economy - How do you safely get your goods from A to B?
3Citi-States or Nation-States?
- Because cities existed before the nation-state,
how would the emerging nation-state deal with
cities? Can both share power? Must one be
superior over the other? The nation-state -
master or agent?
4Association v. Corporation Cities lose Round
One
- As association free from the the state or the
sense that individual was part of the state - As corporation would be created by law under
revocable, amendable charters - Cities were primarily merchants, agreeing to
charter status in exchange for protection of
goods was easy tradeoff - Verdict Corporation
5Nation-State Consolidates Power
- Charters create legal corporation status
- Subject(s) to /of the state
- At first - little interference
- Slowly expand the conditions of the charter
- Cities are not democracies - oligarchies
- Not instrumental in popular, democratic
government institution building
6Political Theory I
- The real elements of society - the sovereign
and the individual - The state of nature - Locke, Hobbes, Bodin
- Society is a contract between those real aspects
of society - Other societal institutions are ltchurch, guilds,
citiesgt are intermediary bodies - All are extensions of one or the other
7Extension of Sovereign or Individual?
Cities lose Round Two
- Europes answer is an extension of the Sovereign
- Americas answer is confusion
8Life on the Frontier
- America - self-constituted religious or
mercantile associations - Little sense of central authority
- From legal standpoint - adopt the European
tradition of corporation - A corporation is a corporation is a corporation
9Public v. Private Corporation Cities Lose
Round Three
- Whaddaya mean? Different types of corporations
- Early towns owned railroads, minted money, fought
a revolution, had armies - And anyway, how you gonna distinguish types of
corporations?
10Political Theory II
- The State of Nature - Individual enters society
to - Hobbes escape the cruelness of nature
- Locke preserve property
- America adopts John Locke
- The contract and society are means by which the
individual preserves his property
11Putting Theory I and II Together
- Theory I Individual and Sovereignn are real
- Theory II Society is a contract involving
property - Individual is free to accumulate property, state
is to help protect individuals property - Role of intermediary institutions - the church,
the cities, the guilds?
12There are Two Types of Corporation
- One is an extension of the individual
- Artificial
- Contributes property
- Pursues property
- Preserves property
- Protected from State
- Private
- One is an extension of the sovereign ltstategt
- Artificial
- No individual property
- Threat to property
- Function to aid
- Controlled by State
- Public
13Local Government Public or Private?
- Well, er, ah.......they are both
- With property owned by the body politic, they are
private corporations - When performing state functions, they are
public corporations - Expand the public
- Contract the private
14Local Government in the Early 19th Century
- A public side
- Police/militia
- Roads and bridges
- Communicable disease
- Poor
- Strangers
- Church relations
- Governmental Issues
- A private side
- Ownership of property
- Taverns
- Railroads
- Shipping
- Proprietary Issues
15Exit the Private Corporation Cities Lose Round
Four
16The Context of Dillions Rule
- Image of objective, rational government staffed
by the nations elite - Comingling of public and private interests could
not yield good government - Concern that private interests would dominate
public interests - Perceived need to protect private economy from
government intervention
17The Real ReasonA National Rail System or Local
Self-Government? Practical Economics Beats
Political Theory Nine Times out of Ten!
18The Rules of the Game I
- Local Government is a subdivision of the State
- The relationship between the state and local
government is hierarchial with the ultimate
responsibility for the delivery of public goods
and services resting with the State - Local government is a territorial abstraction,
temporarily constructed to serve a well defined
purpose
19The Rules of the Game II
- What local government does and is and how well it
performs its task is empirically testable based
on standards of efficiency and any element may be
manipulated to improve efficiency - Functional interests are more important in
organizing and conducting public affairs than
territorial interests
20Transition to Alternative View
21Government How Viewed?
- Moralistic - A commomwealth, means to achieve
good community through positive action - Individualistic - A marketplace, means to respond
efficiently to demands - Traditionalistc - A means to maintain the
existing order
22Government Appropriate Sphere of Activity?
- Moralistic - Any area that enhances the community
- Individualistic - Largely economic or related to
supporting capital enterprise - Traditionalistc - Those that maintain traditional
patterns of relationships
23Government New Programs?