Less is More-The Great Awakening of Anti-Federalist Liberalism

In an op-ed for today’s New York Times, Kirk Johnson describes the modern political push away from centralized government.  For the first time in a long time, lawmakers, both liberal and conservative, are actually discussing the substantive import of constitutional provisions such as article one and the ninth and tenth amendments which limit the authority of the federal government and require that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”  Rather than a retreat from change and progress, the new movement actually signifies an effort to make government more effective.  By divesting the federal government of its grip over social programs–such as education, healthcare, and social security–and returning power and authority to the states waste and corruption will be greatly reduced, and benefits will become more readily accessible as states compete one against another for citizenry.  Sometimes, less really is more.