The Constitution of No Authority
by Lysander Spooner
Review by Brian Wright first posted July 20, 2009

…”on principles of law and reason”

In No Treason, Lysander Spooner uses the above expression on practically every page. On those foundations, he makes his case that the US Constitution—and by universal extension, any other formal written document that aims to set up a compulsory central government—cannot be morally or legally justified. Primarily Spooner focuses on the weaknesses of the “social contract” argument. He puts the Constitution to the test of contracts, as prevailed in his time and place, and concludes that it does not meet the basic criteria for a contract at all… hence is not valid or binding on anyone. Continue reading →