Joe Biden’s understanding of the Constitution’s “We the People” is collectivist in nature, kindred to fascism. Fascism, notes scholar Dinesh D’Souza, “is an Italian term that means ‘groupism’ or ‘collectivism’.” One of the most influential philosophers of fascism, Giovanni Gentile, noted that a fascist state “is a popular state, and, in that sense, a democratic State par excellence.” Gentile noted there is a symbiotic relationship between the state and the collective. Gentile wrote, “The relationship between the State and the individual is not that between it and one or another citizen, but with every citizen.”
Gentile thought the power of the state stemmed from the consciousness of the masses. He wrote that the formation of the state “is a product of the consciousness of each individual, and thus of the masses, in which the power of the State consists.” He added, “That explains the necessity of the Fascist Party and of all the institutions of propaganda and education that foster the political and moral ideals of Fascism, so that the thought and the will of the solitary person, the Duce, becomes the thought and the will of the masses.” Democrats want to achieve this in America. Democratic institutions of propaganda and education are hard at work to make dissidents conform to the will of the American Duce. This way, the will of the American Duce, becomes the will of the masses.
Biden’s “We the People,” notes Constitutional scholar Randy E. Barnett, favors a “Democratic Constitution view of We the People as a group, as a body, as a collective entity.” In contrast, “Those who favor the Republican Constitution view We the People as individuals.” Each vision, notes Barnett, “yields a different conception of what is called ‘popular sovereignty.’” In practice, writes Barnett, “The collective ‘will of the people’ must rest on the desires of a majority or supermajority of the people.” Barnett notes, “Under a Democratic Constitution, first comes government and then comes rights.” He adds, “A Democratic Constitution is a ‘living constitution’ whose meaning evolves to align with contemporary popular desires.”
In a Republican Constitution, sovereignty resides “in the people as individuals.” In this view, notes Barnett, “Those in government are merely a small subset of the people who serve as their servants or agents, the ‘just powers’ of these servants must be limited to the purpose for which they are delegated.” The will and desire of a majority are restricted in this view. Barnett writes that the “purpose is not to reflect the people’s will or desires of the majority—but to secure the preexisting rights of We the People, each and every one of us.” Barnett notes that under a Republican Constitution, “first come rights, and then comes government.” The Declaration of Independence is clear as to the purpose of government, “to Secure these Rights.”
What we’re seeing today is because there evidently were no teachers who understood what We the People truly meant and so their students also didn’t ever know what the true meaning is. My sons and I got into debates about this. Wish I had known a long time ago what they thought they knew, I would have tried to correct it. We have a few generations who forget what our representatives jobs are and why.
Thank you for your comment, Mary. A big part of the problem is that many teachers are complicit in failing to properly educate our youth. There are only a few schools that teach about our founding principles as they should be taught. One of these schools is Hillsdale College (https://www.hillsdale.edu/). They even have several courses anyone can take online at no charge.