Posted by
Jack Fisher on Friday, May 08, 2009 3:02:13 PM
It's a phrase that has been echoed by philosophers and casual observers alike. Whether in latin or any modern lanugage, the meaning is the same and it remains every bit as pertinent across the board.
Who watches the watchmen?
Who guards the guardians?
Who will protect us from the protectors?
For as long as there have been people in power, there have been abuses in power. It permeates government, religion, and economic institutions on many levels. The United States, despite being one of the most dominant nations in history, is not immune to this. Over the course of the past century, big government has taken over and ideologues in religion and business have each moved in to stake their claim. Abuses in power was one of the key reasons why the colonies first rose up against their British overlords. In time our own abuses of power have become just as (if not more so) egregeous.
Such abuses are nothing new. In ancient times the strongest armies pilliaged and raped freely when there was no one to oppose them. Kings and emperors embarked on lavish personal endeavors, forcibly enslaving their people if necessary. Religious leaders have condemned countless innocents with decrees, fatwas, inquisitions, and moral panics. Ruthless businessmen and women buy off people in government and law enforcement to act on their own accord, robbing others of their resources for their own personal profits. The story is the same. They were the watchmen and nobody was watching them. They didn't have to answer to anybody and the people were defenseless to resist. It's an unfortunate product of human nature. When there is a chance to abuse power, people take it.
The United States was founded on principles directly opposed to abuses of powers. But today it is possible for the president of the United States to wage a war on his own accord without the approval of congress. It is possible for the NSA and FBI to illegally tap phones and communication networks without warrents or oversight. It is possible for the CIA to create secret prisons where they can torture people without any accountability. It is possible for judges to ignore the constitution and impose the state's will on the populous. There are no more checks and balances. There is only competition as to who can abuse their power first and most efficiently.
In areas where such abuses are more difficult, it brings out the better sides of human nature. Take the free market as an example. In this institution, there are many watchmen watching over one another. This is because business is not allowed to use force. It must use persuasion to convince people to exchange their goods for the ones they have to offer. If one does not produce quality goods, they are overtaken by those that do. It helps drive people to be better with each other. A business that treats people well will get more business and the customers who wish to take part in this system that treats the businesses well will get the better service. It's competition and the freedom to choose how to conduct themselves that makes the free market more prosperous and efficent than big government or overzealous religion.
Another area where power is hard to abuse is when the power is established at the community level. When order comes from the bottom up instead of the top down, people are free to coordinate and commune with whoever they wish. When government and churches focus their efforts at the local level, they are held accountable by the very people they see and interact with. When abuses do emerge, they don't go unnoticed because in a community people are more affected. It's why limited government works so much better on a local level. It's also why communities with smaller, community centered churches are less deviant and more orderly. When it grows to a level where the power can be directed impersonally to people that power brokers never even meet, the chances for abuse grows.
Big government has always been clumsy with power. Even in countries where corruption is low, these large bodies of power create effects of complacancy and dependance. History shows that when people are not free they become hopeless and destitute, bringing down their society and their culture. Religion has had share of abuses as well. In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church wielded great authority over state and personal matters. It led to church leaders starting wars, ordering executions, and fostering intolerance and prejudice. In modern times the mullahs of Islam have fallen into the same pattern, insighting their own brand of war, violence, and prejudice to serve their own ends. They may claim they're being held accountable by god or some supernatural deity. But whatever deity that may be, it does little to stem such barbaric behavior.
So in the end who really is watching the watchmen? People continue to see these abuses in many cases, but they are powerless to stop them or unwilling. The founding fathers of America believed that by empowering the people, the excesses of government should be stemmed. The people must be on some level be able to respond to the force of government with force of their own, be it by arms or legal rights. That's why they championed the rights of the individual and used the philosophy of a republic to restrict the power of the state. In addition to a separation between church and state, the institutions that most abuse power could be held in check.
It is only when people forsake these freedoms that abuse of power grows and propogates. And once it gets going, it is hard to stop. That's why whenever any individual or institution exercises power in any way, the people must remember that old latin saying:
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
It may mean the difference between freedom and tyranny.