[enLight]

On my vacation to Virginia, I stopped by the capitol in Richmond and saw a statue of George Washingtion. In fact, it is the only original marble statue that George Washingtion acctually posed for. Looking at it, I couldn't help but notice that he was leaning on a fasces (the bundle of rods). Now, a fasces is an ancient Roman symbol that means this - alone a stick can be easily broken, but together they are unbreakable. An ax blade is ussually also present to represent the strength of the group determining its ability to surivive death and crisis. And so, the following question appeared in my mind:

Many Libertarians are convinced that their ideology is that of America's fore fathers. However, if this is true why on God's green earth would George Washington himself approve and endorse the fasces - a symbol representing strength in unity and governmental power? In fact, why is the fasces symbol found all throughout American governmental architecture?

My only conclusion is that libertarianism was not the ideology of our fore fathers and that they actually endorsed a degree of collectivism with the individualism.

What do you guys think?





A few examples (although the only 'fore fathers' example is the first picture)...

Washington Statue in Richmond, VA


House of Representatives Chamber, Washington DC


Lincoln Memorial


'Mercury Dime' in circulation from 1916-1945


City Hall in Buffalo, NY

[Steven_K]

Interesting the other major historical state to adopt the fasces was fascist Italy. Even more, the word fascism comes from the word fasces. Nothing implied about the founding fathers, though, this imagry was obviously used before that modern re-definition.

I would also like to see a response to that question, if the founding fathers were so into absolute personal rights, why the symbolism of collective unity?

[Comrade Ogilvy]

The founding fathers weren't libertarians, they were a mix of classical liberals and Burkean conservatives. These two schools of thought are considerably more libertarian than current "popular" political thought, and we do look back on the founding fathers with a deep sense of reverence and respect. However, historical revisionism does not advance our cause (despite many libertarians who try to claim that the founding fathers were libertarians).

Also, the fasces was a symbol of collective unity and power, used primarily by the Roman Republic, not the Empire. Mussolini perverted it to symbolize fascism and state power, whereas before it symbolized the unbreakable bond of a virtuous people.

[Garibaldi]

I figured the point was that it symbolized the thirteen states combined to form an unbreakable nation.

[Todd D.]

Jefferson was pretty damn close to Libertarian, and as Dao said, the rest were Classical Liberals and Burkian Conservatives, which resemble more Libertarian than either of the two major parties. However, that's irrelevant, what I take issue with is this:

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President, served nearly 100 years after the nation was founded, and I have never, EVER heard a Libertarian claim that Lincoln was a Libertarian.

Lincoln insittuted the first Income Tax, suspended Habeus Corpus, and most importantly, prevented the Southern States from exercising their right to form "A more perfect Union", as the Declaration of Independence laid out. No, Lincoln was no Libertarian, that's for damn sure.