Brutus v Publius

What this episode covers

I have long held that he Anti-Federalist of 1788 is the ideological grandfather of today’s libertarian*. Many of the same issues of today find a distant echo in the complaints of the Anti-Federalists. In those distant echo’s of the past are many ideas and knowledge points which both the Federalist and Anti-Federalist not only knew, but understood. Many of the things that would have stood out to the readers and listeners of 1788 were familiar to them, but to our modern ears and eyes, either make no sense or we simply do not even recognize them as meaningful. Let’s start with the names. The Federalists papers, written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, signed their papers with the nom de plume “Publius.” There were, of course, multiple reasons for this. The the use of a fictitious name removed the built in prejudice from the reader, either for or against the actual author. The name “Publius” was partially chosen to represent the idea, specifically “of the people,” reflecting the Federalist position that “We the People” had created and would operate the Constitution were it ratified. The name would have been seen as a bold claim that the people themselves were sharing this opinion of things. But there is actually a deeper meaning to the name. For the same reasons, the Anti-Federalists adopted a variety of names and identities: Cato, John DeWitt, the Pennsylvania Minority, the Federal Farmer, and of course, our focus, Brutus. Unlike the Federalist Papers, some of the authors we now know, but many of them at which we are still, more than two centuries later, simply guessing. Today we read these many names and arguments and we have lost the understanding that readers of both sides would have had in 1788. To gain back some of that understanding, we have to travel back in time to the Rome and the foundation of the Republic. It is here that we find two men, Publius Valerius Policola and Lucius Junius Brutus. More than two thousand years later these two men would inspire the writers on both sides of the ratification debate to proclaim their positions and beliefs. In 1788, both sides and their audiences knew this history and what was being said… *When I use the term “libertarian,” I absolutely 100% do not refer to the Libertarian Party. While the party, as such, has some positions in which I am full agreement, the basic philosophy of the party is not compatible with my own beliefs. So to be clear, I will often use the term “libertarian,” but in no way, shape or form, will I be referring to the LP, which does not have sole possession of the term.

PodParley-generated summary based on available episode metadata and transcript content.