1822 Feb. 10

Codif/Constitutional Law/

Supreme Constitutive who

'2. Means of Government

 This comes immediately after '.1. Government what - ends of government proper and sinister

'.2. Means of Government - means best adapted to that end

The powers by the exercise of which government is carried on can not be exercised by all in the same manner at the same time. To say /Any such proposition [...?]/ that is the best government in which the powers of government are all of them exercised by all the members of the community at the same time would be a self-contradictory proposition - by it would be asserted the existence of a government and at the same time in the same community the non-existence of all /any /government.

The exercise of the powers of government consists in the giving of directions or commands injunctive /positive/ and prohibitive and incidentally for securing compliance through administering /applying/ rewards and punishments and rewards

In and by every such exercise is implied the separation of the members of the community at each point of time is implied a separation of the whole number of the members of the community into two classes: namely the governors and the government: the rulers and those over whom rule is exercised.

But though consistently with the continued existence of government it is not possible /impossible/ that the separation should as to the two classes themselves be otherwise than perpetual /short of perpetual,/ not so is the existence of the same individual in both those classes so it be at different points of time: of each class the whole population might migrate into the other: Those who are all of them governors at one moment may be all of them governed and not governors during the second moment: while those who are governed during the first moment may be all of them governors during the second moment.