Leo Lincoln? by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

Leo Lincoln? by Thomas J. DiLorenzo:

"Ever since the New York Times published a long article explaining that most of the architects of the Bush foreign policy are 'Straussians,' more and more journalists have been asking the question, 'What the heck is a Straussian?

' A number of common principles have emerged after these writers have examined the writings of Leo Strauss, the godfather of neoconservativism.

Straussian Principle #1 is the perversion of the idea of natural rights, as understood by John Locke and the American founding fathers. The natural law tradition holds that man possesses natural rights to life, liberty, and property and that the state is always and everywhere the greatest threat to these God-given rights.

To the founders, this meant that government should be 'bound by the chains' of the Constitution, to paraphrase Jefferson. If men were angels, there would be no need for government, Madison wrote in defense of the Constitution. But men are not angels, Madison continued, which is why government power must always be limited."