The Princeton Tory 35.2

T H E

A

TORY

JOURNAL

C A N

P R I N C E T O N

OF

T H E

CONSERVATIVE

AND

MODERATE

U N I V E R S I T Y

V O L U M E

X X X V

- -

I S S U E

B E

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THOUGHT

S A V E D ?

PUBLISHER'S NOTE Dear Tories, I hope this issue finds you well as the year draws

For a detailed introduction of this and one

to a close. The Tory has had an enterprising April,

other opinion column - and a quite exciting one at

hosting two events co-sponsored with the local

that - read dispatches from Jeff Zymeri, our tireless

executive council of the American Enterprise Institute.

Editor-in-Chief, who also takes the time to offer

We are also pleased to have further improved our

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engaging with our content. We would very much like

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We are proud to release a print issue which takes

letters to the editor, which we will make room for in

up that which we ought to be most concerned with -

the next issue. They can be addressed to

namely, the state of academia and whether it can be

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hard it may be.

In his debut, Tyler Eddy starts us off by taking a deep dive into the chilling of free speech here at the

Sincerely,

University and beyond. The ever-insightful Will Nolan Joaquim Brooks '20

argues that life in a world that has ostensibly transcended morality is not only incoherent but inevitably fruitless. Jacob Brown tackles the harmful societal division caused by universities meant only for the elites. I personally address the curricular problems of the modern university and question whether Princeton offers a true education. In a change of pace, Daniel Schwarzhoff exhorts conservatives not to be silent in the face of misrepresentation, arguing that good will breaks the monotony of preceptorial and social interactions.

On the news front, Bianca Ortiz-Miskimen covered the reactions of Venezuelan students to the ongoing political crisis in Caracas and Andrew Tufillaro interviewed Tory alumnus Ilya Shapiro ‘99 on various constitutional skirmishes overtaking the news.

In a town complement to an issue that’s centered on university issues, Hunter Campbell sounds off on the injustice of the property tax. Finally, I am very happy to include the first Lawsplainer column on the legal question that is non-delegation. This column will be written regularly by Senior Opinion Editor Akhil Rajasekar.

i | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Publisher of The Princeton Tory

T H E

P R I N C E T O N

TORY VOLUMEÂ XXXV

01

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ISSUE

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THE IVORY TOWER'S FAILURE TO UPHOLD FREE SPEECH Tyler Eddy

05

EVERY SPACE IS A MORAL SPACE Will Nolan

07

VENEZUELAN U. STUDENTS REACT TO COUNTRY'S 2019 PRESIDENTIAL CRISIS Bianca Ortiz-Miskimen

06

PROPERTY TAXES AND THE AMERICAN DREAM Hunter Campbell

11

HOW ELITE INSTITUTIONS FAIL AT PRODUCING ELITES Jacob Brown

13

ON PRE-CONCEIVED NOTIONS: A CONSERVATIVE'S PERSPECTIVE Danny Schwarzhoff

14

SHAPIRO '99 DISCUSSES TIME AT UNIVERSITY, COMMITMENT TO ORIGINALISM Andrew Tufillaro

16

COLLEGIATE INCOHERENCE: A CLOSER LOOK Joaquim Brooks

19

LETTERS FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jeff Zymeri

20

THE LAWSPLAINER: A MATTER OF NONDELEGATION Akhil Rajasekar

ii | The Princeton Tory | 2019

PUBLISHER Joaquim Brooks '20

EDITOR - IN - CHIEF Jeff Zymeri '20

HEAD OPINION EDITOR Akhil Rajasekar '21

OPINION EDITORS Max Parsons '20 Stephen Phillips '20

HEAD NEWS EDITOR Hannah Baynesan '22

NEWS EDITOR

Anne Marie Wright '20

COPY EDITORS Robert Doar '22 Thomas Morris '20

DESIGN AND CARTOON EDITOR Grace Koh '20

CARTOONIST

Christopher Huh '21

FINANCIAL MANAGER Will Crawford '20

EVENTS MANAGER Nick Sileo '20

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Jeb Banavige '20

NEWS WRITERS Bianca Ortiz-Miskimen '22 Andrew Tufillaro '22

STAFF WRITERS Tyler Eddy '21 Will Nolan '19 Jacob Brown '20 Danny Schwarzhoff '20

CONTRIBUTING WRITER Hunter Campbell '20

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Anna Bray Duff '92 Peter Hegseth '03 Peter Heinecke '87 Ira Leeds '06 Brian Tvenstrup '95 Timothy Webster '99 James Haynes '18

iii | The Princeton Tory | 2019

THE IVORY TOWER'S FAILURE TO UPHOLD FREE SPEECH Tyler Eddy

Opinion

Last week, a friend and I were

Ad hominem attacks and threats to job

actions, resulted in both Heying and

walking together through Central Park in

and welfare are being used not only to

Weinstein resigning from their positions.

New York City. It was the first time we had

keep the other side in check, but also to

both been there, and we hadn’t seen

enforce conformity among one’s own

occurred at Yale University, where Erika

each other since we had both gotten out

ranks.

and Nicholas Christakis ignited the fury

Two years earlier a similar event

of the Marines nearly two years ago. We

However, college campuses

were walking slowly, casually catching

including Princeton’s are a significant

concerning Halloween costumes. The

up on everything that had happened

source of this stifling of expression. One

email recommended less social

since we last been in touch, when by

symptom is a serious lack of ideological

chance we came into earshot of a couple

regulation of costumes, suggesting

diversity among public speakers on

talking to one another as they slowly

people should be able to wear attire from

campus, likely exacerbated by the

overtook us.

predominantly liberal views of faculty and

other cultures if it is not offensive or

“… well the issue with the Iraq War that no one realizes is – ” “ – Shhhh!” we then heard. At the

administrators, whose liberalconservative ratio is nearly ten times that of the student body. The effects of this

behest of her boyfriend, the girl turned

overwhelming orthodoxy are already

her head and made eye contact with us, a

evident at Princeton and on campuses

look of concern dawning on her face.

across the nation, where students and

They changed direction and quickly

faculty are becoming increasingly hostile

walked away.

to dissenting and alternate viewpoints.

This bizarre encounter appeared to

What may be surprising is that the

suggest that our very presence had

most vivid attacks against liberals have

caused these complete strangers to

occurred at the very places that used to

quickly and instinctively censor

be their safe havens: colleges and

themselves — it was a striking

universities. In 2017, Heather Heying and

phenomenon indeed for a casual

Bret Weinstein, married professors of

weekend stroll through the park.

evolutionary biology and self-professed

The assault on free speech is real,

progressives, were embroiled in a bitter

pervasive, and not directed at

campus battle at Evergreen State College

conservatives alone. For liberals, this

in Washington State. In response to a

topic seems like little more than

faculty-led diversity campaign for a “Day

conservatives skulking in the corner with

of Absence,” where all white faculty and

a bloody nose after being properly

students were asked to stay at home,

rebuked. But for those of us who are

Weinstein wrote an email in opposition

watching more carefully—far too few it

that caused nothing less than a student-

seems—the most alarming assaults on

led revolt. Even as mass hysteria broke

the free expression of ideas have been

out, the president of Evergreen refused to

against those individuals firmly planted in

allow police on campus, which resulted in

the left. Personal attacks on people for

law enforcement recommending

promoting certain beliefs or ideas have

Weinstein stay outdoors for his own

become a commonplace tool in political

safety (the professor was surrounded

discourse, and now they are being

multiple times indoors by groups of

martialed against those who simply

hostile students). This bizarre and

express disagreement to new ideas from

alarming event, along with the

within their political party.

University’s hostility to Weinstein and his

1 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

of certain minority students over an email

demeaning in character. The whole altercation resulted in a twenty-minute scene later uploaded to YouTube with college students telling a faculty member to be silent. The students’ seizure of control over the conversation and disinclination to constructively engage opposing viewpoints is chilling to say the least.

This does not bode well for conservative scholars. Limits to their academic freedom were apparent in the recent example of Professor Samuel Abrams at Sarah Lawrence College. Last October, Abrams, a politics professor, wrote an article for The New York Times entitled, “Think Professors are Liberal?

Try Administrators.” Here, Abrams cited a recent study that found liberal college administrators outnumber their conservative colleagues twelve to one, with a shocking twenty-five to one ratio in New England universities. Abrams noted that this disparity clearly impacted the choices of speakers and events hosted by schools. Following the publication of his piece, Abrams had his office vandalized, endured false claims of sexual harassment having been made against him, and had threats made to his family’s safety. This harrowing display eventually culminated in the formation of a student-controlled group that

demanded his tenure be reviewed by a

enterprises. Across the nation, Americans

albeit generally on the left. Harris is a

board of minority faculty members. In

are tuning into podcasts, YouTube

vehement opponent of Donald Trump

addition, forty faculty members signed

channels, and new journals in search of

and supporter of universal basic income,

the list of demands. When Abrams

insights into U.S Politics and social issues

and Rogan has frequently expressed

reached out to the president of Sarah

without biases or reinforcement of

support for government funded

Lawrence for support, he was told that he

narratives. One example of the sharp rise

healthcare and secondary education.

should have contacted her before writing

in intellectually rigorous free debate is

These two-hour-plus conversations cover

an opinion piece, and that he had

the new journal started by Australian

topics in contemporary social issues such

insulted his colleagues. She then

Claire Lehmann — Quillette. Quillette has

as identity politics, Trump and Russia,

suggested he start looking for

become a mixed bag of articles written by

social media, Black Lives Matter,

employment elsewhere. Simply because

academics, businessmen, college students, drag queens, and software

#MeToo, and more. For many Americans,

he expressed his desire for more diverse thought on campus, Abrams had his

engineers, all with the same goal of

whole life turned upside down.

defending free speech against “regressive leftism” and the normalization

" Colleges and universities that are seeking to be leaders in social change must be aware of the dangers they themselves pose; diversity includes diversity of thought, inclusivity means political inclusivity as well. "

of the diversity of American politics.

Commentators have labelled the journal everything from “the new Slate” to leaning right-of-center. People struggle to definitively label Quillette because it has no political affiliation; it is simply a platform that gives opposing, or even internally dissenting opinions, focusing on the ability and right to be heard.

Absent the current environment policing speech, it is unlikely that we would have this strange alliance of politically disparate thinkers centered on the free expression of ideas.

Another example of alternative media platforms contributing to the rise

From where we currently stand, it might be hard to think of these threats to academic freedom as beneficial, but in some ways they have been. It is odd that

of rational debate is the Intellectual Dark Web (IDW). Coined by Eric Weinstein, brother of Bret Weinstein, this group includes now nationally recognized

most people, at least outside the

figures such as Joe Rogan, Jordan

academic world, are unaware of these

Peterson, and Sam Harris. Its somewhat

disconcerting events. A quick search of

nefarious name is meant to depict the

any of the names associated with these

harsh treatment group members have

events finds very little news coverage

received from the mainstream liberal

outside of Fox, Breitbart, or smaller news

media. Rogan’s podcast now has 5 million

outlets focused on higher education. This

subscribers (more than Fox and CNN

is indicative of a larger trend of

viewers combined) and has been one of

unawareness working its way across

the focal meeting points for these

America. The threat to academic freedom

thinkers, all podcasters themselves. Just

on college campuses and the failure of

as with Quillette, it is difficult to

the liberal-left dominated media to report

categorize members of this community

on certain issues has resulted in a rapid

into a homogenous label; they come from

rise of new platforms and intellectual

a diverse background of political beliefs,

2 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

these outlets, which do not restrict their focus to three-minute soundbites and where guests cannot run from difficult questions, have become their trusted source for current events and robust analysis.

Despite the liberal leaning views of members of the IDW and the diverse beliefs of the Quillette writers, these media sources have been relentlessly attacked by mainstream liberal-leftist outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, Vox, and Slate. Of course, the standard rhetoric consists of labelling their points of view alt-right, fascist, racist, misogynist, or other misplaced character-based attacks without any supporting evidence. For example, a common source used to slander Peterson is a New York Times opinion piece entitled “Jordan Peterson, Custodian of the Patriarchy,” The article is littered with falsehoods ranging from Peterson’s alleged support of a patriarchal society to his alleged belief that women should be forcibly married. Despite the obvious inaccuracy of the claims – mere misrepresentations of Peterson’s fairly commonplace denial of the patriarchy and support for hierarchies—Peterson’s numerous fans cannot help but notice that this article was published in one of America’s leading news sources.

Recently, a cabal of Canadian academics suggested that Quillette writers who are academics should be catalogued and banned from teaching at universities,

even going so far as to say via Twitter that

the circumstances surrounding free

and Peterson dabble in pseudoscience

“we are watching you.” Unbeknownst to

speech at the University had worsened.

or “pop-psychology” fail to explain how

these “academics,” they have caused

The exposé chronicled the disinvitation

both have managed to pull a variety of

these “dark web” intellectuals to become

of legal scholar Amy Wax from a Whig-

intellectuals to their podcast, ranging

more careful, deliberate, and thoughtful

Cliosophic Society event, the topic of

from Sean Carroll, Steven Pinker, Neil

in their arguments. What’s more, they

which was none other than freedom of

deGrasse Tyson, Ken Burns, Daniel

have expanded the Quillette fanbase, as

speech. However, the cancellation was

Kahneman, all the way to Princeton’s own

previously agnostic viewers discern that

followed by Whig-Clio’s hosting of

Peter Singer. No attempt has been made

these accusations are the simplistic and

comedian Chelsea Handler to discuss

malicious attempts to silence opposing

to bring nationally renowned speakers

wokeness and white privilege, a

views. The visible fear and rejection of

like Harris or Peterson on campus to

University department’s hosting of

intellectual honesty and robust debate

professional football player Michael

provide an articulated rebuttal to

does not appeal to those who seek

Bennett to discuss racism in the NFL, and

altruistic, useful, and long-lasting

a slew of other spotlighted events

solutions.

covering everything from Marxism to

Princeton University, among other

reparations for the black community. I

top-tier institutions, occasionally makes

want to be entirely clear: I don’t think

itself complicit in this national trend, the

there is any issue with these events being

most visible manifestation of which can

held. I myself attended several and

be found in the behavior of its students.

enjoyed the exposure to new ideas. But

In an attempt to open dialogue about free

this perfectly illustrates my point.

speech, President Eisgruber chose Speak

Students and faculty on campus are only

Freely as his Pre-read, a book written by

allowed exposure to views that survive

conservative-leaning Professor of Politics

the cleansing of left-leaning orthodoxy.

Keith Whittington. In an illustrative turn of

Professor Abrams’ words in the Times

events, Eisgruber announced that the

article seemed to be playing out before

traditional bonfire following an

our eyes.

copies of the book into the fire, as some had planned. Dismayed at the announcement, students still felt it necessary to paint the image of the book cover onto a pallet and burn it, reinforcing the dystopian image. When I asked students who were angry at Eisgruber’s choice for Pre-read what they did not like about the book, I heard the now-familiar, “Why would I even read that thing?” This is hardly a new sentiment. In 2017, The Daily Princetonian released an opinion arguing that those who oppose progressive ideals have no right to be

Speech.”

they meet the same standards as Handler and Bennett. As for explicitly conservative speakers, they have been forced to be hosted by student groups rather than academic and administrative departments, clearly limiting the available funds and venues for these events, and sending a powerful message: liberal speakers are more important than conservative speakers.

Events like these caused me to engage more actively with political discourse on campus with the explicit diversity of ideas, and the acceptance of

" Princeton trains the future leaders and trailblazers of the worlds and for this purpose it is imperative that it challenge the ideas of all constituent students and expose them to the views representative of everyone. "

others’ rights to hold differing views.

Consequently, I have come into contact with black and LGBT conservatives, gay Muslims and Christians, Honey Badgers (a women’s group that supports the Men’s Rights Movement), and many more incredibly fascinating and insightful individuals and groups. Listening to their stories and participating in the discussions that ensued have been some of the most humbling moments of my life, and I have been incredibly grateful to begin this journey.

That being said, I have attended and participated in debates on the rights

heard and in the same year a department chair gave a lecture titled, “F%*# Free

Whatever their academic qualifications,

desire to promote freedom of speech, the

undefeated football season would be cancelled if students threw their free

mainstream political thought on campus.

Let’s return to Harris and Peterson.

When Peterson spoke at Cambridge

of conservatives to speak at all about their political views and even

University, tickets were sold out and

conversations on the efficacy of violence

burning wars, The Tory released an

students and faculty alike stood in the

in American politics. Once, I attended a

investigative article demonstrating that

hall to listen to him. Claims that Harris

public talk where a member of the

Just a few months after the book

3 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Institute of Advanced Studies described

campus focused on furthering debate

of differing views that will realign the

conservatives as the greatest threat to

and knowledge. It is clear now that it is a

country onto a path towards political

academic freedom in America. Just two

table with only two legs on which to

normalization. This, of course, means that

weeks ago, The Daily Princetonian

stand. There does exist a rigorous pursuit

the prominent faculty, staff, and

released a news article about a violent

of understanding, but the paths are often

administrators that comprise this

encounter between Riley Heath,

limited by political biases. A supposedly

institution must host and engage those

president of the Princeton chapter of the

academic world that holds great

with whom they disagree strongly.

free speech advocacy group Turning

contempt for free speech has caused the

Despite an estimated liberal to

Point USA, and a left-leaning group. In the

most intellectually gifted young men and

conservative ratio of 24-to-1 in New

article, the words “alleged” and “claimed”

women of our country, all passionate in

England university administrators,

were printed fifteen times to describe

their beliefs, to be barely able to articulate

and 30-to-1 in faculty at Princeton,

Heath’s statements, while such language

defenses of their worldview. Gone are the

Princeton administrators must listen to

of doubt was not featured once in

days of good-faith debates and a pursuit

their students, 30% of whom national

reporting the left-leaning group’s

of truth. Our public forum today appears

surveys indicate as conservative.

counterclaim that Heath simply “walked

unable to distinguish between attacking

Colleges and universities that are seeking

into a door.” Both the University’s

ideas and attacking people, and even the

to be leaders in social change must be

administration and the leadership of the

idea of truth has been corrupted by

aware of the dangers they themselves

left-leaning group denied requests for

possessives. Although I am grateful for

pose; diversity includes diversity of

comment. Regardless of veracity, claims

the intellectual rigor that has been forced

thought, inclusivity means political

of political violence from anyone must be

upon moderate liberals and

inclusivity as well. But most importantly,

taken seriously and the failure of the

conservatives, the failure to welcome

Princeton cannot forget its primary

University’s administration to publicly

opposing views on all sides is pervasive.

responsibility is to provide the most

condemn such an occurrence sent a

Princeton University is internationally

rigorous and diverse education to its

subtle message to would-be attackers.

renowned for good reason: the faculty

student body. Princeton trains the future

The crisis of free speech we currently

and staff stand on equal footing with any

leaders and trailblazers of the worlds and

face is caused, as Abrams astutely

academics alive today. I love this place,

for this purpose it is imperative that it

observed, by a lack of meaningful action

and this is what drives me to fight for a

challenge the ideas of all constituent

from faculty and administrators at

diversity of views. Princeton's high stature

students and expose them to the views

colleges and universities around the

easily places it in a position to set a

representative of everyone. After many

nation. When I applied to the University

national trend of academic and

insightful conversations with these future

while in the Marine Corps, I dreamt of a

intellectual revitalization and acceptance

leaders and dreamers, it is more than apparent that they are equipped for it.

Tyler Eddy is a Sophomore in the Astrophysical Sciences Department. He can be contacted at tjeddy@princeton.edu.

4 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

EVERY SPACE IS A MORAL SPACE Will Nolan It is never desirable to be accused of

Opinion of “proton” and “Hadron Collider,” but it

which no longer survives, and are only

moralism. We don’t want to be beholden

is inexact and approximate; precise

harmful without it.

to the stuffy demands of a grandparent

atomic models and experimental records

who embraces the last vestiges of a

are consigned to the dustbin of history.

Puritan heritage. Even if the word

MacIntyre contends that moral

Her solution is to simply rule out the use of duty-driven words which are now outmoded and no longer useful. After all,

“morality” is generally understood, the

discourse in our own day is exactly

morality really was just the veneer of

concept today no longer has the currency

equivalent. That is, we have inherited a

good manners promulgated by Puritan

to be efficacious or persuasive. Whether

rather nebulous conglomeration of words

New England, or perhaps Victorian

or not we ought to blame the death of

—“morality,” “virtue,” “justice”—whose

God or some other event, the force that

Britain, for the smooth running of society,

exact signification we fail to grasp.

once made moral statements meaningful

and nothing else. If so, we ought not to

Because gaining access to the context in

is gone. But this state of affairs has not

which the original meaning of these

lament its passing, but along with

stopped us. Sexual misconduct, the

words arose is temporally impossible, he

honor code, and the incarceration box

suggests that we are stuck using them in

remain prevalent campus prerogatives.

wrongheaded ways. For example,

Each of these debates requires the ability

“reproductive justice” has nothing to do

to articulate obligations to certain norms

with the traditional meaning of justice

of conduct, norms whose violation is

being the virtue that governs the

cause for reprobation and censorship. But

relationships between people. The

they, too, often seem to fall prey to the

consequence is that morality has been

overwrought rhetoric of unfounded

taken from the environment in which it

dogmatism. Yet we ought not to despair

was once intelligible and the discourse of

that morality still lingers even while its

moral philosophy has broken down.

grounding is gone. In fact, the very

If he is right about where we are, then

sterility and oppressiveness which seem

the situation is dire. We lack the ability to

to characterize the moralism of

communicate about issues which

contemporary political advocacy can only

demand the individual or collective

be eliminated by giving a substantive

responsibility of people to accomplish.

basis for morality.

We likewise cannot go back in time to

Once-Marxist philosopher Alasdair

regain an appreciation for the colors and

MacIntyre begins his 1981 book After

contours that once contextualized such

Virtue with a rather bleak image of

language, endowing it with intelligibility.

contemporary discourse on moral

Since we cannot fashion a solution for the

philosophy. He allegorizes a story in

latter problem, I dedicate the remainder

which the world has gone through so

of my words here towards the former.

disastrous a catastrophe that the

British philosopher Elizabeth

common narrative of the scientific

Anscombe, a contemporary of MacIntyre,

revolution and its ensuing successes do

argues that, “the concepts of obligation

not survive: instead, we have only the

and duty—moral obligation

tattered remains of a handful of

and moral duty, that is to say—and of

textbooks, the broken parts of shattered

what is morally right and wrong, and of

instruments, and a limited scientific

the moral sense of “ought,” ought to be

vocabulary vaguely inherited from the

jettisoned if this is psychologically

previous generation. In this new world,

possible. These concepts are survivals

we might have some idea of the meaning

from an earlier conception of ethics

5 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Nietzsche, we ought to finally rejoice that we have given up our ungrounded faith in the values of true and false, of right and wrong. Since the imago Dei is a forgotten myth, we might as well make ourselves in the image of man.

The downside of this resolution is that it undermines any good, such as maintaining a peaceful society, that is attained by using the word “moral.” In other words, jettisoning moral language does nothing to fill the gap that an absence of morality creates.

One contemporary manifestation of the vapid state of moral language is the wayward conversation about human rights. I was recently at an undergraduate conference in which the Yale Political Union and the visiting Ivy League schools debated the resolution “Human Rights are Human Fiction.” After a series of floor speeches had been delivered at this strange convention, the resolution passed by a generous margin. The most compelling and repeated argument for this conclusion based itself on the fact that older notions of human anthropology, God, and the common good no longer ground claims of rights.

Instead, since the UN adopted the 1048 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, rights have been the ungrounded invention of government leaders.

For roughly the last seventy-five years,

demonstrates that rules are seen as a

something to be desired. We depend

linguistic use of “human rights” has

necessary aspect of a well-functioning

upon moral rules even while expressing

simply been the accepted way to give

campus community. Not only do its

our distaste for them.

panache and credibility to a law that

proponents accept a normative claim

needs (and lacks) some substantive

(“sexual misconduct is evil and ought to

contemporary advocacy is not the only

foundation.

be eliminated”) but they take a measure

kind of morality open to us. The fear of a

But there is another response to the

Perhaps the shallowness of

to realize this end. The (fortunate)

stuffy legalism of today is as valid as our

decay of a moral vocabulary. One can

widespread consensus on sexual

condemnation of ungrounded puritanism.

insist that the very reason that moral

misconduct is simply one contemporary

However, if we really want to move

semantics lost their significance stems

example of absolutist claims operating

beyond the problems latent in a truly

from the abandonment of deeper

amidst a general distrust for moral

outmoded morality, we need to reframe

metaphysical commitments. In reality, if

language.

our current account as well. Simply

language has become bereft of

At the University, we are walking a

scrapping one list of arbitrary rules in lieu

significance, then substantive

strange line right now. On the one hand,

understandings behind mere semantics

moral language is outdated and when

that once gave them life have also been

revived, often perceived as an instance of

flourish without normative directives of

stripped away. The despoilment of

power play by a dominant group. But

behavior. We must acknowledge,

language is a secondary consequence or

simultaneously, “bystander intervention”

whether it is fashionable or not, that every

a superficial symptom of a deeper shift in

and “sexual misconduct training” urge us,

space is a moral space. Lacking further

ontology. If moral discourse is an

in certain ways, to be moral citizens of the

substantiation, collective detestation or

example of this kind of change, then the

campus community. The authorities of

praise of an action—such as sexual

solution is not simply to jettison terms of moral duty (though that may be part of it), but to recover the understanding that once animated them to a status of communicability and importance.

I believe that we should prefer this second response. Without morality, individual lives, campuses, and societies lack shape, genesis, and direction.

The University is well aware, for

of another will not change anythin I believe that a university cannot

misconduct—is shallow and superficial.

" Without morality, individual lives, campuses, and societies lack shape,

Instead, the persistent presence of such social condemnation or approval speaks to the need for uncovering a deeper basis for moral claims. To raise a true edifice of morality that is not baselessly asserted, we must be able distinguish between the good and the bad in contemporary advocacy. The edifice of morality lacks a

genesis, and

foundation, and we need to build one.

direction. "

Will Nolan is a Senior in the Philosophy Department. He can be contacted at wnolan@princeton.edu.

example, of the dire import of the issues of sexual assault and harassment. It recently passed a new resolution that no “romantic” or “sexual” relationships of

the non-academic parts of academia must

any kind can exist between faculty and

find themselves in an odd place. For it is

students, even between faculty and

as if we are unaware that through the

graduate students. Regardless of what

destruction of a morality – however

one thinks about the exact merits of this

imperfect – we would be left with cultural

resolution, it points to the reality that

chaos unless something else filled the

sexual misconduct is a serious enough

gap. Right now, the gap is filled by empty

problem that the University wants to take

lists of rights, rules, and responsibilities.

a substantive initiative to mitigate it. This

Orientation leaders are provided

effort, even if it’s not expressed in the

sensitivity training ad nauseum, and a

same way by its advocates, is the

non-satirical “hook-up bill of rights”

enactment of a moral prerogative. Of

exists. Such pandering responses to the

course the motivations aren’t necessarily

real problems on campus aren’t full-

couched in language of moral

fledged degradations of the dignity of

imperatives, but the resolution

humans, but at the very least they leave

6 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

VENEZUELAN U. STUDENTS REACT TO COUNTRY'S 2019 PRESIDENTIAL CRISIS

News

Bianca Ortiz-Miskimen University students from Venezuela are backing the U.S. in its decision to oppose the government of Nicolás Maduro, whose legitimacy as president is disputed.

Although Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, the country is in the midst

who have shown support for Guaidó and

general consensus among Venezuelan

the opposition party.

nationals concerning U.S. military

University freshman Juan José López

intervention is mixed, it is important to

Haddad ‘22, a freshman who was born and

recognize the potential legacy that such

educated in Venezuela, explained that he

action could have on Venezuela. “It’s not

also opposes anti-Guaidó rhetoric.

just going in and getting Maduro out of there. What happens next?” Jerez asked.

of a national and humanitarian crisis that has

“This is not a coup led by the United

been characterized by corruption, blackouts,

States. This is a constitutional process that

hyperinflation, increasing poverty rates,

is being hampered by a government that is

have been open to the idea of intervention,

unconstitutional,” López Haddad said.

there have been vocal critics of such a

kleptocracy, and government expropriation of private businesses.

Maduro was elected as the United

According to the Venezuelan constitution, if the country experiences an

Socialist Party’s candidate for president in May “absolute power vacuum,” the National Assembly head ought to become interim of 2018, but the results have been subject to president. This was the justification for vehement disagreement. Critics argue that Guaidó’s claim to the presidency, which the voting was rigged and point to the election’s Trump administration has since recognized historically low voter turnout, due in part to the as legitimate. fact that Venezuelan opposition leaders’ called Alejandro Martinez Rodriguez, a Ph.D. for citizens to boycott the election. In light of student in the University’s Department of these issues, the head of Venezuela’s National Spanish and Portuguese, agreed with Assembly, Juan Guaidó, declared himself Vilchez Santiago, expressing supporting for acting president in January of 2019. the American decision to recognize Guaidó University senior Samuel Vilchez Santiago as interim president. Martinez Rodriguez ’19 was born in Venezuela and came to was born in Venezuela and received a B.A. America in 2010 with asylum status. in Literature from the Universidad Católica “The election in 2018 was not legitimate,” Andrés Bello in Caracas. asserted Vilchez Santiago. “Seventeen out of “[Guaidó] is the first leader in the eighteen opposition parties were not allowed Venezuelan opposition that all of the to register a candidate. The three major people in the opposition are supporting,” opposition candidates were not allowed to Martinez Rodriguez explained. run.”.

Vilchez Santiago explained that there is

In the past, continued Martinez

Rodriguez, opposition leaders have not anti-Guaidó rhetoric among Americans who are received as large of a groundswell of against intervention and believe that the U.S. support as Guaidó has amassed. Guaidó might attempt to install a puppet government

has even attracted many supporters of

in Venezuela. However, this is a position which Maduro’s socialist predecessor, Hugo contradicts the beliefs of many Venezuelan Chávez, to his cause.

University students as well as the beliefs of

In addition to recognizing Guaidó as

While those who are right-of-center

move on the left. Examples include politicians like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), a democratic socialist, has gone so far as to refuse to refer to Maduro as a dictator.

In light of this, Vilchez Santiago explained that it is important to draw a distinction between the socialist strand of such politicians and socialism as it exists in Venezuela. Blatant expropriation of private property in Venezuela is one way he illustrated the difference.

Jerez argued that U.S. politicians should not attempt to politicize the issue, instead calling for the current political situation to be viewed first and foremost as a humanitarian crisis.

“I think minimizing the issue to a political one through a U.S. lens is a pretty big disservice to a lot of people who are really suffering because it is a humanitarian crisis of a huge scale,” said Jerez. “This is an issue that transcends political boundaries.”

Martinez Rodriguez agreed with Jerez and warned against analyzing Venezuela on U.S. terms.

“It is not the left versus the right,”

many Venezuelan nationals, who have shown

interim president, United States President

explained Martinez Rodriguez. “It is the

support for Guaidó and the opposition party.

Donald Trump has declared that U.S.

people of Venezuela versus Nicolás

military intervention in Venezuela is “an

Maduro and his government.”

University freshman Juan José López Haddad ‘22, a freshman who was born and educated in Venezuela, explained that he also opposes anti-Guaidó rhetoric.

option.”

University senior Maria Jerez ’19, who was born in Venezuela, said that while the

7 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Bianca Ortiz-Miskimen is a Freshman. She can be contacted at biancao@princeton.edu.

PROPERTY TAXES AND THE AMERICAN DREAM Hunter Campbell Growing up in America, most of us

Opinion basic notions of liberty and the American

something he supposedly already owns,

are asked at some point, either in school

Dream that we hold dear. It is a tax

and his ownership and influence over the

or by an adult in our lives: “what does the

burden which should be moved to other

property is contingent on him paying the

‘American Dream’ mean to you?” This can

areas, such as income or sales, while also

government. Unlike an income tax,

be a challenging question to answer,

acknowledging that property taxes are

property taxes are not linked to one’s

resulting in arguments over small details

completely justifiable on second homes

yearly income, and hence are insensitive

such the extent to which it is about a

whose owners live out-of-state.

to dramatic changes in one’s finances.

commitment to a set of ideals or a mere

Property taxes are, in effect, a small

Property value is a poor measure of real

description of how life ought to be in the

rent payment each year which restricts

United States. A far easier question to

taxable income in a community. When

the idea of true ownership, partially

answer for some may be “what does the

compared to a sales tax, property taxes

counteracting some of the best benefits

American Dream look like to you?” One of

of owning a home. For example, over time

are similarly regressive, but they are not

the easiest images to come up with may

it is less expensive to buy a home

be a buying a car, a dog, starting a family,

because eventually one will have spent

succeeding in one’s career, and finally

more on rent than on the mortgage while

owning one’s own home. Some will

not owning any property whose value

imagine this home surrounded by a

increase might increase over time.

freshly-painted white picket fence, others

Another point in favor of homes is that the

will see a handmade cabin in a forest

buyer owns and control them, allowing

clearing, and others still will see a farm

him to make changes to the house and

surrounded by rolling hills.

property, to resell it, or to pass it on to his

Land has been on the minds of the

children. Yet both of these points miss the

American people for decades, from the

ultimate trap homeowners face: failing to

Homestead Act of 1862, which gave

have the funds to pay these taxes will

Americans a chance to claim 160 acres of

force the homeowner to sell the home in

land for free if they promised to work it for

order to avoid legal troubles. The home

five years, to the late 20th century, where

never really belongs to the homeowner,

it was common knowledge that

because he must continue to pay for the

homeownership was an incredibly

house each year, just for the privilege of

American act. As a New York Times article

continuing to own the land that he or she

proclaimed in 1988, “when it comes to

already owns.

owning a home, few people in the world

In reality, the homeowner is more like

pursue the dream with as much vigor,

a home controller: he maintains a degree

desire or penny-pinching thrift as

of control over the property insofar as he

Americans.” The penny-pinching thrift

makes the yearly payment. Unlike

comment is insightful, because property

someone renting an apartment, the

taxes in today’s America, which

homeowner can make whatever choices

sometimes are over 2% of the property's

he wants in regard to the property, insofar

taxable value a year, are a key factor in

as they comply with the law, and he

the expenses facing homeowners.

makes one large payment for the home in

Property taxes are an economic burden

exchange for far smaller yearly payments

which prevents families from buying,

instead of monthly payments. Yet, this

maintaining, and passing down their key

enhanced property control and reduced

assets: land and homes. These taxes are

economic burden do not change the fact

similarly harmful to some of the most

that property taxes are still payments for

8 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

contingent on someone actively making a purchase. Instead, the government effectively assumes that a person will have the money each year to cover the tax on the property that person had purchased beforehand. When compared to the estate tax, a property tax is not even taking money based on a perceived exchange of wealth. A property can stay in the same hands for decades yet be taxed year after year.

Some may question just how burdensome these property taxes really are. For context, as of 2017 six states have effective property taxes of 2% or greater: Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey. In New Hampshire, for example, the average home value is $255,242, and the effective property tax rate is 2.03%, meaning that in 50 years a homeowner will have paid for his home’s at-purchase value two separate times: once in the purchase, and again through property taxes. He will in effect have bought a second home which does not even exist.

This situation gets even worse when once factors in the sales price of the home, which will have been higher than the actual home’s value; interest on the buyer’s mortgage; and the possibility of the home’s value increasing, which would increase absolute taxation even

more). California did take steps to rectify

brush covering the yard. In effect, the

there are two possible scenarios in which

this problem through its 1978 Proposition government has punished her for her hard

a state could justifiably have these taxes.

13 which changed tax laws so that a

work and diligence. It has disincentivized

There are certain government services

property’s taxable value cannot increase

good behavior and has turned it into a

which a state’s populace may determine

more than 2% in a given year. Property

burden.

to be critical to the protection of land and

values may only be reassessed when a

The situation could get even worse

homes themselves. For example, a fire

given property is sold. Unfortunately,

for this woman. Let us pretend that she is

department is necessary to ensure that

most states have not taken such bold

40 years old, and has been working a fairly

fires neither destroy someone’s property

measures to end the punishing nature of

low paying job since leaving high school, property taxes. The danger of an increase and she had been putting money back for in home value is the truly offensive nearly two decades to afford this house.

element of property taxes: you are

punished by the government for doing home improvement to a house you may not ever actually sell.

Imagine a woman has saved up money for a decade to buy what she plans to one day be her dream home. The $200,000 house on an 11 acre property is in poor shape at first, yet she hopes to slowly fix it up in her free time to be the house she has always wanted. She is going to do this all by her own hands, and

increases, the government will demand an

employees can reach the property if the

even higher fee for her to continue living

need arises. All of these services directly

in the house, even though neither the tax

relate to the protection of property. They

rate itself nor her actual income has

do not fund ancillary services or programs. Yet, for these services, what

" Property taxes are an

matters most is the size of both the home

economic burden which

and the surrounding land. The quality of

prevents families from buying, maintaining, and

market; this house is where she wants to

assets: land and homes.

damaged shingles, planting a garden, and clearing brush from the yard. She puts on a new coat of paint on the chipping walls and builds the home a new deck. As tax season draws near, she

These taxes are similarly harmful to some of the most basic notions of liberty and the American Dream that we hold dear. "

is startled to realize that these home improvements have increased the value

changed. At a 2% tax rate, her yearly

of her home! At first she is happy to know

payment of $4,000 will increase to

that she has made so many

$4,300. This is not pocket change,

improvements to her property. Yet, she

especially considering that 40% of

realized that the assessor who had come

American adults would not be able to

to her house just a few weeks earlier had

afford a $400 surprise expense. Imagine if

changed the recorded value of her

this woman were to have a pay-cut at

property to $220,000. She realizes that

work: it could put her homeownership at

she will now have to even more in

risk, possibly forcing her to sell the home

property taxes because she had the

she has put her own labor, savings, and

audacity to spend her free time improving

love into perfecting.

her property and making her

that these the fire trucks can reach the properties, or so that various government

passing down their key

her weekends replacing the home’s

another’s. It is necessary to have roads so

Each time the value of her property

has no desire to ever put the home on the spend the rest of her days. She spends

nor jump from one person’s property to

Up until this point I have explained

a home’s paint, or the addition of a garden to the yard, should not be relevant to the amount of money the government needs to protect the property. Therefore, the tax should be one based on size as opposed to general value. Homeowners could pay a yearly rate based off of the land’s acreage or the home’s square footage. There are a plethora of alternative taxes which the government could levy that would not be such blatant afronts to the basic ability to own property. Those in favor of more progressive tax rates might worry about the relatively regressive nature of the tax just described. Yet, having a flat tax in this particular area would not prevent progressive taxation in other areas such as income.

Another justifiable use of property taxes is placing them on property held by non-residents. These property owners will be paying no income tax to the state where they hold this extra property, such as a second home. They will also be

neighborhood more beautiful than it was

how oppressive property taxes are to

using land which could have been used

before. She would have been better off

Americans who wish to own property, but

by local residents. It would be justifiable

financially if she had just left he home

this oppressive nature does not mean that

to ask these out-of-state property owners

with chipping paint, a broken roof, and

all property taxes are unjustifiable. In fact,

to pay a property tax based on the value

9 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

of their home, in order to improve the

Ultimately, we should make an effort not

lives of the state’s actual residents, as

only to tax at just rates but also to ensure

well as to protect this owner’s property.

that our method of taxation is just.

There are many alternative areas from which a state can collect taxes, from income to sales to sins.

"EDUCATION" Christopher Huh '21

10 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Hunter Campbell is a Junior in the Politics Department. He can be contacted at hunterc@princeton.edu.

HOW ELITE INSTITUTIONS FAIL AT PRODUCING ELITES Jacob Brown Throughout the endless bickering

Opinion in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics – a

rises to the top and where financial

and infighting that has characterized the

program often compared to Princeton’s

success is tied to individual merit?

United Kingdom’s exit from the European

Woodrow Wilson School. Though Oxford

Union, one politician’s astute observation

now accepts 60% of its students from

does not hold up in practice. A recent

has been overlooked. Michael Roth,

state (public) schools, most of its recent

report shows the United States has nearly

Germany’s Deputy Foreign Minister, did

graduates also attended expensive prep

the lowest level of intergenerational

not mince words when he exclaimed that

schools, such as Eton and Harrow. These

social mobility of any wealthy country,

Brexit is a “big sh*t show.” The ensuing

institutions, which collectively graduate

placing only one rank above the UK.

media firestorm quoted Roth as saying

only 7% of all British high school

that “90% of the British cabinet have no

Hillary Clinton, Steve Bannon, Barack

students, serve to further perpetuate

idea how workers think, live, work and

Obama, George W. Bush, Al Gore, Ted

class disparities by giving the children of

behave” – and that they have no need to

wealthy families a leg up in applying to

Cruz, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump

because they were “born with silver

university. Despite admission practices

spoons in their mouths, and went to

supposedly based upon exam results,

private schools and elite universities.” As

Oxbridge is profoundly unmeritocratic.

the Monty Python-esque farce that is Brexit demonstrates, elite education begets leaders whose political imperatives are completely disconnected from the citizens they purport to represent. By perpetuating educational practices which exclude diverse points of view, current elites have condemned future generations to the policy failures of today. he British parliament’s continuing inability to agree on a path forward for Brexit indicates a significant failure of leadership among the country’s political and cultural elite. Yet despite their purported wide range of opinions, they

have more in common than many would like to admit. All of these political thought leaders attended Ivy League schools or similarly elite educational institutions.

If these institutions valued

" Princeton trains the

intellectual and socioeconomic diversity,

future leaders and

not be an issue. Unfortunately, this is not

trailblazers of the worlds and for this purpose it is imperative that it challenge the ideas of all constituent students and expose them to the views representative of everyone. "

share something in common: almost all of them attended one of the two highest-

And yet, this is where the future British

ranking schools in the country. In fact,

elite is created, and where they are taught

over 50% of the British cabinet, including

the sloppy habits of mind that are poorly

the Prime Minister, attended either Oxford

serving Great Britain today.

or Cambridge. These two institutions –

While in theory, this credo is true, it

This kind of concentrated power

forming an elite from their ranks would the case. American Ivy League schools have much the same problems as their British peers, admitting as many students from the top 1% of the income distribution as the bottom 60% – including our very own Princeton University. Geographic diversity is also an issue, considering that over half the University’s student body comes from North Eastern coastal states or California, despite these same states only possessing 35% of the nation’s population. Perhaps this would not be a problem if elite campuses actively encouraged intellectual diversity, but as my colleagues at the Tory demonstrate, this is very far from the truth. Most professors are liberal, as are most

collectively known as “Oxbridge,” have

may be expected in a country that has a

graduated the vast majority of British

long tradition of a class-based system.

cabinet ministers over the past five

But what about in the United States?

committed to free speech in name, few

centuries, as well as most of the nation’s

America is supposed to be a place where

take the initiative of creating classes

leading figures in academia, business,

anybody can get ahead if they work hard,

which challenge elite orthodoxy. The

and the arts. This exclusive group is

a place where those from humble

result is a graduating class that largely

strikingly homogenous, as most of its

backgrounds can accomplish their

remains in the intellectual bubble in

members possess a degree from Oxford

dreams. Is it not a place where the cream

which it was born, unable to formulate

11 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

students, and while universities are

innovative responses to the pressing

these schools from the picture would

effective democratic governance

issues facing the lower classes.

simply redistribute students to the next-

depends on our efforts – and it starts

highest-ranking schools, pushing the

right here.

One oft-cited solution is to abolish these schools together. French President

problem of elite concentration onto other

Emmanuel Macron has taken the

institutions.

extraordinary step of seeking to disband

So what can be done? No number of

France’s prestigious Ecole Nationale

self-critical op-eds in student newspapers

d’Administration (ENA), which produces

can make a measurable impact on elite

virtually all of the highest-ranking

attitudes. Nor can well-intentioned efforts

executives in the French government and

by the university to recruit people from

large corporations. Dissolving the elite

historically-disadvantaged racial

schools would probably not be possible

communities, many of whom are already

in the United States, but even if it were,

on the high end of the income

disbanding the elite class entirely may

distribution and end up moving to New

have unexpected consequences. Some

York and California like most of their

thinkers from the Italian School of Elitism

graduating class. The only real solution is

argue that it is important for a nation to

to increase geographic and

have some kind of “elite” separate from

socioeconomic diversity on elite

the common man, because it permits the

campuses, making it more representative

elite leaders of competing grassroots

of the American population. While I am

political groups to collaborate. An

not recommending affirmative action in

excellent example of this is early

the traditional sense, I do feel

twentieth-century Britain, which had both

comfortable with admissions officers

its Labour and Conservative parties led

giving a slight advantage to students

by Oxbridge graduates – individuals who

from underrepresented regions of the

were able to effectively navigate the

country, or those whose families lie below

communism-versus-capitalism debates

the 60% income threshold. Perfect

which consumed other European

equality is a pipe dream, but levelling the

countries. Camaraderie among members

playing field towards applicants with

of the elite, even those from opposing

different levels of academic opportunity

political groups, is necessary for a

is a step in the right direction.

democratic society to function. Elite

Alternatively, requiring a year of service

groupthink is dangerous, but so are

before matriculation would also be

radical grassroots groups that are unable

beneficial. The civic obligation would

to communicate with representatives

force expose members of the elite to

from the other side.

novel perspectives from people they

Thus the answer lies in the places where future leaders are created – that is,

might otherwise have never encountered.

Regardless, Princeton students, elite

elite institutions like Princeton. As unfair

or not, need to actively work to maintain

as it may seem, the Ivy League schools

their connection with the world of the

still produce the vast majority of the

common man. Contrived short-term

nation’s politicians, judges, and

community service does not cut it;

journalists, not to mention a

connections with those outside the

disproportionate number of high-ranking

bubble need to be maintained

corporate executives. The elite-making

throughout their entire working lives.

function of these institutions also extends

Britain may not be the mess it is today if

abroad, which is demonstrated by the

members of parliament had bothered to

large number of foreign heads of state

listen to their constituents, who simply

that are Ivy-League educated. Removing

want this farce to end. The future of

12 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Jacob Brown s a Junior in the Electrical Engineering Department. He can be contacted at jambrown@princeton.edu.

ON PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS: Danny Schwarzoff College conservatives are often

A CONSERVATIVE'S PERSPECTIVE Opinion

personhood behind an ideology creates

motivation behind owning a gun is

afraid to express their opinions to their

boogiemen. This, of course, is unhelpful

simply because it is an efficient way for

friends or classmates, and I understand

to any kind of meaningful civic discourse.

individuals to defend themselves. When

this concern: why position yourself to be

So how should both ends of the

criticized, laughed at, and even ridiculed

political spectrum can do to stop the

women’s “right to choose,” you can

when you want to get good grades and

destruction of thoughtful discussion?

explain that conservatives emphasize an

make friends? Several times I have been

College liberals should engage with

individual’s right to life. That alone could

asked by a friend: “Do you support

conservative students, especially those

be enough to fracture the narrative.

Trump?” I always give a smile and say,

with whom you already have an

“Yes I do.” And their eyes always widen.

underlying friendship founded on

They think, “Could it be possible that

rhetorical ammunition, or even an active

something that transcends politics—

someone I’ve known and laughed with is

academics, time spent together, common

engagement in the political sphere:

a conservative Trump supporter? But he

interests, or simply their personalities. A

doesn’t seem angry… He’s not hissing at

conversation with a pro-life student

minorities and women!” Many liberals

would reveal much more about his or her

have the misconception that in order to

true motivation, level of decency, and

be conservative, you have to be angry, racist, and selfish—and in college, probably weird. And as this faulty belief becomes more prevalent, conservative ideology becomes increasingly endangered.

But where does this belief come from? Likely it is perpetuated by the lack of personal exposure that college students have to differing ideologies, specifically conservative viewpoints.

Instead of hearing these ideas explained by other students and fleshing out their own arguments by engaging with those who disagree, their opinion of conservatism is based on their own preconceived notions. They never encounter the good intentions that lay behind opposing arguments. For example, pro-life advocates would never describe their mission as focused on eliminating “a woman’s right to choose,” and yet this is how they are strategically branded by the left. In the ideological echo-chamber of colleges, where no one challenges this blanket accusation, this becomes the only conception of the prolife argument in the mind of a liberal student. Failing to acknowledge the fundamental beliefs, intention, and

someone brings up the denial of a

This does not require war paint,

instead, simply be confident enough to acknowledge your own beliefs around your friends and colleagues. Your transparency and clarifications will help to convey the thoughtful, good intentions of conservatism that gets lost in the

“ Failing to acknowledge the fundamental beliefs, intention, and personhood behind an ideology creates boogiemen. ”

soundbites and talking points. Your presence will also compel any liberal friend toward making a decision that that they’ve had the leisure to avoid: should I tolerate this person? The less this question is asked, the more complacent and single-minded college campuses will become. The first step to increasing

care for human life than hearing a liberal

tolerance for conservative thought on

talking point that has distorted the

college campuses is to give those who

viewpoint in bad faith. It may strengthen

disagree with you something to tolerate.

your own convictions, or it may make you question them. Either way, you are in a position to better understand the opposing argument, as well as your own.

College conservatives should not be afraid to confirm their political ideology when asked about it. Question concepts antithetical to your beliefs in precept— many of these classes are designed for students to express their ideas and opinions. Show others that people all across the political spectrum, including conservatives, sit in class, laugh at jokes, and become friends with others. That way when someone talks about ‘evil’ NRA members, you can point to the arguments that you made in precept: that the actual

13 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Danny Schwarzoff is a Junior in the Economics Department. He can be contacted at djs7@princeton.edu.

SHAPIRO '99 DISCUSSES TIME AT UNIVERSITY, COMMITMENT TO ORIGINALISM News

Andrew Tufillaro Ilya Shapiro ‘99, the director of the

integral to his academic development.

Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional

“The focus on independent work

matter of figuring out how such propositions mean given different facts,”

Studies at the Cato Institute, has become

and writing really helped me develop my

an influential voice in shaping law and

communication skills and analytical

policy from an originalist perspective.

thinking, which are the key parts of

calls to change the Supreme Court

When he’s not writing or editing, Shapiro

success as a lawyer,” Shapiro explained.

confirmation process and the makeup of

often finds time for speaking

Shapiro also mentioned the vital

Shapiro said.

When asked to comment on recent

the nation’s highest court, Shapiro

engagements. He visited the University

influence of his senior thesis, written on

expressed concern, especially about

last December for a talk entitled “Election

constitutional development in Russia and

Controversies: Citizens United, Shelby

political frustration being used as a call

Argentina, pointing to the words of late

County, and Voter ID Laws,” hosted by

for radical structural change.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as

the newly created Princeton Federalist

a great encapsulation of the process: “I

Society.

don’t like writing, but I love having

After attending the University in the nineties, Shapiro received a MSc from the London School of Economics and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law

written.”

Shapiro was also a writer for the Tory during his time at the University.

Before joining the Cato Institute,

School. The institute he currently heads

Shapiro was a special adviser to the Multi-

“conduct[s] rigorous legal research…

National Force in Iraq and practiced at

aimed at encouraging a climate of ideas

Patton Boggs and Cleary Gottlieb.

conducive to liberty through constitutionally limited government.”

Shapiro also represents the Cato

Today, his schedule is very different from many lawyers in private practice.

“There is no typical day at Cato,”

Institute all around the country,

explained Shapiro. “I am privileged to

appearing on TV and taking meetings on

have a job that straddles the academic,

Capitol Hill. He is the Editor-In-Chief of

the legal, and the political.”

the Cato Supreme Court Review and his

Shapiro is a self-described originalist

op-eds have appeared in publications

and believes strongly in the importance

like The New York Times and The Wall

of not adapting ‘dead documents’ to

Street Journal.

modern times. “[Instead,] the lawyer’s job

However, much of the impact

is to always apply existing law… to novel

Shapiro has tried to make has come in the

facts that come about,” Shapiro said,

form of legal briefs called amicus curiae,

arguing against the ‘living document’

which attempt to sway the high court in

interpretation of the Constitution.

favor of a particular side on certain cases.

He noted that for an originalist,

Through these, Shapiro espouses a

definitions play a large role in the

“clear, libertarian perspective.”

process, as technology has advanced but

Shapiro explained that his career thus far has been profoundly impacted by his time at the University.

Although he knew he wanted to go

the original intent remains unchanging.

“The words ‘interstate commerce’ can be understood as much in the time of airplanes as they could in the times of

to law school before he got to college,

stagecoaches, and everything in-

Shapiro cited the Woodrow Wilson

between; it’s not so much [a matter of]

School’s “interdisciplinary flexibility” as

updating the Constitution, but it’s a

14 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

“I think it is really dangerous to want to fundamentally restructure our constitutional order, and proposals to pack the court have never worked traditionally well,” explained Shapiro. “I think voters will see these as naked partisan arguments, as they function as more of a power grab.”

Shapiro elaborated on this topic in an op-ed written shortly after the Tory interviewed him. “[How could one] get to an expansion of any kind that won’t result in a reciprocal expansion the next time the opposing party takes power?” Shapiro asked.

However, he wasn’t fully opposed to some structural changes, explaining that nothing short of a Constitutional amendment will have any permanent effect. Shapiro also noted that term limits might make sense but also explained that their efficacy is not assured.

“Fundamentally, all of these term limit proposals are rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, and the Titanic is not the process, it’s the product,” said Shapiro. “The reason why we have these toxic and politicized confirmations isn’t related to the Supreme Court process, but is rather a product of the growth of the federal government, and as Congress allocates its power to these

administrative agencies which are then sued, it is ultimately the judiciary that resolves these conflicts.”

Shapiro argued that the solution lies in a different direction.

“The only way to detoxify the process would be to rebalance the

down to states and localities,” Shapiro explained.

separation of powers so that Congress can take back its legislative authority, and to take power currently in Washington

WHAT A DEAL! Grace Koh '20

15 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Andrew Tufillaro is a Freshman. He can be contacted at ajt2@princeton.edu.

COLLEGIATE INCOHERENCE:

A CLOSER LOOK

Joaquim Brooks The American academy is failing, and Harvard is to blame. A structured curriculum, developed over centuries,

Opinion called Classic[s]" in addition to physical,

The University, for lack of a unified

mental, and moral science.

curriculum, encourages students to be

An early defender of the

intellectually myopic, without regard for

educated everyone from Thomas Aquinas

reconcilability of Darwinian evolution

the the integration of the various

to Hegel to John Witherspoon. The

with Christianity, McCosh encouraged

disciplines: in short, to become “bigoted

classical education, however, has been

students to “choose a wide range of

specialists.” While it is possible to derive

sacrificed at the altar of choice. The

[classes] to be taken side by side with

a valuable education while at Princeton,

elimination of a structured, carefully

obligatory and disciplinary courses.”

this task is nevertheless very difficult

organized curriculum has not only

These electives, however, were not to

resulted in the death of American

because of the general incoherence of its

crowd out the body of the general

university’s mission but it has also led to

educational mission.

education, for McCosh believed “a

the university abandoning its formative

college ….should have specialists, but not

role.

mere specialists, for such are bigoted and

Harvard deserves censure following a 1885 public debate between their

intolerant.”

Today’s Princeton has very clearly

president Charles Eliot, and ours, James

departed from McCosh’s aspiration. As

McCosh. Eliot revolutionized Harvard’s

Daily Princetonian columnist Hunter

curriculum by greatly reducing the

Campbell recently observed, many

particular courses required to graduate.

students here at the University select

McCosh, alternatively, firmly advocated

‘easy-A courses’ to fulfill their distribution

for the status quo - namely, for the careful

requirements. But Campbell’s suggestion

curation of a student’s education

that the University simply require

throughout all four years. His vision most

students to take a number of courses

clearly survives today at institutions like

outside their specific discipline,

St. John’s College in Annapolis, which

otherwise unspecified, would only further

offers a well-defined ‘Great Books’

prevent the University from its goal of

program. While boasting a wonderful

providing education.

curriculum, St. John’s does not enjoy the prestige of a leading university. On the other hand, Princeton, like much of the rest of the academy lacks the curricular unity necessary for a coherent and substantive education, and instead, often provides pragmatic training for which the university is not well suited.

As Alexander Leitch records in his history of the University entitled A

Princeton Companion, McCosh argued that Harvard’s paradigm “encouraged dilettantism,” and in this paradigm, “everything is scattered like the star dust out of which worlds are said to have been made.” In his own paradigm, there would be modern languages, English, Latin, and

Universities have grown to fill an alternative goal of professional training.

Many occupations nowadays require a fair amount of technical preparation and pose a certain barrier to entry which a modern higher education allows students to leap. For example, jobs in Silicon Valley require training in computer science, a field which is difficult to say the least. But universities as a job-trainer are an immensely wasteful allocations of resources. This country needs to implement technical training in place of a traditional college education for those who simply seek pragmatic skills.

‘Coding Dojo,’ for instance, promises proficiency in Python, MEAN, and JAVA for a fraction of the fees and time of a

" The elimination of a structured, carefully organized curriculum has not only resulted in the death of American university’s but it has also led to the university abandoning its formative role. "

Bachelor’s Degree, for only $14,000 over the course of 14 weeks. The University, and universities writ large, should not offer any bachelor’s programs directed primarily at instilling marketable qualities.

While a proper education will certainly prepare students for the workplace (i.e. by equipping them with the critical thinking tools needed to solve complex problems), focusing on this secondary end puts the cart before the horse.

A university fulfills a nobler goal when it turns to holistic education. As Will Nolan argued in the last year’s final issue, academic inquiry for its own sake is a beautiful and worthwhile exercise, as a

Greek “and their literatures…expressly

16 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

consequence of the intrinsic beauty of

institution. Since studying a subject

prominence to the course of study, the

wisdom and knowledge. Isolated from

simply for its practical application is not

liberal arts education. In their mission

their practical applications, each of the

proper to the University setting, and an

statement the college explains that “the

disciplines investigates a particular part

education does not properly coordinate

aim of the education offered by St. John’s

of the whole of human knowledge. And

or situate the specialties, what remains as

College is the liberation of the human

each particular strand of knowledge is

the University’s goal?

intellect. “This is an education for all. By

good per se only when it is in reference to

I foresee two suitable paths forward

reading great books and struggling

the structuring of the larger body of

for the University and for the academy

together with the fundamental questions

human knowledge. Necessarily, this

more broadly. First, they could become

requires that if we are to successfully

that they raise, students and their

entirely technical institutions, in service

master even one of disciplines, we must

teachers learn from their differences and

of wholly pragmatic ends, or, they could

understand the relation between

return to their original formative goal.

discover more deeply their shared

them, since as McCosh puts it, “the truest

Narrowing in on pragmatic training would

and best specialist is the one who is well

require the shedding of ‘useless’

acquainted with the collateral branches.”

departments in the humanities and a

Many of the departments at the

majority of the speculative research that

University have well developed internal

attends the practical applications of many

curricula, in accordance with the

of the disciplines. Degrees would cost a

principle that in order to further specialize

matter of weeks rather than years to earn,

one must have basic knowledge of how

and in accordance with this new

the specialties relate. Many departments

efficiency, tuitions would drastically drop.

have distribution requirements in internal

As I’ve mentioned earlier however,

fields of knowledge directly relevant to

universities have historically served a

their own field. Tellingly - with the

much nobler goal: the pursuit of

exception of the humanities - all

knowledge for its own sake. Pragmatic

departments require a particular level of

institutions ought to arise independently,

competence in mathematics, precisely

and hopefully these replacements will

because of its communicability with all

arise, but rather than abandoning original

the disciplines; in order to engage with

mission to educate, the University ought

many of the sciences, mathematics is

to double down.

commonly required.

Very practically this will look like the

Distribution requirements in the

Great Books programs at institutions like

‘classical humanities’ for students outside

St. John’s College in Annapolis and the

these departments, however, are as

University of Dallas. St. John’s offers a

sparse and unstructured as Campbell

bachelor’s degree in one course of study

bemoans, and STEM requirements for

only: the Liberal Arts. Students can focus

humanities students often are fulfilled by

on either philosophy, primarily

those easy-A courses. As the University

‘metaphysics, ethics, and political theory,

explicitly advertises, the system of

or on history of math and science.

distribution requirements exists in order

Students are also permitted to take

to ensure a broad exposure for the sake

classes that bolster particular

of variety, rather than integration of the

understanding in classical studies and

disciplines. This paradigm not only

comparative literature. Finally, a variety of

weakens understanding of the particular

other introductory classes in what we

subject, especially when it comes to why

would recognize as conventional majors

it is important, but also undermines the

are available: history, politics, law,

value of an overall education at this

economics, and so forth. But these smaller classes always come second in

17 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

humanity.” Curricular integration is necessary in an education because of the common human experience it enables us to understand and explore. Diversity serves the goal of comprehensiveness, rather than variety.

" A university fulfills a nobler goal when it turns to holistic education. " St. John’s graduates, moreover, are well prepared to move on into the professional world. They pursue a diverseset of career paths, armed with the tools necessary for critical analysis.

Nearly all of their students that apply to law school receive placement and a great majority of students pursue advanced degrees. Immediately forgoing practical training does not imposes an unacceptable burden upon students, but rather a fully integrated curriculum adequately prepares them for professional life.

Note that advanced degrees are by no means violations of this principle of educational unity. Before a student pursues one, however, it is to the benefit of both his individual expertise and to his general education that he receive a well-

ordained education before he specialize further. Similarly, an ideal university could feasibly execute both undergraduate education and the research component of modern universities in which, as long as the components have clearly defined and distinguished ends.

The University ought to at first imitate St. John’s example, providing in the process an example for the rest of higher education. Princeton ought to adopt a unified curriculum modeled after St. John’s that fosters critical thinking and definitively aims to provide a substantive understanding of the human experience. This requires moving away from pragmatic training, in the interest of both resources and curricular integrity.

Human flourishing cannot be otherwise inculcated.

Joaquim Brooks is a Junior in the Economics Department. He can be contacted at jdbrooks@princeton.edu.

The Reverend James McCosh, courtesy of the American Gallery.

18 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Update Dear Tories,

April 3, 2019

I’m happy to address you for the first time. The Tory is not just a publication, it is an intellectual community and an impressively stimulating one at that. You, the Tory’s readership, alongside the Tory’s managing board and staff, constitute an integral building block of this community. Through your questions and comments, words of praise and brickbats, the Tory is improved, moving further and further in the right direction.

Under Christian Schmidt’s administration, I was happy to join the staff and create a robust news team, focused on covering topics and perspectives overlooked by other campus publications. Under the Tory’s current administration, I have continued to push for greater experimentation and innovation when it comes to content. The Tory’s new cartoon team, spearheaded by Grace Koh, was a personal project of mine that’s proved to be a resounding success.

The Saturday Essay series was also something I was excited to introduce. Inspired by The Wall Street Journal‘s series of the same name and selected by me, the Tory’s Saturday Essay will allow our readers to start their weekends with the best of our content. I very much hope that it will be continued by future Editors-in-Chief.

It is my pleasure to now introduce the Tory’s first opinion column in recent memory: The Lawsplainer. Senior Opinion Editor Akhil Rajasekar, who so eloquently denounced the push for District of Columbia statehood last month, will serve as the Tory’s resident commentator on all things legal and constitutional. As Founder and President of the Princeton Federalist Society, Akhil is a leader in Princeton’s small but influential pre-law community. His legal paradigm of original-meaning textualism, supremely relevant in the Trump era, warrants a platform in the pages of the Tory. Both Joaquim and I are excited to see what Akhil will accomplish.

The Tory is an institution committed to the free exchange of ideas and information. It is through your input that we can make sure we are living up to this standard. I implore you to contact either me or Joaquim and let us know what you think of the 35th Managing Board’s performance.

Dear Tories,

May 1, 2019

It hasn’t been very long since I last addressed you. At the beginning of last month, in my introductory note, I provided you with an overview of changes I have effected when it comes to content. No rest is to be had however. Joaquim and I have put a premium on bold ideas and institutional change. It is my pleasure to introduce another opinion column, Ask Anscombe, which marks the Tory’s first foray into lifestyle and relationship advice.

The column falls under the purview of the Anscombe Society, a student-run Princeton organization dedicated to promoting a traditional view of family, marriage, and sexual ethics. All questions will be answered by the Society’s leadership in consultation with its members.

The society itself is named after Elizabeth Anscombe, who was a student and literary executor of Wittgenstein and was considered by many to be the greatest analytic philosopher of the 20th century. She was dedicated to advancing philosophical thought in the Catholic tradition just as much as she was devoted to her husband and seven children.

If there is one thing that Ask Anscombe is concerned with, it is an honest search for the truth about love, a conception of love which is to inform responsible choices, and which leads to the greater good and happiness of all Princeton students.

It is here that I ought to stop and affirm the Tory’s commitment to diversity of thought as a governing value. After all, the conservative movement is no monolith. The Tory is not synonymous with the Anscombe Society and it is not synonymous with College Republicans, Princeton Pro-Life, or the Cliosophic Party. Though these groups and their members often find expression on the pages of the Tory, not one of them on their own fully captures the Tory’s ethos.

The Tory is and always will be in a state of constant redefinition. However, we are united in a number of ways. Tories past, present, and future are unified in their inclination towards moderation, towards standing on the sidelines of history as it progresses too quickly, yelling stop. We’ve also had an impulse towards protecting that Burkean “eternal society,” which values the great partnership between the dead, the living, and those yet to be born.

To return to the matter at hand, if you’d like to ask a question about love, sex, relationships or anything of that type, email the Ask Anscombe team at anscombe@princeton.edu. Should you wish to stay anonymous, you can submit through this form on the Tory’s website.

Joaquim and I cannot wait to see how this column’s introduction will shape campus conversation.

Jeff Zymeri '20 Editor in Chief The Princeton Tory

19 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

A CONSERVATIVE'S PERSPECTIVE

Opinion

Akhil Rajasekar The doctrine of nondelegation has

grow to wield, they conceived a system of

It is today unsurprising for

in recent years increasingly become a

government that would internalize the

congressional delegations to be held

mainstay of conservative and libertarian

checks and incentivize governmental

valid under such broad and patently

jurisprudence. This counterrevolution

officers to abide by the rules of the game.

unhelpful guiding principles

against the bureaucratic hedonism of the

This incentive would play out in the form

as “protect[ing] the public

federal administrative state crescendoed

of a republican government with no

interest,” or “generally fair and

most recently with the appointment of

permanent officials, ensuring that power

equitable.” This has allowed Congress to

Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the

would be a function of office, not

freely delegate legislative power to

United States. With a devoted non-

particular officers. With each of the three

delegationist having taken a seat on the

executive agencies, which find

branches jealous for its own power, none

Court, it is now worth addressing, in light

themselves untethered from any

could gain an upper hand and subdue

of our other constitutional commitments,

the others. That, at any rate, was their

meaningful restrictions on their

the merits of the doctrine and some of the

theory..

strongest arguments raised in its opposition.

It is a fairly uncontroversial

The present state of our governmental structure and dynamic reflects a reality at great and

observation that explicit constitutional

irreconcilable odds with the theory of our

demarcation of federal powers and

founding. We bear witness to an

responsibilities bespeaks an implicit

increasingly dysfunctional Congress, an

constitutional phenomenon that we have

executive of rapidly proliferating powers,

come to call the “separation of powers.”

and a judiciary whose partisan biases

Inspired by the French political

have been laid bare by the political

philosopher Charles-Louis de Secondat,

ascendancy of Donald Trump. Current

better known simply as Montesquieu, the

judicial doctrine on the question of

Framers believed strongly that

delegation of power is deeply

constitutional and political commitments

problematic on multiple fronts. Broad

to separation of powers would best guard

congressional delegations of power,

the new republic from the collapse into

current doctrine holds, are perfectly in

tyranny that had befallen the republics of

line with constitutional principles,

yore.

provided such delegations

The Framers’ adoption of

contain “intelligible principle[s],” by

Montesquieu’s philosophy was

which the executive may be expected to

encouraged in large part by some of their

abide. Such a standard is troublesome for

own observations about the enigmatic

fairly obvious reasons, the most

state of human nature. First, they astutely

significant of which is the cloud of

realized that “if angels were to govern

indeterminacy that surrounds it. What

men, neither external nor internal controls

counts as an “intelligible principle?” Who

on government would be necessary.”

adjudicates intelligibility? Who gets to

Alas, men are not angels, and they rightly

interpret the requirements of the

surmised that such controls on human

principle? These are difficult questions

ambition would indeed be necessary.

that, while raised close to a century ago,

Having determined that no external

have generally gone unanswered by

checks on the federal government could

courts. The resulting response to the

properly curb the expansive power that it

question of what counts as an “intelligible

would naturally

principle” is, in practice, anything.

20 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

discretion. Indeed, courts have seen to it that agency discretion extends far beyond guiding principles and into the very content of the laws that an agency is charged with executing. Not only do agencies find themselves able to squirm out of any “intelligible principle” requirements, but they are also broadly deferred to on the principal question of what statutes governing their very

actions mean or require. Combined with the judicial understanding that agencies must also be deferred to on their interpretations of their own

regulations, there is virtually no meaningful boundary to congressional delegation or to agency action in pursuance of the same.

While it may seem reasonable to defer to an agency on the interpretation of a rule that it has authored and adopted, Auer v. Robbins, which did just that, has had the problematic effect of incentivizing agencies to adopt exceedingly vague and broad regulations that can be construed as necessary, on an ad hoc basis, for a given case. Such rules make it virtually impossible to pin agencies down with the terms of their own regulations, since many of them are unhelpfully vague and may reasonably be read to reflect the agency’s construction in a given case. Under this

present framework, no longer do we take

role in lieu of a formal legislative body

with little to no meaningful democratic

seriously the separation of powers that

that lacks any relevant substantive

action on either. That the framing of laws

the Constitution mandates; legislative

expertise in most areas of law and public

should generally be informed by

power is fungible and, in an

policy. Their argument progresses thus;

substantive expertise is undebated and

overwhelming proportion of cases, rests

since congressional representatives lack

wholly conceded; what is crucial to a

with electorally unaccountable

any meaningful knowledge of or

republican system, however, is

bureaucrats.

expertise in, say, environmental science,

that“expert opinions” not be given the

Consider the example of a Kansan

the telecommunication industry,

force of law unless they duly clear the

farmer who believes his livelihood will be

consumer protection, or securities

adversely affected by a certain rule

constitutionally prescribed legislative

trading, they cannot (and ought not) be

considered by the federal government.

process. That is to say, expert opinions

expected to legislate on such matters

Assuming legislative prerogative over the

whose delicate intricacies they do not

must remain opinions unless and until

promulgation of such a rule rested with

and cannot understand. Consequently,

Congress, as it should, he could air his

the Court in Chevron counseled that the

opposition to the bill to his elected

power to best frame such laws was wisely

representatives, all three of whom are

vested in those sufficiently

incentivized by the electoral process to

knowledgeable about the complex fields

listen carefully to the farmer’s set of

that their laws and regulations affect.

grievances. On the other hand, no such

This line of reasoning, while facially

incentives are in play if legislative

valid, collapses the crucial distinction

prerogative for said rule rests with, say,

between formation and promulgation of

the Center for Food Safety and Applied

laws, both of which are discrete and

Nutrition of the Food and Drug

mutually exclusive components of a

Administration. Such agencies are

legislative process. Substantive expertise

electorally unaccountable to the farmer

may well be required in the writing and

and, from a perspective of incentive

framing of laws, but laws in a republican

alignment, are disinclined to care about

form of government are only legitimate

his perspective on a rule that would affect

when promulgated by the express assent

him. Furthermore, regulatory agencies

of the people’s duly elected

span vast, often redundant jurisdictions

representatives. In fact, this is how

and lie deep in bureaucratic mazes that

Congress routinely operates. Its research

render the responsible parties completely

arm, the Congressional Research Service,

inaccessible for a regular citizen with no

housed under the Library of Congress,

particular expertise in lobbying

employs full-time subject-matter experts

government officials. Consequently,

whose sole responsibility is to, upon

legislative power has migrated from

request of members of Congress, conduct

elected representatives to electorally

nonpartisan research and analysis in their

distant and inaccessible bureaucrats,

areas of expertise and provide reports

resulting in a significant dearth of

detailing their findings to members that

accountability and potential for redress

request them. Lawmakers then use these

for common citizens.

nonpartisan, expert analyses to draw up

Now, there are a few arguments against a strict application of the nondelegation doctrine, the strongest of

bills, debate measures, and promulgate laws that affect their constituents.

The problem with the current

which raises a valid concern of

regulatory system, however, is not that

institutional capacity. Advocates of an

experts frame the laws — which can be

expansive administrative state typically,

desirable for many reasons — but that

and justifiably, view regulatory agencies

such unaccountable experts are also the

as performing a crucial quasi-legislative

ones promulgating and enforcing laws

21 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

they clear the bar set forth in Article I. This is not too much to ask of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Legislative delegation spawns many related but discrete problems, the most constitutionally momentous of which is perhaps that of subdelegation. This, in essence, can be broadly defined as the process whereby Congress delegates some form of authority to a member of the executive branch — generally a member of the President’s Cabinet.

Subdelegation is in most cases no different from delegation, in that it always transfers some form or degree of congressional prerogative to an executive agent; the uniqueness of the problem, however, arises from potential for disagreement between the statutorily endowed executive officer and the chief executive, namely, the President of the United States. In these cases, a unique constitutional question arises: does Congress have the power to delegate or otherwise bestow a certain power on an executive officer, but shield said officer’s power from the President? The answer, simply, is no. Even assuming the validity of congressional delegations of power, shielding an executive officer from the will of the President is an unconstitutional intrusion upon a distinct and discrete constitutional office of equal stature into whose domain Congress simply has no power or prerogative to intrude, except by constitutionally

stipulated mechanisms.

Members of the executive branch are only

that has lost its way. Nondelegation, for all

empowered to act in their official

its controversy, is an idea of remarkable

stipulated mechanisms” include, but are

capacities by such authority as they

simplicity. It requires only that we take

not limited to, the confirmation and

exercise by delegation in the name of the

seriously and guard fiercely the

impeachment powers. Additionally, when

chief executive in whose sole person all

constitutional prescriptions of distinct

Congress issues a directive or

and every executive power of the United

branches and separated powers so as to

discretionary power to an executive

States is constitutionally vested. Much like

secure republican rule and keep tyranny

agent, it does not confer on them a new

the ecclesiastical metaphor in John 15:1–

at more than an arm’s length. These

legislative office; instead, it exploits the

8 of the vine and its branches, executive

founding principles and concerns remain

executive office that the agent already

officers that subvert the will of the

very much, if not more, relevant in our

occupies, and so harnesses the powers of

President act in the name of a power that

age, and any teachings that run contrary

another branch to carry out its own

they do not possess. Every ounce of

to the fundamental principles long

bidding. Not only is such action by

federal executive power, therefore,

undergirding our institutions must be

Congress, as stated above, an

resides in the Presidency, and no man,

appraised with the deepest suspicion.

unconstitutional incursion into the

office, or institution may displace it from

autonomy of another branch, but, in

the its absolute and uncompromising

seeking to pit an agent’s executive

hold.

Examples of these “constitutionally

prerogative against that of the chief

The problems of delegation and

executive, it also gravely misconstrues

subdelegation run far deeper than can be

the nature of federal executive power.

justly studied in the present analysis. Yet,

Simply stated, no officer of the United

even a cursory consideration of the

States wields any executive power that

doctrines reveals their underlying

does not in some form emanate from the

infirmities and serves as an essential

President of the United States.

beacon of a broken constitutional system

22 | The Princeton Tory | 2019

Akhil Rajasekar is Sophomore in the Politics Department. He can be contacted at akhilr@princeton.edu.

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