The Betrayal of Americas Moral Algorithm

0:00

/1018.08

1×

The Moral Algorithm Betrayed: How Constitutional Construction Transferred Sovereignty from People to Corporations

The Moral Algorithm: America's Constitutional Foundation

John Adams articulated what can be called America's "Moral Algorithm"—the fundamental principle encoded into the DNA of every founding document:

"Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men and to reform, alter, or totally change the same, when their protection, safety, prosperity and happiness require it."

This moral algorithm established the bedrock principle of American governance: all power flows from the people, government serves as their agent, and no private interest—whether individual, familial, or corporate—should usurp the public good. The American Revolution was fought specifically to reject the British system where corporate monopolies like the East India Company could exercise sovereign power through government favoritism.

The Boston Tea Party exemplified this principle in action. It was carried out by self-employed individuals and small business owners protesting the back-room deal King George III gave to the largest international corporation of that era—the East India Company. The colonists understood that when government serves corporate profit rather than public welfare, the moral algorithm is inverted and tyranny inevitably follows.

The Constitutional Framework: Popular Sovereignty Protected

When the American colonies declared independence in 1776, they were freeing themselves from the control of English corporations that held monopolies and extracted wealth from colonial communities. The Founding Fathers had witnessed firsthand how corporate power could corrupt government and undermine democratic principles.

The Founders' Deliberate Corporate Restrictions

The Founding Fathers maintained a deeply cautious view of corporate power, initially limiting corporations primarily to specific public functions with strict restrictions on their political influence. Early American corporations included cities, schools, and charitable organizations, with economic enterprises chartered as corporations appearing mainly in the 1790s under tight government oversight.

The founders worried that corporations could:

• Become too powerful: They feared corporations would gain excessive economic and political control, replicating the East India Company's dominance in the colonies
• Corrupt government: They were concerned that wealthy corporations could influence elections and laws for their own benefit rather than the public good
• Undermine democracy: They believed unchecked corporate power could threaten government's ability to act on behalf of the people

Therefore, early corporations in America were closely controlled by government and explicitly chartered to serve public purposes, not merely private profit. This structure maintained Adams' moral algorithm by ensuring that corporate entities remained subordinate to popular sovereignty.

The Constitutional Sovereignty Structure

The American constitutional system established a clear hierarchy of authority that protected the moral algorithm:

1. The People of the Several States: Hold ultimate sovereignty and final authority under Adams' principle
2. The Constitution: Serves as the supreme law of the land, the rules that government must follow
3. Government: Functions as a servant or agent, bound by constitutional limitations to serve the common good
4. Corporations: Chartered entities serving specific public purposes under strict government oversight

This structure ensured that no entity could claim sovereign power independent of popular will, protecting Adams' moral algorithm from corruption by private interests.

The Beginning of Betrayal: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

The systematic erosion of Adams' moral algorithm began with a deceptively simple case about banking. In 1819, the Supreme Court handed down McCulloch v. Maryland, which ostensibly addressed whether states could tax a national bank. However, this decision represented the first major breach in the constitutional framework protecting popular sovereignty.

John Taylor's Prophetic Warning

John Taylor of Caroline, a Virginia political theorist, immediately recognized the profound implications of this decision. Responding in 1820 with his book "Construction Construed and Constitutions Vindicated," Taylor warned that the Court's reasoning violated Adams' moral algorithm by transferring sovereignty from the people to government institutions.

Taylor opened his critique with stark language: "That gigantic institution, the Bank of the United States, has been justified by the Supreme Court of the United States on principles so bold and alarming that no man who loves the Constitution can fold his arms in apathy upon the subject."

He understood that the Court's decision established precedents that would "generate a thousand measures which the framers of the constitution never anticipated"—measures that would ultimately serve private interests rather than the common good mandated by Adams' moral algorithm.

The Weapon: Constitutional Construction

Taylor identified "construction"—constitutional interpretation—as the primary weapon being used to undermine Adams' moral algorithm. He distinguished between two fundamentally different approaches:

Honest Construction: Interpretation "calculated to maintain the principles upon which governments are established," accessible to common sense and serving the public good.

Manipulative Construction: Interpretation "calculated to corrupt or destroy the principles upon which governments are established," relying on academic jargon to obscure its true purpose of transferring power from people to private interests.

Hamilton's Linguistic Revolution

The manipulation began with Alexander Hamilton's justification for the first national bank in 1791. Facing the problem that the Constitution contained no express power to establish a bank, Hamilton simply redefined the English language.

Hamilton transformed the word "necessary" in the Constitution's Necessary and Proper Clause from meaning "actually required" to meaning "convenient, useful, or conducive to." In February 1791, he argued: "Necessary often means no more than needful, requisite, incidental, useful, or conducive to... nothing more is intended or understood than that the interests of the government or person require or will be promoted by the doing of this thing or that thing."

This redefinition was historically unprecedented and violated Adams' moral algorithm by prioritizing government and banking interests over constitutional limitations designed to protect popular sovereignty.

Jefferson's Defense of the Moral Algorithm

Thomas Jefferson immediately recognized that Hamilton's redefinition would destroy Adams' moral algorithm. In his "Opinion on the Constitutionality of the Bank Bill" (February 15, 1791), Jefferson defended the principle that government must serve the common good, not private banking interests:

"It has been much urged that a bank will give great facility or convenience in the collection of taxes. Suppose this were true. Yet the Constitution allows only the means which are necessary, not those which are merely convenient for affecting the enumerated powers."

Jefferson understood that accepting Hamilton's redefinition would invert Adams' moral algorithm: "If such a latitude of construction be allowed to this phrase as to give any non-enumerated power, it will go to everyone. For there is no one which ingenuity may not torture into a convenience in some way or other to someone of so long a list of enumerated powers."

Marshall's Consolidation of the Betrayal

In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Chief Justice John Marshall adopted Hamilton's redefinition almost word for word, writing: "We find that it frequently imports no more than that one thing is convenient or useful or essential to another."

Taylor immediately recognized this as "linguistic fraud in broad daylight" that violated Adams' moral algorithm by allowing government to serve banking interests rather than the common good. Marshall had "swapped words in the Constitution—necessary for convenient"—opening the door for unlimited expansion of power to serve private interests.

The Sovereignty Theft

Marshall's decision contained a second violation of Adams' moral algorithm: the theft of sovereignty from the people. Marshall declared that "in America, the powers of sovereignty are divided between the government of the Union and those of the states. They are each sovereign with respect to the objects committed to it."

Taylor identified the fatal flaw in this reasoning. Sovereignty means final authority, and final means final. You cannot divide final authority because that creates impossible conflicts. By claiming governmental sovereignty, Marshall violated Adams' principle that all power flows from the people for the common good.

As Taylor explained: "by contending that the federal government... has acquired any species of sovereignty... it clearly asserts that they [the people] do lose it." This direct contradiction of Adams' moral algorithm transformed government from servant of the people into sovereign master serving its own interests.

The Pattern Established: From Banking to Corporate Power

The precedents established in McCulloch created the template for systematically undermining Adams' moral algorithm. What began with banking interests would eventually extend to all forms of corporate power.

Taylor's warnings proved prophetic. He predicted that once constitutional language could be manipulated to serve private interests, "every power whatsoever delegated to Congress may reward its coagulators with exclusive privileges and embrace within its means monopolies of every description."

The Historical Parallel: English Corporate Tyranny

Taylor's analysis was particularly devastating because he demonstrated that the Court's reasoning was identical to the British system the Revolution had rejected. He wrote: "Previously to our revolutionary war, the colonies had been thoroughly lectured upon the subjects of sovereignty, supremacy, and a division of powers. The English Parliament contended that its sovereignty or supremacy included all means necessary or convenient in its own opinion to affect its ends."

This parallel revealed that the Supreme Court was reintroducing the very system Adams' moral algorithm was designed to prevent—government serving corporate interests rather than the common good.

The Corporate Revolution: Inverting the Moral Algorithm

The constitutional construction methods pioneered in McCulloch were gradually extended from banking to corporate power generally, systematically inverting Adams' moral algorithm through judicial interpretation.

Stage One: Corporate Personhood (1886)

In Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886), the Supreme Court applied the construction methodology to grant corporations constitutional personhood under the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision began transferring constitutional rights from actual people to corporate entities, directly violating Adams' principle that government serves "the people," not private commercial interests.

Stage Two: Money as Speech (1976-2010)

Through cases like Buckley v. Valeo (1976) and culminating in Citizens United v. FEC (2010), the Court applied Hamiltonian construction to redefine "speech" to include unlimited corporate spending in elections. This completed the inversion of Adams' moral algorithm by allowing corporate interests to dominate the democratic process.

The Court's reasoning followed Hamilton's pattern exactly: redefining constitutional language ("speech" to include spending, "press" to include corporations) to serve private interests rather than the common good.

Stage Three: Corporate Constitutional Rights

Modern corporate law has extended constitutional construction to grant corporations:

• Due Process Rights: Protecting corporate property from democratic regulation
• Equal Protection Rights: Shielding corporations from targeted oversight
• Religious Freedom Rights: Allowing corporate interests to override public welfare
• Political Speech Rights: Enabling unlimited influence over elections

Each expansion follows the same pattern Taylor identified: redefine constitutional language to serve private interests rather than the common good mandated by Adams' moral algorithm.

The Complete Inversion: Corporate Sovereignty

Today's corporate power structure represents the complete inversion of Adams' moral algorithm:

Original Structure (Adams' Moral Algorithm):

• People hold ultimate sovereignty
• Government serves the common good
• Corporations serve specific public purposes under strict oversight
• Private interests remain subordinate to public welfare

Current Structure (Inverted Algorithm):

• Corporations claim constitutional personhood and rights
• Government serves corporate interests through regulatory capture
• People's sovereignty is subordinated to corporate property rights
• Public welfare serves private profit

The East India Company Reborn

The current system has recreated precisely what the Boston Tea Party rejected: corporate monopoly power exercised through government favoritism. Modern "too big to fail" institutions wield the same kind of sovereign power the East India Company exercised in colonial America.

Corporate bailouts, regulatory capture, and favorable legislation demonstrate that government now serves corporate profit rather than the common good. This represents the complete abandonment of Adams' moral algorithm and the fulfillment of Taylor's dire predictions.

The Method of Betrayal: Constitutional Construction

The transformation from Adams' moral algorithm to corporate sovereignty was accomplished through the same constitutional construction methods Taylor identified:

Linguistic Manipulation

Just as Hamilton redefined "necessary" to mean "convenient," corporate power has been expanded through redefinition of key terms:

• "Person": Redefined to include artificial corporate entities
• "Speech": Redefined to include unlimited corporate spending
• "Press": Redefined to include corporate media conglomerates
• "Religion": Redefined to include corporate profit motives

Vague Language as Weapon

Taylor warned that "governments love obscurity better than specification" because vague terms can be weaponized. Corporate interests have exploited this principle:

• Constitutional "rights" are claimed without corresponding responsibilities
• "Free speech" becomes unlimited corporate political influence
• "Due process" becomes corporate protection from democratic oversight
• "Equal protection" becomes corporate immunity from public accountability

The Convenience Standard

Marshall's adoption of Hamilton's "convenience" standard has been extended throughout corporate law. Corporate constitutional rights are justified not because they serve the common good, but because they're convenient for corporate interests.

Taylor's Prophecy Fulfilled

Writing in 1820, Taylor made predictions about where constitutional construction would lead that perfectly describe today's corporate-dominated system:

• "Representative power may be made despotic": Corporate influence has captured representative institutions
• "A coordinate sphere may be made supreme": Corporate interests override popular sovereignty
• "Convenience... may be made to undulate indefinitely": Corporate convenience justifies unlimited power
• "A subordinate judicial power may start up into a dictator": Judicial activism serves corporate rather than popular interests
• "Divisions and limitations of power may be confounded and abolished": Corporate power transcends constitutional limitations
• "English follies are converted from objects of our abhorrence into models for our imitation": Corporate monopoly power has been restored

The Constitutional Crisis: Abandoning the Moral Algorithm

The current system represents the complete abandonment of Adams' moral algorithm through constitutional construction that has:

1. Transferred Sovereignty: From people to corporate entities through judicial interpretation
2. Inverted Purpose: Government now serves private profit rather than common good
3. Corrupted Language: Constitutional terms redefined to benefit corporate interests
4. Eliminated Limits: Corporate power faces no meaningful constitutional constraints

The Root of National Decline

As the original comment observed, "those that worship corporate power hold the reigns of power and are the root cause of the collapse of the USA." This collapse represents the inevitable result of abandoning Adams' moral algorithm.

When government serves private interest rather than the common good, when corporate convenience takes precedence over constitutional necessity, and when artificial entities claim sovereignty over actual people, the moral foundation of democratic society is destroyed.

Restoration: Returning to the Moral Algorithm

The solution lies in returning to Adams' moral algorithm as the governing principle of American constitutional interpretation:

Constitutional Principles for Restoration

1. Strict Construction: Constitutional language must retain its plain meaning, not be redefined for corporate convenience
2. Popular Sovereignty: All power flows from the people, not from judicial interpretation or corporate influence
3. Public Purpose: Government exists for the common good, not private profit
4. Corporate Subordination: Artificial entities serve public purposes under strict oversight
5. Democratic Accountability: Representatives serve people, not corporate interests

The Founders' Vision Restored

The founders understood that corporate power must remain subordinate to popular sovereignty. Their careful limitations on corporate charters, political activity, and duration reflected Adams' moral algorithm: government serves the common good, not private interest.

Restoration requires:

• Corporate Charter Reform: Returning to time-limited, purpose-specific corporate charters
• Constitutional Amendment: Clarifying that constitutional rights belong to natural persons, not artificial entities
• Campaign Finance Reform: Eliminating corporate political spending to restore democratic accountability
• Regulatory Reform: Ending regulatory capture and corporate welfare
• Judicial Reform: Constraining judicial activism that serves corporate rather than popular interests

Conclusion: The Choice Before Us

America faces a fundamental choice: continue down the path of constitutional construction that serves corporate interests, or return to Adams' moral algorithm that serves the common good.

John Taylor's 1820 warning remains as relevant today as it was two centuries ago. The methods he identified—linguistic manipulation, sovereignty theft, and the use of vague language to expand private power—have been perfected and extended far beyond what even he envisioned.

The corporate capture of American government represents the ultimate fulfillment of Taylor's dire predictions. What began with a national bank has evolved into a system where artificial entities wield sovereign power over the people who created them.

But Taylor also provided the solution: return to honest constitutional construction that serves the principles upon which free government is established. Return to Adams' moral algorithm where government exists "for the protection, safety, prosperity and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men."

The moral algorithm remains encoded in America's founding documents. The question is whether the American people will reclaim their sovereignty from the corporate interests that have usurped it, or continue to accept a system that inverts the very principles for which the Revolution was fought.

As Adams declared, the people retain the power "to reform, alter, or totally change" their government when their protection, safety, prosperity and happiness require it. That time has come. The moral algorithm awaits restoration.