IS ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA A FREE SOCIETY?
By: Yves Ephraim
We would like to feel that we are somehow in a free society, but are we?
Some people think that because you can freely vote every election cycle that that equates to being a free society.
A free society is one where you and your other countrymen have the enjoyment of certain inviolable rights. In other words these rights cannot be violated even by your government.
It is well understood that the protection of these rights is the foundation for any successful economy and moral society.
These key rights include the following:
1. The right to property;
2. The right to life;
3. The right to bodily freedom;
4. Freedom of thought and speech;
I will limit my thoughts to that of property rights for now.
A free society is governed by the principle of the “rule of law”. The “rule of law” principle establishes the concept that the government itself must be bound by the laws it establishes to the same degree as an individual is bound.
In the same way that an individual is never justified in breaking into your property to steal your TV or fridge, so too must the government be similarly constrained. Since there is never any legitimate circumstances for individuals to steal your property, the government should never be allowed to take away your private property.
If your government can simply pass a law that gives it the unfettered right to take away your property rights under any circumstances it wishes, then our society ceases to be free. If there are no guardrails, then government can concoct any reasonable-sounding pretext to justify the seizure of your private property.
Will that not engender an atmosphere where citizens are always in fear of their property been taken away at will?
A free society sees the rights above as sacrosanct.
I have mentioned time and time again that your ownership of property is linked to your personal freedom. If we take away your property, where would you live? If you cannot afford to pay someone to lease or rent their property to you, would you not be homeless?
California’s and New Yorks’ homelessness crisis is directly connected to government policies that constantly violate individual property rights. Many companies are moving away from these two states in droves to Florida and Tennessee where property rights are respected by those governments.
In my opinion, Antigua and Barbuda is unfortunately not a free society. Technically Antigua and Barbuda is a monarchy. And that distinction is important.
Whereas our Constitution pretends to provide the freedoms listed above, through nebulous terms like “the common good”, with no proper definition or constraints, loopholes are created to give the government the freedom to trammel individual rights. I personally do not think that government should ever have the right to “acquire” any private citizen’s property for any reason, provided that the private citizen took possession of that property legitimately.
Our system of government assumes that those in leadership would be honourable men and women and does not provide any safeguard to protect the citizens from elected men and women who do not wish to honour our rights, including our property rights. May God help us!
I raised this question of property rights before and warned that once we get on this slippery slope of acquiring private property there is no going back. Is it fair that even after 29 years the Half Moon bay matter is sill not settled? We should all take note.
Once a government gets the taste of “sweet” acquisition, the appetite will be hard to curb. It become gluttonous and cannot be satiated.
In our journey we started with the acquisition of Half Moon Bay; it went to Fryres Bay; then on to Barbuda; then a yacht; and the Cancer Center. Recently, we have been warned that if we cannot afford the upkeep of our property then our property will be seized. And now a hotel may be the next target.
Can anyone rest easy knowing that your government is now focused on seeking ways to huff your property. Just like California and New York, it is a matter of time before investors, industries and capital will take flight from Antigua and Barbuda, leaving everyone who remain to suffer? No reasonable individual wants to invest their money with the understanding that his investment can be taken away on a whim.
Those of us who do not have US green cards are going to be doomed if this trend continues!
If you are a legitimate investor, following the developments in Antigua and Barbuda would you be overjoyed to come to Antigua and Barbuda?
How free is our society, really?
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Its a free society just not for antiguan people
Covid showed that no society is free. They control what happen to your body, property and everything else.
And yall ok with it.
Listen…..
Show me any country in the world where citizens are free…….name one.
What’s happening in Antigua isn’t only happening here. Its happening all around the world.
LOL American think they are free? Wait til Trump finished with them. WOOIIII
How can Antigua Barbuda be a free society when we don’t know our constitution and also vote individually instead of in blocks, if a village like liberta vote in blocks with certain demand for their community,the politicians must respond to their needs,or else next election a block is threat to office,but no we are divided individually for pieces of chicken and ham, so nothing will be done by the government to benifit the masses, the next thing the government celebrate white supervision, so that society access to antigua lands and resources is esoteric to the local black Antiguan, so that creates Jim crow settings of buffer zone while they pay the monies to our merchant politicians, the constitution was not written by us to benifit us, but let’s use it as a weapon to freedom.
How can Antigua Barbuda be a free society when we don’t know our constitution and also vote individually instead of in blocks, if a village like liberta vote in blocks with certain demand for their community,the politicians must respond to their needs,or else next election a block is threat to office,but no we are divided individually for pieces of chicken and ham, so nothing will be done by the government to benifit the masses, the next thing the government celebrate white supervision, so that white society access to antigua lands and resources is esoteric to the local black Antiguan, so that creates Jim crow settings of buffer zone for white people while they pay the monies to our merchant politicians, the constitution was not written by us to benifit us, but let’s use it as a weapon to freedom.
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