A few early episodes of US history are commonly employed as alleged historical precedents and justifications for modern US foreign interventionism in foreign policy. One such episode is Jefferson’s dealings with the Barbary pirates during his administration without a congressional declaration of war.
The early modern period witnessed one of the most profound transformations in political thought: the emergence of absolutism and the idea of the raison d’état—the “reason of state.” As Murray Rothbard emphasizes, this shift entailed a subtle but powerful transmutation: what had once been justified as best for the ruler came to be portrayed as synonymous with the welfare of the people.
The recent indictment of James Comey has galvanized the usual suspects of the Washington establishment, who have reacted predictably to the criminal charges against one of their own. The New York Times editorialized with the headline, “The Comey Indictment Plunges the Country Into a Grave New Period,” declaring:
