The year 1991 marked the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Bill of Rights. While we should rejoice in the protection of our rights, we must not overlook the fact that some of the protections of the Bill of Rights have been eroded over the years, particularly the rights of employers and business owners. The celebration of the anniversary of the Bill of Rights provides an opportunity to reclaim those eroded rights.

The American view of the source of "rights" was expressed clearly in the Declaration of Independence. The signers declared that rights are not granted by governments. Instead, people are "endowed by their Creator" with rights. Having rights comes with being human, rather than from the beneficence of governors. The drafters of that document went on to say that governments are formed to protect these already existing rights of individuals, not to grant rights to individuals. By forming a government, people do not lose their rights. Instead. the very purpose of government is to protect the rights people already have.

The drafters of the Constitution shared this view of rights. They did not attempt to protect the people's rights by granting them in the Constitution. Instead, they intended to protect the people's rights by limiting the powers of government to only those granted by the people, and no others. That is, rather than granting the people specific rights, the Constitution denied the government the power to violate those rights.

As part of the politics of ratifying the Constitution, a Bill of Rights was included. The Bill of Rights was intended, not as a ceiling over people's rights, but as a floor under them. It was never intended to enumerate all the rights of the people. The main body of the Constitution listed those specific powers being granted to the Federal government; the Bill of Rights spelled out some specific limitations on the powers of the Federal government.

Especially noteworthy are the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. The Ninth states that the people retain other rights not specifically listed. The Tenth states that any powers not specifically granted to the Federal government are retained by the states or by the people. Concretely, these Articles mean that simply because something isn't mentioned in the Bill of Rights doesn't mean it isn't a right. On the contrary, if the Federal government wishes to do something, it is obliged to show specifically where the Constitution grants it that power.

A major concern of the drafters of the Constitution was what they called "factions." By this they meant the possibility that a majority or a well-organized minority might use the power of government for private purposes to the detriment of their fellow citizens. They had many examples in the behavior of the individual States under the Articles of Confederation: repudiating State debts and diluting bond values by issuing unbacked paper currency. Part of the intent of the Founders in writing the Constitution was to prevent this from happening; to prevent majorities or organized minorities from capturing the power of government and using it to gain an advantage over their fellow citizens.

The first ten amendments contain language such as "Congress shall make no law..." and "The right of the people to ... shall not be abridged." The drafters of these articles considered certain rights to be so fundamental that they could not justly be abridged, even if a hostile majority concluded it would be "cost-effective" to suppress the rights of a minority. Just as we do not lose our fundamental rights by establishing a government, we do not lose our fundamental rights by becoming managers, entrepreneurs, business owners, stockholders, employers, or members of the work force.

Employers still retain all their rights even though it might benefit their employees if some of those rights were abridged. Likewise the rights of employees may not be abridged even though doing so might benefit their employers. Those who wish to abridge the rights of business owners and managers sometimes attempt to obscure the issue by contrasting "faceless corporations" with the alleged victims of those corporations. This is a specious argument. Business firms are composed of people. It is these people who have rights, not the firms as such. We must be as diligent in protecting the rights of the people in businesses as we are the rights of anyone else.

James Madison warned that the Constitution was only a "parchment barrier" against those who would infringe on the rights of others. He argued that this "parchment barrier" was insufficient. He argued that in addition, the habits and the institutions of the people must support and sustain the rights possessed by individuals. We have seen the truth of this statement as right after right has been eroded or even denied, with little or no outcry from anyone other than those directly affected.

Over the years, organized groups of one kind or another have misused the power of government to pass laws and issue regulations which erode rights protected, either explicitly or implicitly, by the Bill of Rights. These erosions have been justified on a "cost-effectiveness" basis. They are usually supported with the argument that the erosion is minor, while the benefit to someone else is great.

Ultimately, these laws and regulations penalize people for producing wealth and reward people who have the political strength to seize a share of the wealth others have produced. The inevitable result of these laws is to reduce the efficiency, productivity, and international competitiveness of our economy.

To compete in the world market American managers, owners, employers, entrepreneurs, and workers must reclaim those rights which have been restricted, abridged, or narrowed in scope. This must be undertaken. not as a petition for new rights to be granted by government, but as a reclaiming of inherent rights usurped by "factions" which have wrongly used the powers of government. This Industrial Bill of Rights is intended as an aid to restoring the habits and institutions needed to defend the rights of owners and employers.

When the adoption of the U.S. Constitution was being debated, its supporters published a series of essays, under the pseudonym "Publius," which have since become known as The Federalist Papers. These essays were intended to provide a rationale for the provisions of the constitution. In the spirit of Publius, therefore, we here present The Industrialist Papers, which provide a rationale for our proposed Industrial Bill of Rights.

What about responsibilities?

It may be asked, don't people in business have responsibilities that accompany their rights? Of course! Just as people retain all their rights as citizens when they enter business, they retain all their responsibilities. This includes responsibilities to employees, customers, stockholders, neighbors, and the environment.