The Stability of Swiss Subsidiarity

What if I told you of a land in which people could vote on the state’s ability to tax them? If the state had not given anything worthwhile to the people, they could in principle refuse to be taxed until the state regained their trust. The states and towns are largely free to decide upon their own tax scheme, and where their tax money went. This degree of local control extended to nearly all areas of life, yet the most fundamental individual liberties were protected. Rather than devolve into a tyranny of the majority, this political system has lasted for hundreds of years. This is not a freedom-loving pipedream, but rather, the Swiss Federation. The Swiss government has a local-first government that is strongly based upon the principle of subsidiarity. According to Merriam Webster subsidiarity is the “principle in social organization holding that functions which are performed effectively by subordinate or local organizations belong more properly to them than to a dominant central organization.” Essentially, each level of the Swiss government only exercises its power when the power structure below needs it. This principle provides a clear framework to evaluate all government action, and can make evident abuses of power that citizens of other countries would accept as normal.

The Swiss first embrace subsidiarity by holding local power as the core of government action. This increase in local power often puts less focus on individual rights in comparison to an American context. However, what is lost in individual liberty is more than made up for in limitation of the central state. Sometimes, people have to submit to things decided upon by their village that they would have been free from in the United States. However, the smaller groups making decisions allows targeted problem-solving with a deep understanding of the issues affecting the community. Rather than patching national solutions on to local problems, Swiss citizens are able to gain real self governance because of their agreement to have an involved local government. While many individual rights are protected, adjustment to and understanding of local customs and laws is more necessary than in a country with more centralized control. Subsidiarity works well for the Swiss because it gives the most power to the most controllable form of government. …