The Self-Terminating State, Part I: The Architecture of Power
How Radical Federalism Must Learn from Nature, Machines, and Forgotten Histories
Power that is unchecked grows like a cancer. But power that is built to fail, that is engineered to dismantle itself, resists capture, resists centralization, resists becoming tyranny. This is the lesson nature teaches, the lesson of resilient networks, the lesson of civilizations that survived—and those that did not.
Radical Federalism is not simply about resisting Washington. It is about constructing a system where Washington—where any centralized power—cannot consolidate again. We do not just want to break the current system; we want to build something immune to future takeover.
The answer lies in designing governance structures that consume centralized power from within, making control impossible, making overreach self-destructive.
This is the lesson of the strangler fig. This is the lesson of Byzantine Fault Tolerance. This is the lesson of the Mandate of Heaven.
And it is time to apply these lessons.
Part I. The Power That Grows Until It Consumes the Host
The Strangler Fig: How Systems Replace Themselves
In the rainforest, a strangler fig begins as a small vine. It grows within the structure of the host tree, feeding from the same soil, drawing from the same sunlight. It builds itself in parallel. It does not challenge the tree. It does not attack it outright.
And yet, in time, it replaces it entirely. The host tree becomes redundant, its function absorbed by the new growth wrapped around it. And when the tree finally collapses, nothing changes—the ecosystem remains intact, but the power has shifted.
This is the strategy that Radical Federalism must embrace.
We do not fight Washington head-on. We do not secede. We do not break away violently.
We build within. We replicate every essential function at the state level—governance, finance, enforcement, infrastructure—until federal control is irrelevant, unnecessary, obsolete.
█ And when Washington finally collapses under the weight of its own contradictions, the system we built will already be in place. Nothing will change—except who holds the power.
Byzantine Fault Tolerance: Designing a System That Cannot Be Taken
In distributed computing, Byzantine Fault Tolerance ensures that even if part of the network is compromised, the system remains functional. It assumes that failure is inevitable and builds redundancy into every level.
Radical Federalism must do the same. We must never allow a single point of failure. If Washington collapses into full autocracy, the states must continue as though nothing happened.
This means:
State public banks holding revenue outside federal reach.
Multi-state legal pacts ensuring judicial continuity.
Parallel infrastructure—energy, food, transportation—not reliant on federal control.
█ Washington must never be indispensable. Its failure must not be a crisis, but a planned transition.
Part II. The Power That Is Granted, Then Withdrawn
The Mandate of Heaven: Legitimacy That Must Be Maintained
For centuries in Imperial China, the Mandate of Heaven was not a permanent right to rule—it was a test that never ended. The Emperor governed only as long as he was seen as just. Natural disasters, economic collapse, or military failure were signs that the Mandate had been lost. Rebellion was not treason—it was the natural order correcting itself.1
This is how legitimacy should function. It should not be static. It should be constantly questioned. It should be revocable. Collapse is inevitable—how, then, can we claim to have governed responsibly if we have not prepared for it?
Radical Federalism must build impermanence into power itself:
Emergency authority should be temporary—its use should automatically weaken those who invoke it.
State governance must be decentralized within itself—no single official should control all levers of power.
Financial autonomy must be layered—taxation and revenue must not depend on any single institution.
The Roman Republic was ignorant of this lesson. It created the office of the Dictator—a position of absolute power meant only for emergencies. But emergency became the norm. Sulla used it to redesign Rome to his liking. Julius Caesar made himself Dictator for Life. And then there were no more republics—only emperors.
The solution is not to reject emergency power but to design it to self-destruct.
If a governor invokes emergency powers, they should automatically trigger a public referendum on their continued authority.
If a state court blocks federal overreach, it should only be temporary, forcing legislative resolution.
If tax revenue is withheld from Washington, it should require multi-state approval, ensuring it is not wielded recklessly.
█ Every use of power should weaken itself. The best emergency power is the one that can never become permanent.
Part III. The Power That Is Only Strong When It Is Not Used
I. The Auto-De-Legitimization of Power
In most political systems, power is meant to be exercised. In healthy democracies, it is granted and revoked by elections. In authoritarian regimes, it is wielded without restraint. But there exists a third category—power that exists only as a latent force, one that, when exercised, destroys itself.
This paradox is already implemented in some contemporary monarchies like Canada and the U.K. The monarchs technically retain vast emergency powers—the ability to dismiss prime ministers, refuse legislation, or even dissolve Parliament. But everyone knows that the moment those powers are actually used, the monarchy itself would face an existential crisis.
If King Charles III refused royal assent on a bill, Parliament would immediately move to strip him of that power—if not abolish the monarchy entirely.
If the Governor General of Canada dismissed a Prime Minister against Parliament’s will, the backlash would permanently alter the constitutional balance, likely ending the monarchy’s role in Canadian governance.
When kings attempted to assert their prerogative—from Charles I’s execution to Edward VIII’s forced abdication—they lost the very power they sought to wield.
This is auto-de-legitimizing power—authority that, if ever exercised, collapses under its own weight. The structure is intentionally fragile, not because it is weak, but because its strength comes from its latent potential, not its use.
But note: In the King Charles example, if he were to claim, convincingly, that he acted not under his own authority, but under the authority of the people, as their vessel, wielding their power, and only superficially with the legal relevance of his station: then he might collapse the overreach he opposes—with a small chance that the monarchy’s latent power remains only partially diminished.
█ The real lesson here is that monarchy is not the only form of governance that can use this principle. In fact, it is possible to build a system that is even more effective at resisting capture—one that applies this principle of latent authority to decentralized governance in a way that can neutralize authoritarian threats before they take root.
II. The Dalai Lama: Authority That Collapses If It Becomes Direct Control
No figure exemplifies the principle of latent authority that destroys itself upon use better than the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is both a ruler and not a ruler. He is recognized as an ultimate authority, yet the moment he exerts direct political power, his spiritual legitimacy collapses. He does not govern through force, but through influence that is destroyed upon misuse.
Radical Federalism must embrace this paradox. Some powers must exist only as deterrents—powers that, when invoked, weaken those who use them.
Governors should have the ability to nullify federal overreach—but every use should come with an automatic loss of executive power, forcing them to spend political capital to regain it.
State courts should be able to block federal mandates—but each use should trigger legislative review, ensuring they do not become unchecked forces.
Financial independence should be built, but certain applications locked behind procedural barriers—ensuring that states cannot abuse economic autonomy for corruption or authoritarianism.
█ The takeaway for Radical Federalism is that governance structures should incorporate latent authority, designed so that any attempt to overreach triggers its own dismantling.
III. The Biological Parallel: Apoptosis
In multicellular life, apoptosis prevents uncontrolled growth. It destroys compromised cells before they become dangerous, protecting the system as a whole.
Power should function the same way.
If a governor wields emergency authority, it should automatically trigger constraints on their future actions.
If a court invokes extraordinary measures, it should require public reaffirmation.
If states reject federal taxation, the process should be limited by built-in time constraints and review.
█ Radical Federalism must prevent its own mutation into centralized authority.
The best power is the one that destroys itself when misused.
Part IV. The Future: Designing a System That Cannot Be Taken
Authoritarianism succeeds when power is concentrated in a way that can be seized. The goal pf Radical Federalism is not just to resist centralization now—it is to make centralization impossible in the future.
Radical Federalism must be designed with self-terminating power:
If a leader abuses emergency powers, their authority should automatically weaken.
If federal agencies violate state sovereignty, automatic multi-state countermeasures should activate.
If economic coercion is attempted, financial redundancy must make it irrelevant.
This is how we build a future immune to authoritarian takeover:
Latent, single-use power.
Layered governance.
Power that weakens upon use.
Redundancy in financial and legal control.
A system that resists capture—not just today, but forever.
█ The best power is the one that can never be fully used. The strongest system is the one that ensures its own decentralization. Any apparatus in self-denial about its own inevitable death is a betrayal of those that rely upon it.
Compare this to Jefferson’s oft-quoted line about the Tree of Liberty.