The rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of property (Locke) or
happiness (Jefferson) can all fit within a federal system that
enables its two systems of government—that of the federation
itself and the republics or (member) states—to check and balance
each other. The alternative, at least for a federal empire, may be a return to the state of nature.
The complete essay is at Essays on Two Federal Empires, available at Amazon.
