# The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown Government in America

**URL:** <https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/the-once-and-future-king-the-rise-of-crown-government-in-america>

**By** Frank H. Buckley, Trevor Burrus

**Published:** April 1, 2016

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Frank H. Buckley joins us to discuss America's dangerous tendency to gravitate towards an overwhelmingly powerful executive branch.

The contemporary British, Canadian, and American political systems come from the same democratic root, but have very different ways of separating and balancing power. How does the American presidential system compare to the parliamentary system? Does the government we have today function anything like the government the Founding Fathers envisioned?

Frank H. Buckley joins Trevor Burrus this week for a discussion on his book, _The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown Government in America_.  
  
Is it accurate to say we have a “crown government?” What's the danger in giving the president legislative power? Do presidential and parliamentary regimes tend to attract different types of leaders?  
  
**Show Notes and Further Reading**

Buckley's newest book, [_The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown Government in America_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Once-Future-King-Government/dp/1594037930) (2014).

Gene Healy's book [_The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power_](http://www.amazon.com/Cult-Presidency-Updated-Dangerous-Executive/dp/193399519X/) (2009) also explores these themes.