Cafe Hayek: What the founders understood

re: from something written by John Baden, as quoted by Russell Roberts, "...Their work exemplified Enlightenment thinking and displayed heavy emphasis on reason and science. Our Founders well understood the potential for plunder and worked to minimize it. Their task was to create institutions strong enough to protect citizens in their person and property, while constraining politicians and special interests from exploiting and controlling others. /While perfection eluded our Founders due to the compromises necessary for ratification (consider neglect of women, slaves, and Indians), it was a marvelous beginning. They limited government’s ability to transfer wealth and opportunities; otherwise, as is Europe, benefits would flow to the powerful and well connected. Here, individuals had incentives to improve their lot by being productive rather than predatory. Americans’ surest path to self-improvement came from moving human and natural resources to ever-higher values. As a result of our focus on productivity not plunder, we became rich beyond belief..."...