My general point being that when you say it "can't be made to work", it tends to imply that it's actually been tried. And perhaps to some lesser extent it has, but as your own post says, those who proposed the USA in the first place broke it the next day.
If we look at different expressions of liberty, we can certainly find near-total freedom in historical models. Hong Kong was a bastion of economic freedom until China took it back (I'm unclear as to how much of that has remained since). Pre-NFA, the USA was a fine example of firearms freedom. As I hear it, the historical Irish had a great deal of sexual freedom. And even with stupid **** like the Alien & Sedition Acts, the USA has generally enjoyed a pretty extreme amount of expressive freedom.
I think the trick isn't looking for the one shining example of all freedoms, but noting how freedom in different categories has been maximized in various places, and pondering how to gather that maximization into one place. Just saying that "well, there's gotta be jackboots, sucks to be us" is more like running away from the problem than actually trying to address it.
You're putting jackboots into my mouth.
I don't think I said, "can't be made to work," and I don't think there's gotta be jackboots, either.
Let me put it this way: If we're not a free country, there are no free countries and there never have been, except perhaps as soon to be modified anomolies.
In no way take that to mean I don't think we can improve. It's hard for me to understand how anyone who has read my posts on here for the last couple of years could think that.
Also, I hate what I see happening to freedome here.
What I have trouble with is the "all is lost," crowd, and the "it used to be so much better," crowd, and the "if I can't have 100% freedom then I'm living under tyranny and I'm now just waiting for the revolution crowd."
I try to be the thorn under that saddle.