I don't believe deeply in government. The truth is, I hardly believe in government at all. Government governs best which governs least. A good government is one which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.
Basically, there are but two ways to order societal affairs. Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state - political society. Voluntarily, through the private interaction of individuals and associations - civil society. All the various political "isms", from socialism to fascism to liberalism to conservatism, are all predicated on a single question: Who's going to make decisions about your life? You, or somebody else? In a civil society, you make the decision. In a political society, someone else does.
For too long, you and I have not been able to make the decisions.
The continuous rationales for a prominent government role in our society (continue to let our government take our money for SS - redistribute wealth) have a hollow ring these days. I agree with what Will Rogers said, "It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for." America was never meant to be the land where citizens are cajoled, subsidized, regulated, mandated, and steered. America was meant to be the land of the free. As Lord Acton put it, "Liberty is not the means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end."
George Washington said, "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence. It is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearsome master." It seems to me that Washington wasn't just admonishing us to be wary of government. He was juxtaposing civil society with political society. Civil society is based on reason, eloquence, persuasion, which is to say voluntarism. Political society, on the other hand, is based on force.
It is time for every politician to heed George's words. Addressing the Social Security issue is a job for politicians with backbones and insight like Washington. Are there any on the Hill today? It doesn't appear so.
Values? How about Liberty? Liberty to manage my own affairs. I totally agree with Lord Acton. "Liberty is not the means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end."
