The Proper Role of Government by Ezra Taft Benson © Copyright 1975 Reproduction in any manner, in whole or in part, in English or in other languages without prior written permission is prohibited. The Ralph Smeed Foundation obtained prior written permission in 2003 to reprint from the family of Ezra Taft Benson.
Foreword by
U.S. Congressman C.L. “Butch” Otter Idaho, District 1 Girding against Statism I am often asked about my
philosophy of government. Fortunately, the political and economic principles I hold most dear can be found in these very pages. Seldom have the essential elements of freedom and liberty been so simply, succinctly and eloquently stated as in this thin volume. I have a personal “Three C” test for anything I try to do or have done when considering public
policy. Is it constitutional? What would my constituents want? Am I heeding my conscience? I find the wisdom compiled here by Ezra Taft Benson greatly instructive in reaching my conclusions. His is a practical, truth-intensive and a timeless handbook for political action against statism. He invokes such exceptional minds as John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith, Thomas Paine and Fredric
Bastiat. Anyone seeking a broader and deeper understanding of how to limit the collective authority
will surely benefit from reading “The Proper Role of Government.” Individual freedom and responsibility is the key to advancing human rights. It is also
crucial that we have the freedom to test the realities we find all around us against the Bill of Rights, some of which have already been “prohibited by law.” Thank God in America, we still have some freedom to decide what would be in
our “limited” best interest. Even such limited and tenuous freedom is increasingly rare today. Politicians, bureaucrats and judges in all branches and at all levels of government are using the law to accomplish incrementally the very ends that our form of government was created to prevent. Indeed, I’m reminded by one of my long-time
friends that we in Congress are not in the business of freedom; we’re in the business of statism. Any freedom we manage to get or keep in the process is strictly serendipity.
Yet our government, with all its flaws, distinguishes itself from other so-called “republics.” In fact, one of my all time heroes, the late, great Leonard E. Read (founder of the Foundation for Economic Education on whose board Mr. Benson served for eleven years), described the best system as: “Our free market, private property, limited government ideal, with its moral and spiritual antecedents.”
Our republic still is defined more by the issues constitutionally exempt from such creeping statism — than by those subject to it — because of what John Stuart Mill called “indolence, or carelessness, or cowardice, or want of public spirit.” So I commend Mr. Benson’s
essay to your reading, along with John Wenders’ thoughtful and compelling introduction on the dangers of collectivism all around us. Then I hope you will advance what you’ve learned into political action. … Idaho, “Esto Perpetua.” n
Introduction by John T. Wenders Professor of Economics University of Idaho
Statism: the Individual vs. the Collective Ezra Taft Benson’s justifiably strident warnings about Communism are now passé in public. I attribute this to two disparate reasons, one obvious and symbolic, and the other subtle and lamentable. The obvious reason is the
fall of Soviet style communism, etched in everyone’s mind by the symbolic toppling of the Berlin Wall.
The lamentable reason for the lack of straight-forward attacks on communism is that its underlying principle—collectivism—is alive and well and accepted by most on the political left and right. Hard core socialism and communism have metastasized into various forms of statism, so much that the proportion of GDP now under control of government is at an historic high. In a recent
review in Liberty, Bruce Ramsey points out that the Socialist and Communist parties have disappeared in the US largely because their principles and agenda were folded into the Democratic Party in 1932. And since then the Republicans, with their “me too” politics, have not been far behind.
The insidious common element in all modern collectivist philosophies, whether they be socialist, communist,
or fascist, is the mindset that places collective abstractions about humans above the individual well-being of the humans that lie below. It is an organic view of society in which the elements of society, individual people, are lost.
Characterizations of society can only be known by the intellect, not the senses. Individuals are the real element of any human collective.
Only individuals feel better or worse off—collective abstractions about individuals do not. Once one steps onto the slippery slope from the individual to the abstract universe of the collective, individuals and their well being are submerged and traded against one-another in an endless game of redistribution to satisfy some collectivist view that exists only in the mind of the
viewer. As the French political philosopher Bertrand de Jouvenel observed some time ago, people are the reality and society
is an artificial convention—an abstraction that exists only in the mind. In the 19th century when the conception of society was transformed from being a collection of people to a collective about people, there became no limit to the power of the state—anything could be justified in the name of the collective which had a being superior to that of any individual.
I continue to be amazed at how many facets of modern culture can be traced back to this collectivist mind set. I mention only a few. Collective guilt
has replaced individual guilt and responsibility. For example, I am astounded by the current and increasingly popular suggestion that I, who was not alive during US slavery and none of whose ancestors even lived in the US during the slavery period, should feel personally guilty about slavery and thus pay “reparations” to other individuals
likewise four or five generations removed. Moral transgressions can only be committed by individuals against individuals. I will accept responsibility for what I do and have done. I will not accept responsibility nor feel guilty about what other individuals do and have done, much as I may abhor their actions.
There is a majoritarian standard of morality in popular culture
that is based not on personal standards, but on morality relative to what others do. How often do we hear the reasoning that it’s all right to do something simply because others are doing it? What clearly violates personal moral standards suddenly becomes OK when done by a big enough group. It’s not OK for me to steal, but it is OK if the state does it. It is the cult of mob morality. Note that the majoritarian moral standard differs from common moral relativism based on differing cultural standards. The latter argues that morality should be based on the cultural norms of society and that these can vary widely across cultures. In this view, there is no such thing as an absolute standard of morality: if murder and cannibalism are culturally accepted, it’s OK. The majoritarian standard is based simply on
whether others are also doing it, regardless of any cultural basis for the act. This leads to a related kind of collective guilt,
one based not on what has been done to others, but based solely on one’s relative position among others. Normally guilt is based on what one has done. In this instance, guilt is based solely on where one is relative to others. If you have something, even though you got it through your own talent and hard work, with the voluntary and mutually beneficial cooperation of others, you should feel guilty because it has placed you in some kind of illegitimate superior position relative to others. Nothing is so pitiful as watching a
creative and productive individual, consumed by guilt about his own accomplishments, adopt a collectivist view of the world. It also lies behind Frederic Hayek’s observation that it is often a very difficult task to convince businessmen of the merit of what they do. Many successful businessmen ooze guilt
about the good they have accomplished. I could go on forever about the many ways in which collectivism has become a well-accepted part of modern culture. Group-think is everywhere. Everyone is a victim. People are identified by what they have in common with others. Class welfare, and warfare, drives public policy. Social discontent is fomented by currying envy from below and guilt
from above. Ours is the collectivist age of style and image, groups and groupies, and the fruitless search for inner-identity and self-esteem from others. Few want to be seen as out-of-step. Being in step is more important than the tune of the drummer. Belonging is more important than what one belongs to. When something is “in” and “trendy,” woe to anyone who says “wait a minute.”
Public relations replace private relations. And many private relations are done not for what they privately convey, but what they produce for public relations. Have a disagreement with a woman? That’s sexist, and you can be accused of sexual harassment. Don’t hire enough minorities? You’re a racist. Refuse to feel guilty about what happens to others and about what others do? You’re an insensitive clod.
Democracy is the perfect vehicle for statism. It is the ultimate triumph of group-think. It is the totalitarian collectivism of the majority, or worse,
the minority who are able to use democracy for their own ends. We wait for our elected leaders to painlessly do for us from on high what we are unwilling to do for ourselves. It is not surprising that Mr. Benson spoke so vigorously against communism and for limited government. A profoundly religious man, he rose to be President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A central belief of this church, one often lost even among its most ardent members, is that
one’s earthly life is the time when one’s soul is tested. For this test to have meaning, a person must have free agency, be free to choose, be free to make right and wrong choices.
If one is not a free agent, then the test will not be real. It will be meaningless. Thus, what the government does is not as important as what the individual does. And for the individual to be free to make his own choices, the role of government must be minimal, or else that individual will not be truly tested here on earth. Mr. Benson’s views clearly reflect this central tenet of the church he loved.
Communism and socialism may be dead, but collectivism lives. This is what Mr. Benson warns us about in his excellent
essay. n
The Proper Role
of Government by
The Honorable Ezra Taft Benson
Secretary of Agriculture
[The Eisenhower Administration, 1953-1961] Men in the public spotlight constantly are asked to express an opinion on a myriad of government proposals and projects. “What do you think of TVA?” “What is your opinion of Medicare?”, "How do you feel about Urban Renewal?” The list is endless. All too often, answers to these questions seem to be based, not upon any solid principle, but upon the popularity of the specific government program in question. Seldom are men willing to oppose a popular program if they, themselves, wish to be popular – especially if they seek public office.
Government Should Be Based on Sound Principles
Such an approach to vital political questions of the day can only lead to public confusion and legislative chaos. Decisions of this nature should be based upon and measured against certain basic principles regarding the proper role of government. If principles
are correct, then they can be applied to any specific proposal with confidence. “Are there not, in reality, underlying, universal principles with reference to which all issues must be resolved whether the society be simple or complex in its mechanical organization? It seems to me we could relieve ourselves of most of the
bewilderment which so unsettles and distracts us by subjecting each situation to the simple test of right and wrong. Right and wrong as moral principles do not change. They are applicable and reliable determinants whether the situations with which we deal are simple or complicated. There is always a right and wrong to every question which requires our solution.” (Albert E. Bowen, Prophets, Principles and National Survival [P.P.N.S], p. 21-22)
Unlike the political opportunist, the true statesman values principle above popularity, and works to create popularity for those political principles which are wise and just. The Correct Role of Government I should like to outline in clear, concise, and straight-forward terms the political principles to which I subscribe. These are the guidelines which determine, now and in the future, my attitudes and actions toward all domestic proposals and projects of government. These are the principles which, in my opinion, proclaim the proper role of government in the domestic affairs of the nation. “(I) believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society. “(I) believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life…
“(I) believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and unalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience.” (Doctrine & Covenants [D&C] 134:1-2,5) The Most Important Role of Government
It is generally agreed that the most important single function of government is to secure the rights and freedoms of individual citizens. But, what are those rights? And what is their source? Until these questions are answered there is little likelihood that we can correctly determine
how government can best secure them. Thomas Paine, back in the days of the American Revolution, explained that: “Rights are not gifts from one man to another, nor from one class of men to another… It is impossible to discover any origin of rights otherwise than in the origin of man; it consequently follows that rights appertain to man in right of his existence, and must therefore be equal to every man.” (P.P.N.S., p. 134)
The great Thomas Jefferson asked: “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath?” (Works 8:404; P.P.N.S., p.141) Starting at the foundation of the pyramid, let us first consider the origin of those freedoms we have come to know are human rights. There are only two possible sources.
Rights are either God-given as part of the Divine Plan, or they are granted by government as part of the political plan. Reason, necessity, tradition and religious convictions all lead me to accept the divine
origin of these rights. If we accept the premise that human rights are granted by government, then we must be willing to accept the corollary that they can be denied by government. I, for one, shall never accept that premise. As the French political economist, Frederic Bastiat, phrased it so succinctly, “Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty,
and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.” (The Law, 1850, reprinted by the Foundation for Economic Education, Irvington-On-Hudson, N.Y., p.6)
The Real Meaning of the Separation of Church and State I support the doctrine of separation of church and state as traditionally interpreted to prohibit the establishment of an official national religion. But I am opposed to the doctrine of separation of church and state as currently interpreted to divorce government from any formal recognition of God. The current trend strikes a potentially fatal blow at the concept of the divine origin of our rights, and unlocks the door for an easy entry of future
tyranny. If Americans should ever come to believe that their rights and freedoms are instituted among men by politicians and bureaucrats, then they will no longer carry the proud inheritance of their forefathers, but will grovel before their masters seeking favors and
dispensations – a throwback to the Feudal System of the Dark Ages. We must ever keep in mind the inspired words of Thomas Jefferson, as found in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” (P.P.N.S.,
p.519) Since God created man with certain unalienable rights, and man, in turn, created government to help secure and safeguard those rights, it follows that man is superior to the creature which he created. Man is superior to government and should remain master over it, not the other way around. Even the non-believer
can appreciate the logic of this relationship. The Source of Government Power Leaving aside, for a moment, the question of the divine origin of rights, it is obvious that a government is nothing more or less than a relatively small group of citizens who have been hired, in a sense, by the rest of us to perform certain functions and discharge certain
responsibilities which have been authorized. It stands to reason that the government itself has no innate power or privilege to do anything. Its only source of authority and power is from the people who have created it. This is made clear in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, which reads: “We
The People… do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The important thing to keep in mind is that the people who have created their government can give to that government only such powers as they, themselves, have in the first place. Obviously, they cannot give that which they do not possess. So, the question boils down to this. What powers properly belong to each and every person in the absence of and
prior to the establishment of any organized governmental form? A hypothetical question? Yes, indeed! But, it is a question which is vital to an understanding of the principles which underlie the proper function of government. Of course, as James Madison, sometimes called the Father of the Constitution, said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor
internal controls on government would be necessary.” (The Federalist, No. 51) Natural Rights In a primitive state, there is no doubt that each man would be justified in using force, if necessary, to defend himself against physical harm, against theft of the fruits of his labor, and against enslavement of another. This principle was clearly explained by Bastiat: “Each of us has a natural right – from God – to defend his person, his liberty, and
his property. These are the three basic requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the preservation of the other two. For what are our faculties but the extension of our individuality? And what is property but an extension of our faculties?” (The Law, p.6) Indeed, the early pioneers found that a great deal of their time and energy was being spent doing all three – defending themselves, their property and their liberty – in what properly was called the “Lawless West.” In order for man to prosper, he cannot afford to spend his time constantly guarding his family, his fields, and his property against attack and theft, so he joins together with his neighbors and hires a
sheriff. At this precise moment, government is born. The individual citizens delegate to the sheriff their unquestionable right to protect themselves. The sheriff now does for them only what they had a right to do for themselves – nothing more. Quoting again from Bastiat: “If every person has the right to defend – even by force — his person, his liberty,
and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right — its reason for existing, its lawfulness — is based on individual right.” (The Law, p. 6) So far so good. But now we come to the moment of truth. Suppose pioneer “A” wants another horse for his wagon. He doesn’t have the money to buy one, but since pioneer “B” has an extra horse, he decides that he is entitled
to share in his neighbor’s good fortune. Is he entitled to take his neighbor’s horse? Obviously not! If his neighbor wishes to give it or lend it, that is another question. But so long as pioneer “B” wishes to keep his property, pioneer “A” has no just claim to it.
If “A” has no proper power to take “B’s” property, can he delegate any such power to the sheriff? No. Even if everyone in the community desires that “B” give his extra horse to “A,” they have no right individually or collectively to force him to do it. They cannot delegate a power they themselves do not have. This important principle was clearly understood and explained by John Locke nearly 300 years ago:
“For nobody can transfer to another more power than he has in himself, and nobody has an absolute arbitrary power over himself, or over any other, to destroy his own life, or take away the life of property of another.” (Two Treatises of Civil Government, II, 135; P.P.N.S.
p. 93) The Proper Function of Government This means, then, that the proper function of government is limited only to those spheres of activity within which the individual citizen has the right to act. By deriving its just powers from the governed, government becomes primarily a mechanism for defense against bodily harm, theft and involuntary servitude. It cannot claim the power to redistribute
the wealth or force reluctant citizens to perform acts of charity against their will. Government is created by man. No man possesses such power to delegate. The creature cannot exceed the Creator.
In general terms, therefore, the proper role of government includes such defensive activities as maintaining national military and local police forces for protection against loss of
life, loss of property, and loss of liberty at the hands of either foreign despots or domestic criminals. The Powers of a Proper Government It also includes those powers necessarily incidental to the protective functions such as: (1) The maintenance of courts where those charged with crimes may be tried and where disputes between citizens may be impartially settled. (2) The establishment of a monetary system and a standard of weights and measures so that courts may render money judgments, taxing authorities may levy taxes, and citizens may have a uniform standard to use in their business dealings. My attitude toward government is succinctly expressed by the following provision taken from the Alabama Constitution: “That the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property,
and when the government assumes other functions it is usurpation and oppression.” (Art. 1, Sec. 35) An important test I use in passing judgment upon an act of government is this: If it were up to me as an individual to punish my neighbor for violating a given law, would it offend my conscience to do so? Since my conscience will never permit me to physically punish my fellow man unless he has done something evil, or unless he has failed to do something which I have a moral right to require of him to do, I will never knowingly authorize my agent, the government to do this
on my behalf. I realize that when I give my consent to the adoption of a law, I specifically instruct the police – the government – to take either the life, liberty, or property of anyone who disobeys that law. Furthermore, I tell them that if anyone resists the enforcement of the law, they are to use any means necessary – yes, even putting the lawbreaker to death or putting him in jail – to overcome such resistance. These are
extreme measures but unless laws are enforced, anarchy results. As John Locke explained many years ago: “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and violence from others, which cannot be where there is no law; and is not, as we are told, ‘a
liberty for every man to do what he lists.’ For who could be free, when every other man’s humour might domineer over him? But a liberty to dispose and order freely as he lists his person, actions, possessions, and his whole property within the allowance of those laws under which he is, and therein not to be subject to the arbitrary will of another, but freely follow his own.” (Two
Treatises of Civil Government, II, 57: P.P.N.S., p.101) I believe we Americans should use extreme care before lending our support to any proposed government program. We should fully recognize that government is no plaything. As George Washington warned, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence – it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master!” (Skousen, The Red Carpet,
p.142) It is an instrument of force and unless our conscience is clear that we would not hesitate to put a man to death, put him in jail or forcibly deprive him of his property for failing to obey a given law, we should oppose it. The Constitution of the United States
Another standard I use in determining what law is good and what is bad is the Constitution of the United States. I regard this inspired document as a solemn agreement between the citizens of this nation which every officer of government is under a sacred duty to obey. As Washington stated so clearly in his immortal Farewell Address: “The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. – But the constitution which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.” (P.P.N.S.,
p. 542) I am especially mindful that the Constitution provides that the great bulk of the legitimate activities of government are to be carried out at the state or local level. This is the only way in which the principle of “self-government” can be made effective. As James Madison said before the adoption of the
Constitution, “[We] rest all our political experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government.” (Federalist, No.39; P.P.N.S., p. 128)
Thomas Jefferson made this interesting observation: “Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.” (Works 8:3; P.P.N.S.,
p. 128) The Value of Local Government It is a firm principle that the smallest or lowest level that can possibly undertake the task is the one that should do so. First, the community or city. If the city cannot handle it, then the county. Next, the state; and only if no smaller unit can possibly do the job should the federal government be considered. This is merely the application to the field of politics of that wise and time-tested principle of never asking a larger group to do that which can be done by a smaller group. And so far as government is concerned the smaller the unit and the closer it is to the people, the easier it is to guide it, to keep it solvent and to keep our freedom.
Thomas Jefferson understood this principle very well and explained it this way: “The way to have good and safe government, is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the functions he is competent to. Let the national government be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations;
the State governments with the civil rights, law, police, and administration of what concerns the State generally; the counties with the local concerns of the counties, and each ward direct the interests within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these republics from the great national one down through all its subordinations, until it ends in
the administration of every man’s farm by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best. What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body.” (Works 6:543; P.P.N.S., p. 125) It is well to remember that the states of this republic created the Federal Government. The Federal Government did not create the states. Things Government Should NOT Do
A category of government activity which, today, not only requires the closest scrutiny, but which also poses a grave danger to our continued freedom, is the activity NOT within the proper sphere of government. No one has the authority to grant such powers, as welfare programs, schemes
for redistributing the wealth, and activities which coerce people into acting in accordance with a prescribed code of social planning. There is one simple test. Do I as an individual have a right to use force
upon my neighbor to accomplish this goal? If I do have such a right, then I may delegate that power to my government to exercise on my behalf. If I do not have that right as an individual, then I cannot delegate it to government, and I cannot ask my government to perform the act for me. (Emphasis added) To be sure, there are times when this principle of the proper role of government is most annoying and inconvenient. If I could only FORCE the ignorant to provide for themselves, or the selfish to be generous with their wealth!
But if we permit government to manufacture its own authority out of thin air, and to create self-proclaimed powers not delegated to it by the people, then the creature exceeds the creator and becomes master. Beyond that point, where shall the line be drawn? Who is to say “this far, but no farther?” What clear PRINCIPLE will stay the hand of government from reaching farther and yet farther into our daily lives?
We shouldn’t forget the wise words of President Grover Cleveland that “… though the people support the Government the Government should not support the people.” (P.P.N.S., p.345.) We should also remember, as Frederic Bastiat reminded us, that “Nothing can enter the public treasury for the benefit of one citizen or one class unless other citizens and other classes have been forced to send it in.” (The Law, p. 30; P.P.N.S.,
p. 350.) The Dividing Line Between Proper and Improper Government
As Bastiat pointed out over a hundred years ago, once government steps over this clear line between the protective or negative role into the aggressive role of redistributing the wealth
and providing so-called “benefits” for some of its citizens, it then becomes a means for what he accurately described as legalized plunder. It becomes a lever of unlimited power which is the sought-after prize of unscrupulous individuals and pressure groups, each seeking to control the machine to fatten his own pockets or to benefit its
favorite charities – all with the other fellow’s money, of course. (The Law, 1850) The Nature of Legal Plunder Listen to Bastiat’s explanation of this “legal plunder.” “When a portion of wealth is transferred from the person who owns it – without his consent and without compensation, and whether by
force or by fraud – to anyone who does not own it, then I say that property is violated; that an act of plunder is committed!
“How is the legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime…” (The
Law, p. 21, 26; P.P.N.S., p. 377.)
As Bastiat observed, and as history has proven, each class or special interest group competes with the others to throw the lever of governmental power in their favor, or at least to immunize itself against the effects of a previous thrust. Labor gets a minimum
wage, so agriculture seeks a price support. Consumers demand price controls, and industry gets protective tariffs. In the end, no one is much further ahead, and everyone suffers the burdens of a gigantic
bureaucracy and a loss of personal freedom. With each group out to get its share of the spoils, such governments historically have mushroomed into total welfare states. Once the process begins, once the principle of the protective function of government gives way to the aggressive or redistribution function, then forces are set in motion that drive the nation toward totalitarianism. “It is impossible,” Bastiat correctly observed, “to introduce into society… a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder.” (The Law, p. 12)
Government Cannot Create Wealth Students of history know that no government in the history of mankind has ever created any wealth. People who work create wealth. James R. Evans, in his inspiring book,
The Glorious Quest gives this simple illustration of legalized plunder: “Assume, for example, that we were farmers, and that we received a letter from the government telling us that we were going to get a thousand dollars this year for plowed up acreage. But rather than the normal method of collection, we were to take this letter and collect $69.71 from Bill
Brown, at such and such an address, and $82.47 from Henry Jones, $59.80 from a Bill Smith, and so on down the line; that these men would make up our farm subsidy. “Neither you nor I, nor would 99 percent of the farmers, walk up and ring a man’s doorbell, hold out a hand and say, ‘Give me
what you’ve earned even though I have not.’ We simply wouldn’t do it because we would be facing directly the violation of a moral law, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ In short, we would be held accountable for our actions.” The free creative energy of this choice nation “created more than 50% of all the
world’s products and possessions in the short span of 160 years. The only imperfection in the system is the imperfection in man himself.” The last paragraph in this remarkable Evans book – which I commend to all – reads: “No historian of the future will ever be able to prove that the ideas of individual liberty practiced in the United States of America were a failure. He may be able to prove that we were not yet worthy of them. The choice is ours.” (Charles Hallberg and Co., 116 West Grand Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60610) The Basic Error of Marxism
According to Marxist doctrine, a human being is primarily an economic creature. In other words, his material well-being is all important; his privacy and his freedom are strictly secondary. The Soviet constitution reflects this philosophy in its emphasis on security: food, clothing, housing, medical care – the same things that might be considered in a jail. The basic concept is that the government has full responsibility for the welfare of the people and, in order to discharge that responsibility, must assume control of all their
activities. It is significant that in actuality the Russian people have few of the rights supposedly “guaranteed” to them in their constitution, while the American people have them in abundance even though they are not guaranteed. The reason, of course, is that material gain and economic security simply cannot be guaranteed by any government. They are the result and reward of hard work and industrious production. Unless the people bake one loaf of bread for each citizen, the government cannot guarantee that each will have one loaf to eat. Constitutions can be written, laws can be passed and imperial decrees can be issued, but unless the bread is produced, it can never be distributed.
The Real Cause of American Prosperity Why, then, do Americans bake more bread, manufacture more shoes and assemble more TV sets than Russians do? They do so precisely because our government does NOT guarantee these things. If it did, there would be so many accompanying taxes, controls, regulations and political manipulations
that the productive genius that is America’s would soon be reduced to the floundering level of waste and inefficiency now found behind the Iron Curtain. As Henry David Thoreau explained: “This government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the west. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way. For government is an expedient by which men would fain succeed in letting one another alone; and, as has been said, when it is most expedient, the governed are most let alone by it.” (Quoted by Clarence B. Carson, The American Tradition, p. 100; P.P.S.N., p.171) In 1801 Thomas Jefferson, in his First Inaugural Address, said: “With all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow citizens – a wise and frugal government, 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 had earned.” (Works 8:3)
A Formula for Prosperity The principle behind this American philosophy can be reduced to a rather simple formula: 1. Economic security for all is impossible without widespread abundance. 2. Abundance is impossible without industrious and efficient production. 3. Such production is impossible without energetic, willing and eager labor. 4. This is not possible without incentive.
5. Of all forms of incentive – the freedom to attain a reward for one’s labor is the most sustaining for most people. Sometimes called THE PROFIT MOTIVE, it is simply the
right to plan and to earn and to enjoy the fruits of your labor. 6. This profit motive DIMINISHES as government controls, regulations and taxes INCREASE to deny the fruits of success to those who produce. 7. Therefore, any attempt THROUGH GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION to redistribute the material rewards of labor can only result in the eventual destruction of the productive base of society, without which real abundance and
security for more than the ruling elite is quite impossible. An Example of the Consequences of Disregarding These Principles We have before us currently a sad example of what happens to a nation which ignores these principles. Former FBI agent, Dan Smoot, succinctly pointed this out on his broadcast number 649, dated January 29, 1968, as follows:
“England was killed by an idea: the idea that the weak, indolent and profligate must be supported by the strong, industrious, and frugal – to the degree that tax-consumers will have a living standard comparable to that of taxpayers; the idea that government exists for the purpose of plundering those who work to give the product of their labor to those who do not work. The economic and social cannibalism produced by this communist-socialist idea will destroy any society which adopts it and clings to it as a basic principle – ANY society.” The Power of True Liberty from Improper Government Interference
Nearly two hundred years ago, Adam Smith, the Scot, who understood these principles very well, published his great book, The Wealth of Nations, which contains this statement: “The natural effort of every individual to better his own condition, when suffered to exert itself with freedom and security, is so powerful a principle, that it is alone, and without any assistance, not only capable of
carrying on the society to wealth and prosperity, but of surmounting a hundred impertinent obstructions with which the folly of human laws too often encumbers its operations; though the effect of these obstructions is always more or less either to encroach upon its freedom,
or to diminish its security.” (Vol. 2, Book 4, Chap. 5, p. 126) But What About the Needy?
On the surface this may sound heartless and insensitive to the needs of those less fortunate individuals who are found in any society, no matter how affluent. “What about the lame, the sick and the destitute?” is an often-voiced question. Most other countries in the world have attempted to use the power of government to meet this need. Yet, in every
case, the improvement has been marginal at best and has resulted in the long run (in) creating more misery, more poverty, and certainly less freedom than when government first stepped in. As Henry Grady Weaver wrote, in his excellent book, The Mainspring of Human Progress: “Most of the major ills of the world have been caused by well-meaning people who ignored the principle of individual freedom, except as applied to themselves, and who were obsessed with fanatical zeal to improve the lot
of mankind-in-the-mass through some pet formula of their own ... The harm done by ordinary criminals, murderers, gangsters, and thieves is negligible in comparison with the agony inflicted upon human beings by the professional ‘Do-Gooders’ who attempt to set themselves up as gods
on earth and who would ruthlessly force their views on all others – with the abiding assurance that the end justifies the means.” (pp. 40-41; P.P.N.S., p. 313) The Better Way By comparison, America traditionally has followed Jefferson’s advice of relying on individual action and charity. The result is that the United States has fewer cases of genuine hardship per capita than any other country in the entire world or throughout all history. Even during the Depression of the 1930’s, Americans ate and lived better than most people in other countries do today. What Is Wrong With a “Little” Socialism?
In reply to the argument that a little bit of socialism is good so long as it doesn’t go too far, it is tempting to say that, in like fashion, just a little bit of theft or a little bit of cancer is all right, too! History proves that the growth of the welfare state is difficult to check before it comes to its full flower of dictatorship. But let us hope that this time around, the trend can be reversed. If not, then we will see the inevitability of complete socialism, probably within our lifetime.
Three Reasons America Need Not Fall for Socialist Deceptions Three factors may make a difference. First, there is sufficient historical knowledge of the failures of socialism and of the past mistakes of previous civilizations. Secondly, there are modern means of rapid communications to transmit these lessons of history to a large literate population. And thirdly, there is a growing number of dedicated men and women who, at great personal sacrifice, are actively
working to promote a wider appreciation of these concepts. The timely joining together of these three factors may make it entirely possible for us to reverse the trend. How Can Present Socialistic Trends Be Reversed? This brings up the next question: How is it possible to cut out the various welfare-state features of our government which have already fastened themselves like cancer cells onto the body politic? Isn’t drastic surgery already necessary, and can it be performed without endangering the patient? In answer, it is obvious that drastic measures ARE called for. No half-way or compromise actions will suffice. Like all surgery, it will not be without discomfort and perhaps even
some scar tissue for a long time to come. But it must be done if the patient is to be saved, and it can be done without undue risk. Obviously, not all welfare-state programs currently in force can be dropped simultaneously without causing tremendous economic and social upheaval. To try to do so would be like finding oneself at the controls of a hijacked airplane and attempting to return it by simply cutting off the engines in flight. It must be flown back, lowered
in altitude, gradually reduced in speed and brought in for a smooth landing. Translated into practical terms, this means that the first step toward restoring the limited concept of government should be to freeze all welfare-state programs at their present level, making sure that no new ones are added. The next step would be to allow all present programs to run out their term with absolutely no renewal. The third step would involve the gradual phasing-out of those programs which are indefinite in their term. In my opinion, the bulk of the transition could be accomplished within a ten-year period and virtually completed within twenty years. Congress would serve as the initiator of this phase-out program,
and the President would act as the executive in accordance with traditional constitutional procedures. Summary Thus Far As I summarize what I have attempted to cover, try to visualize the structural relationship between the six vital concepts that have made America the envy of the world. I have reference to the foundation of the Divine Origin of Rights;
Limited Government; the pillars of economic Freedom and Personal Freedom, which result in Abundance; followed by Security and the Pursuit of Happiness. America was built upon a firm foundation and created over many years from the bottom up. Other nations, impatient to acquire equal abundance, security and pursuit of happiness, rush headlong into that final phase of construction without building adequate foundations or supporting pillars. Their efforts are futile. And, even in our country, there are those who think that, because we now have the good things in life, we can afford to dispense with the foundations which have made them possible. They want to
remove any recognition of God from governmental institutions. They want to expand the scope and reach of government which will undermine and erode our economic and personal freedoms. The abundance which is ours, the carefree existence which we have come to accept as a matter of course, can be toppled by these foolish experimenters and power seekers. By the grace of God, and with His help, we shall fence them off from the foundations of our liberty, and then begin our task of repair and construction. As a conclusion to this discussion, I present a declaration of principles which have recently been prepared by a few American patriots, and to which I wholeheartedly subscribe. Fifteen Principles Which Make for Good and Proper Government As an Independent American for constitutional government I declare that: (1) I believe that no people can maintain freedom unless their political institutions are founded upon faith in God and belief in the existence of moral law. (2) I believe that God has endowed men with certain unalienable rights as set forth in the Declaration of Independence and that no legislature and no majority, however great, may morally limit or destroy these; that the sole function of government is to protect life,
liberty, and property and anything more than this is usurpation and oppression. (3) I believe that the Constitution of the United States was prepared and adopted by men acting under inspiration from Almighty God; that it is a solemn compact between the peoples of the States of this nation which all officers of government are under duty to obey;
that the eternal moral laws expressed therein must be adhered to or individual liberty will perish. (4) I believe it a violation of the Constitution for government to deprive the individual of either life, liberty, or property except for these purposes:
(a) Punish crime and provide for the administration of justice; (b) Protect the right and control of private property; (c) Wage defensive war and provide for the nation’s defense;
(d) Compel each one who enjoys the protection of government to bear his fair share of the burden of performing the above functions. (5) I hold that the Constitution denies government the power to take from the individual either his life, liberty, or property except in accordance with moral law; that the same moral
law which governs the actions of men when acting alone is also applicable when they act in concert with others; that no citizen or group of citizens has any right to direct their agent, the government, to perform any act which would be evil or offensive to the conscience if that citizen were performing the act himself outside the framework of government. | 
