Individualism: An argument for the self
Will Munroe
Issue date: 5/4/09 Section: Commentary
|
Rahm Emanuel may wish that he could retract this widely reported statement after which he detailed the ways that the Obama administration would exploit the current economic correction in order to expand government control and regulation of the American economy. Though the statement was meant to be a cavalier introduction of an economic proposal, Emanuel's sentiment is not new, nor particularly insightful, it is, however, unfortunately, very true. Historically, national "crises" have been the justification used by collectivists to strip away individual rights, curtail freedom and expand government power.
Robert Higgs details this phenomenon in his economic history of the United States, Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government. The title of Higgs's extensively researched book really says it all; despite the individualist virtue of American society, "crises" are used by collectivists to manipulate the electorate into submitting to the rapid expansion of government and the consequent usurpation of individual rights. Though crises eventually subside, governments rarely return to their pre-crises size and scope, resulting in a progressively more powerful government to the detriment of individual liberty.
In the midst of this collectivist push, few are defending the hero of the American story, the individual. I believe that our generation needs a double dose of individualist thinking to temper the emotion-driven cries for government mandated altruism, equality and other such collectivist nonsense.
"[Liberty] is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end. It is not for the sake of a good public administration that it is required, but for the security in the pursuit of the highest objectives of civil society, and of private life." - Lord Acton
The entire American system is founded upon the premise of individual liberty and an open capitalist economy. This is no mistake of fortune on the part of the founders; indeed the intellectual powerhouses who constructed our system realized that a free people can only exist under an open economic system. For without economic freedom, individuals are not truly free to pursue their own personal objectives.
If we existed in a caste system or the so-called "egalitarian" society about which collectivists fantasize, each man's potential for self actualization and accomplishment would be finite. If man has no means to expand his economic power, then he has no means to expand the realm of activities he can pursue. Likewise, in the society in which we live, where we progressively tax or regulate persons of great industry and ability in order to subsidize those of lesser industry or ability we place an upper bound on the level of achievement a person may reach, in effect, placing limits on the advance of their mind. There is no morality or virtue in such control.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
long distance movers
posted 5/20/09 @ 8:34 PM NA
This is a very well thought out and well written article. However, I think you take the idea to an extreme. Though Obama may want to increase governmental power in order to bring the economy back on track, it is extreme to say that he wants to achieve a collectivist society in which the government is an instrument of oppression and a destroyer of morality and virtue. (Continued…)
Tim
posted 7/29/09 @ 3:54 PM NA
Extreme how? Government is larger today than it has ever been. Instead of bending the curve downward on the growth of government, Obama and his cronies have attempted to increase the rate at which government is growing. (Continued…)
Professional resume writer
posted 12/08/09 @ 4:09 PM NA
I agree that our generation needs a double dose of individualist thinking.
Post a Comment