“There are those who still think they are holding the pass against a revolution that may be coming up the road. But they are gazing in the wrong direction. The revolution is behind them. It went by in the Night of Depression, singing songs to freedom.” Garet Garrett (The Revolution Was)
One aspect of the coronavirus debacle has not been discussed very much. That aspect is its political aspect – political, as in the philosophy of politics, the study of justice. There is a reason for the pundit’s lack of discussion: there is no justification for our government’s actions this side of Marx and others who classify man as the property of the state.
The political philosophy undergirding western civilization sees every individual as important, as having dignity, as having a right to life and the right to take the actions necessary to sustain that life. That was understood as the meaning of the sixth and eighth commandments. Over centuries of struggle, political theory and practice realized the truth that the right to life and property resulted in freedom and prosperity. Only under freedom could a person realize the opportunity to live a life of dignity and productivity.
That freedom was won by stripping the government of its power over people’s lives, denying it the right to intervene between people engaged in non-coercive actions with each other. Following the Bible’s mandate, government’s function became one of wielding the sword against those initiating force against others. Government, functioning under the purview of justice, was established to protect its citizens from aggression and oppression.
The “Left” (i.e. statists of all ilks) never accepted that understanding of the government’s role. From Hegel and Marx’s intellectual dissent to the anti-clergy of the French Revolution to the “conservatism” of Bismarck and the American Progressives, the power hungry and greedy fought back. In America, by one small (usually) step after another, the idea was propagated that power wielded by the state was the necessary and acceptable way of achieving social goals. Following Hegel, the state became seen as “God walking on earth,” and power, not liberty, became the watchword of political thought and actions.
That giving power to the state destroyed the dignity of the individual and would lead to a new servitude, a serfdom as Hayek called it, was kept hidden under a veneration of nationalism and a blind following of the slogans of freedom. Generations of students were taught to denigrate the old ideal of “small government,” and to accept without question the idea that people’s lives must be controlled by the scientific elite.
That government has the authority to take whatever actions are deemed necessary whenever a crisis can be found or generated is now considered as sacrosanct as the commandments written in stone used to be. That the Constitution and Bill of Rights are relevant to the issues is considered quaint, at best.
Government’s response to the coronavirus has been a brazen application of total control, an extreme response of current political theory. The lockdown of people’s movements and economic activities is based solely on “potential,” on statistical probability, that somebody who comes in contact with the virus will become ill and carry it to others. Kentucky was taking license plate numbers of people “attending church” while sitting in their cars; officials claimed it was “the only way that we can ensure that your decision doesn’t kill somebody else.” Dr. Fauci added a new dimension to positive medicine by admitting the government is contemplating giving clean bill of health certificates (“government-issued immunity cards” was his terminology) to people, which would become a necessity for air travel. A “contact-tracing program” which would monitor where people went and who they saw is also being explored. Pennsylvania declared protestors’ freedom of assembly was ok as long as they stayed in their cars!
But I deny the government has the authority to dictate the many actions it has already taken. I deny it has the authority to take the additional actions currently being discussed. Yes, it has the power: the police, who once swore to uphold justice, have obediently followed orders to impose draconian edicts based on executive orders. Governors have taken on themselves the role of dictator, but people deny the result is a Police State.
For many years, quarantine has been considered one of the Police Powers granted to the state. As far back as Bible times, quarantine was considered the means to protect society from deadly contagious diseases. But the quarantine was based on the actuality of having the disease, not just a statistical possibility; a person showed himself to the priest, and only after the priest examined him and determined the presence of the disease was he isolated. The current practice is an arbitrary edict having more in common with house arrest than quarantine.
There is no basis in justice for denying a person the right to work. The destruction of the hopes, dreams and livelihoods of millions of people is unconscionable and unethical. Practically, the results are sure to be misery for many, and a widening of the gap between the haves and the have-nots, with all its social implications. Between businesses being forced into bankruptcy, and the $2+trillion dollar stimulus and additional trillions in monetary QE, the economic response will destroy the quality of life for millions of people before it all plays out.
And worse, modern political theory bestows on the government total control of our lives. The governor now decides what actions you can take (outside your home), who you can see or interact with and under what conditions, and even the purpose for which you may leave the house. Such injustices are reminiscent of martial law or third-world dictatorships, not the land of the free.
As mentioned in a previous blog article, the government is acting as if protecting people from an illness is the ultimate priority. That is wrong, terribly wrong. The ultimate trump card (no pun intended) in the game of politics is not safety, but freedom. It is freedom, not paternalism, which allows the dignity and worth of an individual to be realized. It is freedom, not force, which is conducive to life. Freedom, such as enshrined in the Bill of Rights, must never be abrogated.
I am saddened for my country – indeed, for the world – that we have come full-circle back to an individual being considered just another serf to be ordered around by the elite at the top of the political hierarchy. But that is the mindset of most of America today. And it is wrong!
Askance Eye Miniblog 