Gummint VS. Society

Reflections on a book:

"I finished Albert Jay Nock’s Our Enemy, the State last month. I’ve been meaning to write something about it, but the holidays sucked the oxygen out of my time.

I think this minor classic boils down to a handful of points [among them]:

State power comes at the price of social power. If the state will take care of something, then people won’t.

[In addition] As social power collapses, so does society. This is Nock’s best insight, and upon two minutes’ reflection, is so obviously true that I’m kind of embarrassed I’d never articulated the thought before.

For years I’ve lamented that the welfare state kills charity, but I never reached the larger point: an increasing state gradually kills all social endeavors. (You ever wonder why the social fabric of Russia is in complete tatters?)"

Worth reflection. Look at Milwaukee, which is still under the long influence of Wisconsin's socialist-oriented philosophy of Government. We see significant deterioration of the City's moral foundation...the violent crime report released just today is certainly germane to the discussion.

A little further into the post, we see this:

Much like CS Lewis' Abolition of Man, where Lewis talks about the Tao as a type of natural law. Nock and Chesterton remind us of universal themes which transcend even Western culture. Confucian ethics are grounded in the idea that moral rectitude backed by social convention are far superior to any action of the state.

The legislator must consider what 'social power' is being replaced by State power, and what that might mean 10 or 20 years downstream.

Wisconsin's proposed health-care actions come to mind.

HT: Chesterton and Friends