ANOTHER LOOK AT LIBERTARIANISM

Governments operate based on assumptions about human nature, the purpose of government, & what the relationship between citizens & government should be. Here are 2 examples of assumptions that are sometimes made: 

• Government is more able, wise, resourceful, & competent than the average person. This idea is reflected in the nearly innumerable bureaucracies, often with contradictory & competitive regulations which control more & more of life in America. This is all supposedly to make life better.
• The group or class is more important than the individual or community. This is seen in attempts to define & appeal to various voting groups like women, Hispanics, Asians, homosexuals, etc.

These kinds of assumptions can’t be found in the founding documents of the US.

The Founders were most concerned about balancing the one main issue – the relationship between the individual & his government – that has challenged those who have tried to define the proper role of government. This issue is authority – who ultimately determines how a person is to live.

One on end of the spectrum are those who feel that government should have minimal authority in the individual’s life. Those who believe this are called libertarians. (I write this post because of a very dishonest picture which I have put below, which deliberately muddies the waters on what libertarians believe.)

Others feel that government has the best resources, the most intelligent people, the best motivation, etc. This group also has many shades of belief. But over the last several generations the view at the extreme end of this side of the spectrum have prevailed, & we see today the results of such beliefs.

Our Founders sought a realistic middle ground between authoritarianism & radical individualism. The government must have power to deal effectively with those who do harm to others, but it must also (because of man’s fallen nature) be restrained from doing harm to those who haven’t wronged others.

One charge made by the President & other radicals is that the Constitution doesn’t authorize the Federal Government to do certain things on behalf of various classes of people. This claim is factually true, but these radicals’ view of government directly contradicts the intentions of the Founders. The Founders did NOT want to include that kind of authority; they had personally experienced & seen the results of raw, centralized, unaccountable government power. They were actually doing their best to prevent the very things that are being done to our people today.

I believe that the Founders envisioned a nation of citizens, the majority of whom could be called Theistic Libertarians. While not necessarily Evangelical in experience or understanding, they would have a general biblical world view & value system that would inform & motivate them to do right. They would recognize & embrace the need to pass on this heritage to future generations & immigrants, so that the theistic libertarian values that distinguished the new nation would be perpetuated.

From these observations, I draw 4 conclusions:

1. Libertarianism doesn’t deny the need for government; it acknowledges man’s tendency to do wrong to others & at the same time places clear limits on the power of government.
2. Absolute libertarianism was not the Founders’ intent; it leads to anarchy & national/cultural destruction.
3. Libertarianism based on secular values will never work because it based on changing views & often mutually contradictory individual self-interests.
4. Libertarianism must have a moral foundation that considers the good of others (like the Golden Rule). This is the key to self-government & the avoidance of both despotism & anarchy.