Governance Controls Destiny

Democracy and Power 101:  Government is power

Government is not, as some people like to say, a necessary evil; it is not an evil, but a means, the only means available to make peaceful human coexistence possible.  … Ludwig von Mises

Governance Controls Destiny

Good governance is crucial for peace, prosperity and the expansion of human capacity.  Charles Krauthammer in Washington Post writes of the importance of politics

… This is the work of politics — understood as the ordering of society and the regulation of power to permit human flourishing while simultaneously restraining the most Hobbesian human instincts.

As judged against other systems of government, Americans have historically had superior governance.  America prospered because citizens for over 200 years were free to think, believe, exchange ideas, goods and services with little interference from government.  Ludwig von Mises, a great Austrian/America economist, understood how good governance fosters freedom, which expands human capability:

The distinctive principle of Western social philosophy is individualism.  It aims at the creation of a sphere in which the individual is free to think, to choose, and to act without being restrained by the interference of the social apparatus of coercion and oppression, the State. All the spiritual and material achievements of Western civilization were the result of the operation of this idea of liberty.

America was blessed to be founded by the philosophy of freedom as stated in the Declaration of Independence and followed by the institutions of governance within the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Benefiting from winning the Revolutionary War and geographic separation, a small cadre of very knowledgeable people versed in the history of government, formed and codified America’s government.  Understanding England’s kings, wars, parliaments, compromises, charters and declarations of rights, our Founders sought strong institutional restraints to control the awesome power of government.  Overarching, our Founders feared the tyrannical powers of monarchs, factions (special interests), and the majority rule.  Our Founders believed in individualism – freedom to think, to choose and to act without restraint by government. 

Today, the American government when compared to excellence – utopia – rates as poor.  Worse, it is descending.  Government, particularly the federal government, has been on a jihad to command and control Americans.  Here are a few examples:

  • Obamacare, passed by overt corruption, instituted by bureaucratic zealots and enforced by a government czar – Sebelius.
  • Pelosi dictates light blubs for every American.
  • The Dodd-Frank financial regulations empowering their Northeastern bank empires. 
  • Green energy schemes order by another government czar and paid for by all working Americans – Solyndra. 
  • High price energy by restricting oil and gas production. 
  • Poor education produced by the NEA unions at the expense of young Americas.

 James Madison warned of this abuse of power:  The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.

Horrifically, our politicians are totally focused on November elections.  Does any politician appreciate the importance of governance and respect the institutions that govern us?  Does any politician care? 

No, the next eight months will be about obtaining power – first, to be elected and then to be in the majority.  We the People must remind every politician of the importance of freedom, and why America has been exceptional.  We the People must ask our elected politicians to respect and embrace the Constitution of limited government and honor our freedom, where the individual is free to think, to choose, and to act without being restrained by the interference of the social apparatus of coercion and oppression.