The Private Sector Narrative

When you think of all the organizations, countries, businesses and individuals who are dependent on the U.S. government it boggles the mind. For someone like me, who advocates limited government and empowerment of the private sector, it seems like an impossible task to stop Leviathan and limit its power. It's just too damn powerful. I sometimes think that the only way we'll ever break the power of the state and limit it to appropriate duties is for the government to collapse under its own weight. Given the current national debt, this is conceiveable, although not the preferable way to limit government.

It would be much better if the public woke up and cleaned house in Washington D.C. by electing representatives who will roll back power and institute limits on government power -- this is a long shot, but it could happen if we get too close to the brink of disaster and the public becomes concerned enough to act. But, this type of revolutionary change will require many people acting against their perceived short-term personal interests.

There, unfortunately, will have to be a period of sacrifice in order to limit government, and this a huge obstacle. People don't usually act against their interests unless they can see some future benefit -- a benefit which is not too far removed in time. But people are also capable of thinking outside a cost-benefit analysis of their decisions.

Why should we limit government and empower the private sector? Each person has to answer this question. Is being free important? There might be many people who would rather have security provided by the state than freedom, but they don't have a right to violate my rights to achieve this security. Many proponents of a powerful state which provides security are interested in their own welfare and want others to pay for that security. I don't mind pitching in with everyone else to pay for police security, national security from foreign attacks, or the security provided by courts to settle disputes and apply justice, but I don't want to be forced to pay for your financial security, or anyone's financial security. I will be glad to give to charity, but I don't want government confiscating a part of the money I earn then distributing it to others.

So this is where my private realm narrative begins. The players are:

The Statists -- The Free Online Dictionary defines "statism" as -- The practice or doctrine of giving a centralized government control over economic planning and policy.

So, for the purpose of my narrative, a statist is anyone, inside or outside government who believes that government should have the power to control economic policy and planning. I'm making these categories broad for a reason, one being to force an understanding of the power of ideas. So, I will add - those who believe the state should have the power to violate individual rights under normal circumstances for the greater good is a statist.

By "normal circumstances" I mean all circumstances except national emergencies which threaten the foundation of the nation, like a foreign attack where we are endangered here in America and are forced to take extreme measures to survive -- then the issue of individual rights are temporarily suspended, using other libertarian values to deal with the situation, until the immediate threat passes. Recessions fall unde"normal circumstances", so forget about destroying the Constitution because unemployment is high.

The Libertarians -- I'm taking liberty (no pun intended) to really stretch (or limiting, depending on how you look at it) the common understanding of libertarian to apply my own definition for the sake of stark differientiation. The Libertarians are all those who believe the government should be limited and does not have the power to violate individual rights. The only rights I will include are the traditional rights of life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. But the main difference is that the Libertarian doesn't believe the government should control the economy through planning and policy.

I see this division as where we are at in America, although not many realize it yet. Of course there are many moderates who believe a little of both are necessary, but for now they will have to fall on the side of the statists if they believe the government should have the power to violate basic, individual rights in any way.

No one gets to hide or obfuscate in this story. I will start the narrative tomorrow, hopefully.