Some of Us and Others of Us

All societies require some element of government coercion--what Milton Friedman calls "the command principle--to maintain order and make possible the peaceful transactions of its citizens.  No society could expect civilized order without the rudiments of order provided by some level of government coercion. When it comes to the economy and the choices allowed us, however, if government assumes the command principle it restricts our choices (freedom to choose) and greatly reduces our prosperity.

To paraphrase Friedman in Free To Choose, when the tax code, legislation, or regulation is used to limit our choices and alter our behavior, there are some of us commanding others of us what to do and what not to do, all through the coercive and punitive power of government.

"A predominantly voluntary exchange economy, on the other hand, has within it the potential to promote both prosperity and human freedom.  It may not achieve its potential in either respect, but we know of no society that has ever achieved prosperity and freedom unless voluntary exchange has been its dominant principle of organization." (p.11)

Here is another concise statement on the subject: 



Americans seem to have an intuitive reaction against having an elite few in government encroach upon our freedoms.   

History suggests so much: The first waves of socialism in the country via the Progressive Era needed couched in freedom-friendly terms.  Woodrow Wilson labeled his hostility to individual liberty and a limited Constitution, "The New Freedom".   (Wilson’s idea of freedom was indeed new as it was a rejection of the Founders’ view.)

FDR’s New Deal was sold as the only viable way of protecting Americans’ freedom from want.   (Like a good progressive, Roosevelt inverted the meaning of freedom by promising Americans a freedom from want, fear, joblessness, etc. rather than the freedom to do with one’s life what one wishes in the absence of intrusive government.  During the New Deal Americans were made criminals for owning gold and were not free to pick their own chickens at the butcher shop, but FDR still marketed himself as a champion of freedom.)

Progressives understood, as they understand now, they just cannot attain “dominion over men’s minds” by being open about their pro-government growth, anti-freedom objectives.  This roadblock to statism will remain so long as most Americans continue to be suspicious of intrusive government because they understand what it is the progressives--some of us--are intent upon.
 
There remains a need to build on the town hall and Tea Party momentum and affect an enduring cultural preference for freedom.  Americans are paying more attention and taking the time to learn and relearn our history, the Constitution, and the lessons of freedom.  There is an opportunity and a necessity to provide ourselves with a wide and deep cultural bedrock of freedom, on upon which we can move forward to a freer society.

After all, such a society is what most of us prefer.