Beyond Utopia

Progressives, such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, are coming forward with a variety of schemes for humanizing our society and improving the lives of the poorest people in our nation. They and their supporters harbor fantasies of resurrecting FDR’s level of progress (minus the Japanese internment camps, gold confiscation, and Supreme Court packing.)

I concede that things could be better, but I believe that our problems should be tackled in a better, more moral way. Progressives believe that they are offering panaceas. They point to problems and claim that their plans can save the United States from herself. While their hubris is impressive, their naiveté eclipses it. Progressives’ details are often scant, and they remain perpetually unfocussed. We are urged to simply bestow upon them unlimited political power, and their social engineering will eventually fix all of our problems.

Every progressive, I assume, seeks a benevolent and subsequently satisfied society. They ignore or dismiss those that do not wish to participate. They do not and would not hesitate to wave the gun of the government in order to install their Utopia software. And that is the flaw in their plans. They do not account for free will. People, free thinking and acting, make up our nation. The characteristics of a nation are derived from the nature of its people. Therefore, a benevolent society cannot be achieved via string pulling. A benevolent and satisfied society is and always will be the result of its people. If the people are good, and if the people are free, they will create a good society.

Social engineering has never come out as expected, despite the efforts of the string pullers. But never mind the facts and history! Every generation has their version of progressives who are eager to implement their version of Utopia. The only problem is that when they do get their way, their promised perfection results in a fresh hell for all involved. A nation cannot be made perfect, and this is a fact that no progressive can accept. Life is not a problem to be disentangled; it is an actuality to be lived.

The progressive is a (wo)man who is determined to save us all, no matter if we desire their “help” or not. This is immoral. It is only when Americans are able to live their own lives and exercise their freedoms that our nature will allow a benevolent and satisfied nation to grow and prosper. The progressives’ path is one that is stained with blood and never-ending violence, and they must be stopped.

Is there an alternative? After all, things are as they are, and they are not good. So, what’s the solution? Am I saying we should acquiesce to the status quo? No. Something must be done. Something must change.

I argue to be left alone. Pick a social problem, any problem, and you can trace its origin to government intervention. Like a well-meaning child, it tries to help us but trips over its shoelaces and makes a mess every time. Am I saying we should do nothing? No. We must be allowed freedom from interference in order to develop the strength and the will to lift our nation beyond its current circumstances.

Mostly everyone believes in freedom. Their belief, however, is too often abstract. The freedom of the purse, for example, is repeatedly under attack. People fear a lack of order. People fear a lack of responsibility. People fear greed because they are greedy. But greed is good. When a society acts in concert with greed, economics equalize, and man earns what man deserves.

I argue for liberty because liberty is how a decent society evolves. Survey any and every aspect of life. On the surface there might not be a pattern; but, when you delve in, when you ask questions, when you educate yourself, a natural harmony can be observed. Social interactions are not chaotic. We are not cattle to be herded. We are intelligent beings that can exist in a voluntary society—absent of any and all government interference. Governments allow men to get by without properly participating in a society. Regulations, entitlements, laws, etc. shield us from responsibility; and, as a result, nations corrode.

In the absence of a government, of course, things will go wrong. But they will not go wrong for long. In the absence of a government, we would be required to fix the solution as quickly as possible. Progressives cannot save the world by increasing government interference. Only the people can fix their problems; and, by doing so, the world will be worth saving.