Positive Liberty

I certainly have to agree with Kuznicki’s point that when the state gets into the business of policing our morals, it hands that power to mortal human beings who are themselves fallible, and who cannot resist exploiting their power at the expense of those to whom they dictate the standards of “goodness.” Ultimate power corrupts, especially when it is power over our moral choices. That was, after all, always one of the usual arguments of libertarians (before so many became swallowed up in moral relativism). That’s what John Milton, my favorite Christian libertarian, meant when he said

If men within themselves would be govern’d by reason, and not generally give up thir understanding to a double tyrannie, of Custom from without, and blind affections within, they would discerne better, what it is to favour and uphold the Tyrant of a Nation. But being slaves within doors, no wonder that they strive so much to have the public State conformably govern’d to the inward vitious rule, by which they govern themselves. For indeed none can love freedom heartilie, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but licence; which never hath more scope or more indulgence then under Tyrants. Hence is it that Tyrants are not oft offended, nor stand much in doubt of bad men, as being all naturally servile; but in whom vertue and true worth most is eminent, them they feare in earnest, as by right thir Maisters, against them lies all thir hatred and suspicion. Consequentlie neither doe bad men hate Tyrants, but have been alwayes readiest with the falsifi’d names of Loyalty, and Obedience, to colour over thir base compliances.

(Emphasis added).

There’s a reason why the collectivist, paternalistic societies turn out to have the most morally corrupt and self-indulgent leadership.

But it’s somehow doubly tragic how so many conservatives think that policing our moral behavior will somehow avert tyranny by “teaching” us moral behavior! They don’t seem to realize that they have become the tyrants—like the guy in that Twilight Zone episode who goes back in time trying to undo a calamity, but discovers that he’s actually the causal agent of it. It is true that a people who will not govern themselves by reason and virtue are doomed ultimately to lose their freedom. But they are doomed to lose it precisely to those who would erect the paternalistic state—to the conservatives who promise to relieve us from our own moral responsibility. These conservatives, to again quote Milton,

are not skilfull considerers of human things, who imagin to remove sin by removing the matter of sin…. Though ye take from a covetous man all his treasure, he has yet one jewell left, ye cannot bereave him of his covetousnesse. Banish all objects of lust, shut up all youth into the severest discipline that can be exercis’d in any hermitage, ye cannot make them chaste, that came not thither so…. Suppose we could expell sin by this means; look how much we thus expell of sin, so much we expell of vertue: for the matter of them both is the same; remove that, and ye remove them both alike…. It would be better done to learn that the law must needs be frivolous which goes to restrain things, uncertainly and yet equally working to good, and to evill. And were I the chooser, a dram of well-doing should be preferr’d before many times as much the forcible hindrance of evill-doing. For God sure esteems the growth and compleating of one vertuous person, more then the restraint of ten vitious.

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