-
Leaden Socialistic Thoughts, Part 19 to blupete's Essay
"An Essay On Government"
-
Of course, there are those among us, unfamiliar as they are with history, who still hold leaden
socialistic thoughts, who really do believe that the answer to the big government disease is to increase
the dose of the big government cure. They have come out and have declared they stand full square for
all that which is good and just. These idealists also declare, in the very same breath that realists can
have no such notions. They have cast themselves in the role of the deliverer of succor to all those who
suffer in mankind. Now, to remedy injustices is an admirable goal, one that any thinking person, I
should think, would share; -- but assuming that we will know an injustice when we see one, by what
method shall we go about curing it? Shall we commit an injustice with the view to curing an injustice?
A person can scarcely be held to be credible when he expresses that he has the ability to see how much
effect will follow so much cause when he or she declares that he or she has the ability of dealing with
social complexities of an extremely involved kind. But our elected assemblies are full of such people
who by their actions profess to have such abilities; or who, and this is likely more the case, are led
around by people whom they believe have such astounding abilities. The plain fact is that legislation
lets loose additional factors creating, more often than not, further problems, often more serious than
the problems it was intended that the legislation should cure. There then follows a compounding effect
as the legislators pass more laws with the view to getting at the "legislative mischief" which was set in
motion with the earlier legislation. All of this legislation has attending costs, not the least of which is
the enormous labor we expend annually on our law making and law enforcing machinery.33 But as serious as this expense is to the economic
health of our country, it is not as serious as the additional and axiomatic problem which comes about
when there is too much legislation; it brings all law, to an increasing degree, into disrepute. When
people have no respect for the law, it matters not how many policemen you have, civilized society
breaks down; anarchy will follow.
NEXT
Or, GO TO
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2011 (2019)
