Many people seek to “level the playing field” or “spread the wealth around” so as to be kind to others and have a utopia of sorts. I believe the claimed cause to be very noble and right, but the methods sought after by such individuals expose the motives of those who claim to believe this way.
The government of the United States of America has been the most important magnifying glass to examine redistributionists. In America people are free to do with their property as they please. They can horde money and food or they can give every last penny away. With this freedom Americans have done well generally, as America is the most generous nation ever seen on planet earth. Many people have the view that there should be no poor among us and that everyone should share of their good fortune with others and not have more than everyone else. I am one of those people.
Where the vast and overwhelming majority (considering I have never met anyone who has expressed thoughts like mine on the topic) of such people go wrong is in their looking to government to force others to redistribute. Being in America, people are free to come together and pool their resources in a community effort to have all things equal. It can be done and I believe should. It is my contention that if people were to do this, it would lead to greater prosperity of, not just poor individuals but, everyone. Doing this would lead to the next jump ahead, or you could say another 5000 year leap. If even 50% of Americans would choose to pool their resources to share with everyone else imagine the problems we could solve. By having government force people to do such, imagine the problems we create.
Where I part ways with the socialists and communists is in free will (and quite a few other things really, but this one is most relevant). Government should not force anyone to give up property. This is despotism and exposes the motives of powerful people who claim to want this equality. Under every redistributionist government there has been a powerful and rich few ruling over the equally poor masses. The only reason that I can think of for an already powerful person to promote government imposition is that like Tim “the Toolman” Taylor they want more power. History is filled with villainous tyrants oppressing people and seeking more and more power. The problem with many Americans is that we do not think it can happen to us in today’s world; that somehow our day is different. Well guess what, it can happen and has been happening for a while in a very Fabian way.
Eliminating poverty and making sure everyone has plenty is a good cause and one that should be promoted more widely for people to choose. But sadly, many look to government imposition. Doing this would only put Americans under the rule of that all too common rich and powerful few. Since redistribution can be done freely in our society there is no need for government to force us into it. People can and should just do it and encourage others to do it. There has been an entanglement between two causes in the United States. The government that was set up to protect the rights of individuals has mixed itself up in social and moral issues in which it has no place. Instead of focusing on the former task we have people in government looking to provide for people by “spread[ing] the wealth around”.
The Constitution established a perfect place to exercise one’s free will and choose to give to others. That should be the message promoted by those who truly believe in giving freely to others, in a free country such as the United States. Instead we have a few already powerful people looking to be the ruling class hiding behind what appears to be a noble cause. If they truly believed in the cause they would encourage people to use their freedom to live in such a way. Instead they seek power, coercion and oppression of others. Charity requires no legislation, no middle man and no enforcer. All that is required is knowledge, desire and choice.
UPDATE: Apparently I write like George Orwell.
Well said and I think if the government would back out of our lives and our money, then the world’s most generous nation would become even more charitable, solving more problems.
Excellent once again Dave. It reminds of what C.S. Lewis said about the benevolent despot. “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive…those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end,for they do so with the approval
of their own conscience.”