Liberty Alone

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false-face for the urge to rule it.

H.L. Mencken

Of course, anyone claiming to be saving humanity would claim that they’re the exception.

As anyone who knows me probably knows, one of my biggest annoyances is the way the word liberalism has been perverted by socialists, statists and conservatives to mean the opposite of what it originally meant. I’ve just come across a perfect example which shows how little this modern, American ‘liberalism’ differs from conservatism:

To lay a ghost at the outset and to dismiss semantics, a liberal is here defined as one who believes in utilizing the full force of government for the advancement of social, political, and economic justice at the municipal, state, national, and international levels…. A liberal believes government is a proper tool to use in the development of a society which attempts to carry Christian principles of conduct into practical effect.

Senator Joseph S. Clark, Jr. - Atlantic, July 1953, p. 27

Okay, so ‘liberals’ differ from conservatives in many of their ends, a ‘liberal’ has a different conception of justice and to day these so-called liberals shirk away from religion more, but the essence is the same, the government must use force and coercion to impose what politicians think is best. The argument is then simply about what should be forced upon people rather than is this the legitimate purpose of government, what is its ends and wouldn’t leaving the individual free to run their own lives be better.

Following on from the previous quotation, the same letter goes on to discuss Queen Elizabeth’s actions in declaring patents given null and void at the request of the lower house:

But whereas great complaints were made in the lower house, relating to the engrossing practice:

(for it seems there were some, who, under the colour of publick good, but, in reality, to the great damage of the kingdom, had got the Queen’s letters patents, for the sole privilege and liberty of vending some sorts of wares)

Cato’s letter number 8 - Thomas Gordon

Engrossing was the practice of getting a legally enforced monopoly in order to extract higher prices from the customer.

Some things really don’t change.

There is not in politicks a more established rule, than, That when a corrupt and wicked ministry intend to pillage a nation, they make use of vile and contemptible instruments, to gather in their plunder, and allow the miscreants part of it; and when the cry for justice becomes strong and universal, they always hang up their faithful rogues. By this means they stop the people’s mouths, and yet keep the money.

Cato’s Letter Number 8 -Thomas Gordon, December 24, 1720

The only thing to add is that the politician will do their best to disguise their plundering as for the good of those they are meant to serve.