By Jason Charles on 4/26/2018 (5 years 360 days ago) Natural Law
Anarchy has had a resurgence in popularity in recent decades. Especially among the Liberty movement. A movement that just 10 years ago was brought together by the populist Ron Paul. Many people who were originally exposed to the Constitution, the Principles of Liberty and Free Market economics, fail to realize that Ron Paul spent half his lifetime in congress trying to change the system from within, not destroy said system.
Where Did the Revolution Go?
In an interview with CSPN in 2014 a caller asks Ron Paul about his views on anarchism, Ron Paul says this,
“…close Friends of mine think political action is terrible, and worthless. I happen to be one that believes that education is paramount, but political action can be very helpful.” (Mises.org)
So, it is important to note, Ron Paul did not try to abolish what we have in DC, he instead worked to utilize the platforms and mechanisms of government to bring about real change. This was his chosen means to wrest control out of the hands of would be tyrants in government.
While he may have entertained anarchist philosophical perspectives as interesting ideas in the big tent of liberty thought, he didn't himself espouse to them as legitimate solutions to societal problems.
The problem with the self-ascribed liberty movement is when they failed to mobilize the vote to gain the presidency in 2008 and 2012 election years, these campaigners gave up totally on a political solution. For them Ron Paul was the canary in the coal mine. They reasoned if the Ron Paul Revolution could be sidelined, by big government, big politics, and big media, then the system itself was so wholly corrupt it was completely illegitimate.
Thus, they became anarchists or some derivative thereof, which mind you, is a drastic shift away from the ideals Ron Paul embraced.
So, when Ron Paul stated above that people he calls friends have turned from support of the Constitutional system, he is referring to this falling away of former colleges disenfranchised by the political environment. The frustration being that all governments of all types fall to despotism.
The fact is, the Constitutional System has worked very well, and continues to be an obstacle to tyrannical forces. The reason it still is an impediment is because it was based on real concrete laws of nature. Laws that as the Declaration stated were self-evident. Government based on observations founded in moral human absolutes are very agreeable and often gain the consent of the governed for centuries.
Anarchist ideals, on the other hand, do not work on a small scale in a family unit and can never work on a large societal scale for the same reason. These ideas are simply not grounded in natural law truths that all people everywhere can agree exist and need to be universally respected as fundamentals of civil society.
Common Anarchist Ideals Refuted
Here are a few common ideals that can be easily refuted looking at the foundational human institution, the family. The family unit being grounded in nature reveals insights into what is true and plausible when it comes to the idea of human government.
Anarchism is defined as,
“A political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups.” (Merriam-webster.com)
In a nutshell an anarchist will say that the market place of free association will regulate all ideas and behavior. This magical voluntarist market place will provide every service through the provision of the private sector that government currently provides by theft, corrosion or direct force. The problem with anarchists is they fail to grasp a few cold hard facts about our nature as humans, and this is why it falls short at being a viable alternative to instituted government.
Dis-respect for Governing Authority
Anarchists don’t just have a disdain for authority structures, they truly feel they are immoral institutions. That governments have no right to assume a position of ultimate authority on any matter much less arbitrate and police society by threat of force.
The motto of an anarchist is “No God, No Masters.” This one sentence demonstrates a refusal towards recognizing authority of every type. They act like authority is a foreign concept to humans, and that everyone is an individual and that the natural human position is a total disdain for authority preferring unabashed individualism. Thus having no need, or respect for anything that takes on an authoritative role over another human being.
The Natural Law of the Family Demonstrates Otherwise:
The problem with this idea is that every single person is born directly into a family unit. A family unit consisting of a mother and father that act as a governing force in a child’s life. The way we are born into this world, helpless and wholly reliant on the governing and provision of the family would render this concept of authority being “immoral” as completely null and void.
Instead the truth is the very moment you become aware, you find yourself stuck in a governing structure called the family. You are completely reliant on the protection and provision of that mother and father, and if they fail at their role in any way could ultimately spell out your untimely demise or serious hurt.
So, we see here that at the most fundamental level, nature forces all of us into a much-needed authority structure at birth. Only later when a kid or adult is old enough to think for themselves do we see them take on a philosophical structure such as anarchism that denies the role of authority. It is flawed reasoning to believe authority is immoral and it goes against the obvious truth found all throughout nature. Authority structures exist, are greatly needed, and are naturally instituted among men and animals. Nature is full of examples of authority structures and thus it is easy for most humans to naturally submit to the demands of authority. This is why there is very little resistance in the human heart against authority on the greater whole.
Markets Set Morality
Anarchists also believe that the private and voluntary buying and selling of services and goods will naturally keep bad things unsuccessful, while good things and ideas will flourish. Basically saying, if there is a person that does wrong, steal, or cheat someone, the market and popular opinion will cause that person to be ostracized by the collective as punishment. They believe the market will even provide paid private security that can aid in extracting justice through arbitration and punishment. These are all services that private institutions can provide negating the need for government period.
The Natural Law of the Family Demonstrates Otherwise:
The problem is the notion of right and wrong do not start in the market place. No, the notion of right and wrong are reinforced inside the authority constructs of the family.
The mother and father assume the role of provider and protector in a family unit. As such they reserve the right to dictate into their child’s life. They view the family unit as a training ground. This is where children and humans in general are first taught the dictates and social norms they are surrounded by in the real world. The behavior of the child is punished for doing bad and praised for doing good.
They are not first introduced to the notion of good and evil inside the market place. That is another fallacy on its face, by the time anyone is interacting in the market place of ideas, services and goods they have been taught from a young age as to what is right and wrong by the authority and directives of their parents. The market place needs the authority structure of the parents first and foremost.
If the parents fail in educating the child on the basics of right and wrong, and demonstrate boundaries, and a healthy work ethic, it stands to reason they will have a hard time integrating in the market place without trouble. Bad kids make bad adults, and are a net loss on the societal structure. It is not the market that creates a set of moral ideals, far from it, it begins inside the home. The authoritative structure of the family is essential too training and educating kids with a universal set of principles that will equip them for integration into a larger society. In fact the success of parents to teach children these principles are what ultimately determine the how good a government is and how good society is in general. It all starts there, that is why turning your children over to a corrupt public eduction system just infuriates the corruption of the society itself. The responsible is on the parents, deflecting that responsibility to others always ends up being a very bad thing.
A Border-less World
Anarchists also love to make the case that because governments are immoral authority structures that borders are also immoral arbitrary lines in the sand. That the enforcement of these laws and national boundaries go against natural law and are not found in nature. They go further to say that because of governments and their national boundaries we bring war and all sorts of evils into existence. They love to liken all militaries and governing structures as just giant gangs that unjustly enforce their borders through the force of arms and violence.
The Natural Law of the Family Demonstrates Otherwise:
The problem with this thinking is that borders are the most natural thing in the world. We see borders in nature on every level of creation, from the walls of the tiniest cells repelling viruses and foreign invaders, to male lions setting borders for the protection of their own tribe against other lions on the out-skirts of their outlining areas. Borders are set everywhere, almost every creature carves out a space they call home. They erect shelter for themselves, dig burrows, create nests in high places, etc. These creatures do this because they understand that they live in a predatorial universe, and that they must take every means of action to create a defensive and impenetrable space if they are to protect their most precious asset, their own offspring.
Most people understand that other people groups can be just as evil, nasty and predatorial as any beast of prey. Almost universally so, humans accept the notion of borders because they were raised in a family unit that had parents that worked their tale ends off to provide housing and protection. Borders are a natural law; the absence of borders and their enforcement is a utopian dream that does not have any basis in reality in the natural world. Thus, it is a ridiculed and ridiculous idea that only a small fraction of humanity called anarchist and coincidentally globalists promotes.
Conclusion
The truths found in the naturally authoritative structure of the family can be extrapolated out into the wider perspective of society and government. Anything that is good for the family will be good for the wider whole of society including a ruling body that sets and enforces laws. And people will be inclined to follow laws that comport with the laws found inside of the family unit, because it is a natural state of our being and widely accepted as such.
I believe that most anarchists have false presuppositions about human nature. They believe as long as everyone can trade and flourish, and easily get the resources to thrive there would be no murder, theft, and violent corrosion. That is false on its face. The human heart is full of evil. Just look around the world, it is full of people that are rich beyond their need and continue to harm others in pursuit of even more power.
When one-person wrongs another, having a governing body to go to that is ordained for the sole reason of keeping the peace and extracting justice is a giant convenience, and worth putting up with laws they deem unnecessary and even unjust.
The alternative to government arbitration and justice, is trying to extract justice yourself. In an anarchist market and society, if someone robs you for let’s say $10,000 the responsibility for regaining your lost assets is on your own personal shoulders. You would have to either rally other people to your cause in hopes they will aid you in your quest for justice (mob rule), or you would have to pay people to utilize arms to arrest and punish the perpetrator. The problem with that is the cost of paying others and then also putting yourself in harm’s way in order to apprehend an evil person may end up costing you more than what you lost in the first place, even your life, depending on how violent the perpetrator may end up being when confronted. In an anarchist utopian environment justice will be hard to come by, thus mob rule would naturally ensue. There is never a void in power in human affairs.
The natural state of human kind is to escalate situations to a degree of violence. Nobody willingly just stands down, everyone has a propensity to continue to aggravate a situation when they feel wronged. Our sense of justice, demands that of us. That is one thing that sets apart from the animals and speaks to a higher call, and a moral law that guides and directs us.
The Bible says we are made in God’s image, and a cursory look at scripture would find hundreds of verses that speak to the demands God has for justice. Strong’s Bible concordance shows the word for justice in the Old Testament is Number H6666 which matches the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsĕdaqah). This word is used almost 157 times and is almost always referring to God and his demand for justice.
Justice can only be found through strength. When we lose the strength of righteous governing structures we lose justice and are thrown into a perpetually dangerous situation. It is through strength of numbers and universal laws peoples conscience can submit to, do we retain our ability to get justice for ourselves and others.
Anarchists fall into two fallacies, one that human nature can be trusted, and two that a authoritative structures are unnatural. Well, we can just look at the family and see that this simply is not true. We must start from a operating premise that comports to what we see all around us.
What anarchists truly have a problem with is evil government, and whose fault is that? Just like all the Ron Paul revolutionaries that gave up on government solutions and stopped engaging the culture of evil in government it is their fault that government is the way it is, it is their apathy and lack of righting the wrongs using the mechanisms of authority given to us. It is easy to bail out and think up utopian philosophies as an excuse to not engage and change the systems given to us. The power of the system is there for anyone to use, evil and good alike. So why just throw up our hands and turn something so powerful over to provenly evil people, at that point they become unstoppable, because again there is never a void in power.
These Ron Paulers turned anarchists in my mind are as bad as the evil people in government because they instead fight one another over unworkable, idealist philosophies, instead of coming together in mass, engaging the government and righting the wrongs all around us like their hero Ron Paul exemplified.
All of these truths start inside the family unit and have a profound impact on society as a whole, the real failing is not of government but it is inside the family itself is why we have the evil situation we have in government. Evil government is a manifestation of the failings of the family where these natural truths are supposed to be taught and disseminated to assure the future goodness of societal institutions.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Psalm 127:4
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
Proverbs 29:2
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: Exodus 18:21
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