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From Chapter 2 of Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin, 2009
Chapter 2 of Levin’s book, “On Prudence and Progress,” covers the issue of how a society evolves within the confines of the Constitution and rule of law. Three themes are prevalent: (1) First, he illustrates the contrast between change (the politically-expedient tactic of the Statist) and prudent reform (the Constitution-preserving method of the Conservative). Here he debunks the oft-used smear that Conservatives fear change and cling to the status quo. (2) Second, Levin discusses equality and the Statist’s misuse of this concept as a means to tyrannical ends. He writes about how the Statist is so obsessed with fixing every perceived inequality that the Constitution, the rule of law, and preserving the dignity of the individual are no barriers to achieving that goal. (3) Finally, Levin explains how the compliant media, academia, and entertainment industry play an essential role in softening up the American citizenry to accept the intentions of the Statist.
[All bolds are mine]
[T]he Conservative doesn’t reject change. For [Edmund] Burke, change as reform was intended to preserve and improve the basic institutions of the state. Change as innovation was destructive as a radical departure from the past and the substitution of existing institutions of the state with potentially dangerous experiments. (p.13–14)
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The Conservative believes, as [Edmund] Burke and the Founders did, that prudence must be exercised in assessing change. Prudence is the highest virtue for it is judgment drawn on wisdom. The proposed change should be informed by the experience, knowledge, and traditions of a society, tailored for a specific purpose, and accomplished through a constitutional construct that ensures thoughful deliberation by the community. (p.14)
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The Conservative must accept that the Statist does not share his passion for liberty and all the good that flows from it. … The Statist rejects the Founders’ idea of the dignity of the individual, who can flourish through ordered liberty, for one rooted in unpredictibility, irrationality, and, ultimately, tyranny. (p.15)
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For the Statist, liberty is not a blessing but the enemy. It is not possible to achieve Utopia if individuals are free to go their own way. The individual must be dehumanized and his nature delegitimized Through persuasion, deception, and coercion, the individual must be subordinated to the state. … His first duty must be to the state—not family, community, and faith, all of which have the potential of threatening the state. (p.16)
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The primary principle around which the Statist organizes can be summed up in a single word—equality. … The Statist, however, misuses equality to pursue uniform economic and social outcomes. He must continuously enhance his power at the expense of self-government and violate the individual’s property rights at the expense of individual liberty …
President Barack Obama made this point when lecturing the Wesleyan University graduating class of 2008 during his campaign: “[O]ur individual salvation depends on collective salvation.” But salvation is not the government’s to give. Indeed, it is not a grant to mankind from mankind. Under the wrong conditions and in the wrong hands, this deviant view is a powerful tool against humanity. (p.16–17)
* * * * *
Academics claim to challenge authority but, in truth, preach authoritarianism through various justifications for and approaches to deconstructing the civil society. They talk of individual rights but promote collectivism. They talk of enfranchisement and suffrage but promote judicial and administrative usurpation of republicanism. They talk of workers’ rights but promote the heavy taxation and regulation of labor. Indeed, academics portray Utopia as a kind of heaven on earth but have a high tolerance for the hell of widespread misery. (p.19)
Levin concludes the chapter with this memorable quotation from C.S. Lewis:
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. (p.22–23)
A brilliant ending to a brilliant chapter.
Chapter 1 post here.
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