A Giant Leap Towards Dictatorship

To stop the spread of the coronavirus, governments across the nation have closed businesses and ordered citizens to stay at home except for “essential” business or activities. Gatherings of more than ten people or being within six feet of another person in public is now illegal in many jurisdictions.

Freedom of trade, freedom of movement, freedom of association, freedom of assembly are now prohibited by many governments. A large percentage of Americans can no longer produce and trade, travel at will, or associate with others without the government’s approval. In short, many Americans can no longer live as they choose, but only as the government permits.

That governments have taken such rights-violating measures is certainly cause for concern. That many Americans welcome these dictates is frightening. We must wonder what other restrictions on freedom in the name of saving lives or stopping the pandemic will be accepted.

Benjamin Franklin said that those who would sacrifice a little liberty for security deserve neither. Today, individuals are willing to sacrifice their freedoms to stop the coronavirus. And tomorrow, power lusting politicians will demand more sacrifices of freedom to combat the crisis de jure. Throughout history, governments have used crises to expand their power and control over the lives of individuals. And once obtained, that power is seldom relinquished voluntarily.

If this seems like hyperbole, consider how our lives have been impacted in the past few weeks by the actions of government. Many have lost their jobs because governments have closed millions of businesses or greatly restricted their operations. These actions have created great uncertainty about the future, with many fearing further controls and restrictions. In response, the stock markets have plummeted and consumers have emptied store shelves. Nobody knows what controls and restrictions governments will impose next. But few are protesting. Instead, they arrive early at stores hoping to beat the crowd and stock up on supplies.

This is not the way life should be.

The proper purpose of government is the protection of individual rights–the freedom of each individual to live as he chooses, so long as he respects the freedom of others to do the same. But in the past few weeks, governments across the nation have increasingly enacted prohibitions on freedom of choice. They have created uncertainly as to what they will do next. And fundamentally, that uncertainly is because government is no longer constrained by objective moral principles. The citizenry has granted government the authority to do “whatever it takes” to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

When government is not constrained by objective moral principles, individuals do not know what will suddenly become illegal. They do not know if their dreams and plans will suddenly be crushed by a new law. That is now the environment that we now find ourselves in.

Throughout American history, government controls and regulations have been enacted to address some problem. And without exception, those controls and regulations have created new problems. With few exceptions, the response to the new problems has been more controls and regulations.

History is a philosophical laboratory. History shows us the development and consequences of fundamental ideas, both moral and evil. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat the philosophical mistakes and prevented from repeating the philosophical glories.