SAM MAGAZINE42/25 | 9 Equally to the point, if I choose to use my liberty in ways that are productive, what I produce belongs entirely to me. Yes, I may choose to give some of the grain I have grown to my starving parents, or to the poor in my community, or to religious or secular institutions. But in my natural condition, I am under no obligation to do so. In my original state of nature, 100% of what I produce belongs to me – not 100% minus taxes or 100% minus tithes. Thomas Jefferson summed this up in the American Declaration of Independence by claiming as a “self-evident truth” every individual’s right to life (that is, self-ownership), to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness (that is, the consequences of the choices the individual chooses to make). Neither we nor 17th- or 18th- century Americans live in a state of nature, of course. In a state of nature, our natural rights are constantly threatened or potentially threatened by those around us. To protect our natural rights we have chosen to enter into mutual-security agreements with others around us, agreements which create certain obligations. In other words, we choose to create and submit ourselves to an authority – that is, to government. Note that government is not some natural or pre-existing reality. Unlike natural rights, including liberty, government is a human creation. Government does not create rights, or grant liberty. It is merely a convenient, man-made tool to protect our enjoyment of our pre-existing rights and our pre-existing freedom. The limited role of government Even more important, note that government is created and tolerated solely because without it, individuals are unable to protect and enjoy their natural rights to self-ownership, to liberty, and to the valued things those individuals create. Without some sort of shared defense, I would be at the mercy of any evil neighbor, foreign or domestic, who seeks to deprive me of my natural rights – to kill me, enslave me, or rob me. To sufficiently empower this government to protect my enjoyment of my rights, I contractually obligate myself to give up to the government that portion of my liberty and of my property as may be essential to so empower the government – but I give these up solely for this purpose. Government has no right to take my life, regulate my behavior, or tax my property except for the purpose of protecting my natural rights. Observe what this implies. In this American political tradition, government does NOT exist to make my life better, to make society better, or to make the world better -- and it has no right to regulate or tax me for any of these social purposes. Except to the limited degree that the existence of the community is essential to the protection of my individual natural rights, government does not exist to preserve, protect, or advance the community or the community’s shared social goals. Individuals may create private organizations – churches, clubs, corporations – for collective purposes, but unless absolutely necessary for the protection of my natural rights, this is explicitly not within the mandate of government. Private organizations have historically been so prominent in American life and played such important roles precisely because the government is denied the right to play these roles. Because it is in the character of any government, even the best-managed one, to forget this fundamental fact, the American view is that, while necessary, government is a constant danger. Yes, of course, my freedom is threatened by my evil neighbor, foreign or domestic – hence the need to establish government. Unlike natural rights, including liberty, government is a human creation.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjU0MzgwNw==