The Folly of Utopia and Collectivism

"A universal peace, it is to be feared, is in the catalogue of events, which will never exist but in the imaginations of visionary philosophers, or in the breasts of benevolent enthusiasts." -- James Madison, essay in the National Gazette, 1792

"The utopian schemes of leveling (re-distribution of the wealth) and a community of goods (socialism scheme of central ownership of production and distribution), are as visionary and impractical as those which vest all property in the crown. These ideas are arbitrary, despotic, and, in our government unconstitutional. Now what property can the colonists be conceived to have, if their money may be granted away by others, without their consent?" -- Samuel Adams, Boston Gazette, April 4, 1768.

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." -- James Madison, 1792, in disapproval of Congress appropriating $15,000 to assist some French refugees.

"I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution; and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadily resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people. ... The friendliness and charity of our fellow countrymen can always be relied on to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood." -- Grover Cleveland, Explanation of his Veto of an expenditure that would have provided $10,000 of federal aid to drought-stricken Texas farmers.

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." -- Benjamin Franklin, Widely attributed, similar quote appears in Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" (1853).

By Douglas V. Gibbs

There is an old saying, "Be careful what you wish for." Those seeking a socialistic utopia, and those that believe we are evolving to the point that eventually a utopia will emerge in which money is no longer necessary, and mutual cooperation is the standard, do not live in the real world. A collectivist utopia is unattainable.

The unattainability of utopia on a grand scale hinges on the whims of human nature, and the very nature of utopia itself. Utopia is something sought because we don't have it, but once we were to reach such a level, if doing so was even possible, it would no longer be utopia because something better would still be on the horizon.

Utopia is a place that only exists deep in the minds of philosophers, and in the religious concepts of Heaven, or Nirvana. A pure utopia would be perfection, and in only the realm of God is perfection even possible. Therefore, the imperfect nature of humanity also makes utopia unattainable.

To provide from the government till to those less fortunate is to open up the opportunity for the receivers to take advantage of the system, the power structure to use the system to garner support, and for the ruling class to set up rules governing the entitlement system which in the long run make those that receive from the programs nothing more than slaves to the state.

To reach peace would be a wonderful thing, but there is always those that desire conquest, so peace is only possible while the despots and authoritarian figures are kept at bay. The only language the violent understand is violence, therefore strength on a military level, and the willingness to use it when necessary, is the only way to keep those that wish to wage war at bay. When the nations defending against tyranny let their guard down, are unwilling to fight, or believe that peace can only be obtained through an olive branch and diplomacy, the makers of violence take advantage of the moment of weakness, and peace becomes even less obtainable than before.

Humanity can never be satisfied because we are a flawed species. We strive to conquer happiness, and there is nothing wrong with the pursuit of happiness, but in the end there will always be those imperfections that will never make complete happiness possible. Happiness, in its purest form, is only something that can be fully obtained in a spiritual realm, and on a personal level.

The template for perfection, and happiness, then would be something presented under the laws of God. The laws of man are imperfect. The greed and lust for power of man would never allow utopia to last. Only through divine intervention is true happiness, contentment, and a perfect society, even possible.

Once again, the concept of Heaven comes to mind.

We are programmed to find a flaw in everything because we are short of perfection. Individually, we realize this, but we strive for a better life and a better world because it is in our nature to desire godliness. We all fall short of the glory, but we keep on trying. We set our sights on our own personal utopia daily, hoping to obtain that job we enjoy, or obtain materialistic things we think will make us happy, or balance in our relationships with our family that, as hard as we try, continues to be quite dysfunctional.

There is nothing wrong with our personal journeys toward a more perfect life. There is nothing wrong with us trying to affect the world in a positive manner, during that pursuit of fulfillment. Personally, I believe that such a journey is more fulfilling when pursued with one's eyes on The Creator, for if those things we seek become more important than God, they are meaningless. The moment we try to seek such levels of content through our own machinations, without reaching out to God, our human nature is also more likely to foul it up.

Some folks wish to take their personal journey towards their own utopia, and force upon everyone through government their nature of charity which is designed to make the world more socially just, to a level beyond their own individualism. These people become reformers, advocates, and activists. They then desire that government take a role of engineering society in a direction that is more socially just through reform programs, and entitlement policies.

Though, on the surface, there is nothing wrong with continually striving for something better, we must understand that it is not the role of government, or any other group of people (no matter how well intentioned) to dictate to other people how it is they must live their lives if they are going to be a part of the collectivist movement towards a utopian society. Human nature, when given this kind of task, embraces the situation as if these people are some member of an elite that is somehow better than others, and from that forms a power structure in which the original intent of doing good for society suddenly becomes a drive for social justice and equity, whether the people below them like it or not.

Our inherent trait of wanting to make our lives better, along with our built-in instinct of survival, then clash. The laws of God become the laws of man, and the rule of man becomes the God we once followed. Government, then, begins to work to force the people to follow the body politic, to become dependent on those that think they know better than the lower classes, and before you know it, the desire for utopia becomes a reality of an authoritarian system that rules over the people with an iron fist, while attempting to stamp out all competition, such as the belief in God.

Government cannot be trusted with those responsibilities that we should pursue on our own, as individuals.

Government should only be there to protect our ability to personally pursue our own happiness, or guard for us against those that would seek to take our individualism away from us. Beyond that, government's role should be non-existent, for the most part.

It is not up to government to force us to be free. Liberty is our choice, our journey, and our right.

Besides, a utopian system under the rule of man would be more damaging than good anyway. Think about it. If we were hypothetically able to attain utopia, our wishes would be fulfilled. We would have nothing to strive for. Life would lose meaning. Death would be better than life. A perfect system would mean that there is nothing better around the bend, and so there would be no reason to pursue happiness. Our desire to strive for progress in our own lives is what makes life worth living. Without the hope of something better, there would be no hope.

Perfection is offered to us by God, not man. I will work to be the best I can be on Earth, knowing that I can never fully attain the perfection I was created to obtain. That, my friends, is for another life, another world, with my Savior.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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