The Warren County Patriot » Government Oppression
Government Oppression
THE ART OF GOOD GOVERNMENT
HOW MUCH GOVERNMENT
Protection, Oppression, and Liberty
Oppression: is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner.
Right and Left, Protection, Oppression, and Liberty are all directly interrelated, and are in turn a function of what can be termed Government Intervention, or more simply, How Much Government.
The traditional Right-Wing government allows people – the rich and powerful – to impose upon others by providing insufficient protection through insufficient Intervention.
Left-Wing government allows government to impose upon people beyond simple protection, thus creating a condition of oppression through excessive Intervention.
The degree of Government Intervention also affects liberty. If protection and government intervention is insufficient, people are able to impose upon one another, so the overall liberty is not maximized. On the other hand, excessive government intervention results in oppression, thus once again, the overall liberty is not maximized.
The amount of government intervention required to maximize liberty and to provide full protection for all citizens from imposition without creating oppression can be defined with the utmost accuracy.
Throughout most of our political history government has pursued a policy of laisser-faire or minimal intervention in the affairs of society, thus permitting those with superior forces of personality, intelligence and wealth to increase their well-being by diminishing that of others.
Insufficient government intervention permits citizens to harm and exploit one another. That is the essence of Right Wing Conservatism. Under this regime freedom is increased for the stronger elements of society but decreased for the weaker members; hence the overall liberty is not maximized.
The Socialist reaction gave government, or the State, considerably greater powers of intervention designed to help the poor by preventing exploitation and readjusting the balance of wealth.
But excessive government initiates exploitation and oppression by the State. That is the essence of Left Wing Socialism. Under this regime liberty is increased by government protection, but it is then decreased as government goes beyond the point of protection and creates interference, leading to oppression. Again, liberty is not maximized.
Liberty is maximized when government offers full protection, but without moving into oppression.
It thus becomes clear that the significant factor in government policy, and the liberty it produces, is the Degree of Government Intervention.
