Isegoria

The nation-state grew in power and popularity as it subsumed the historical roles of religion, family, and civil society, but in so doing the nation-state slowly undermines itself, Henry Dampier argues:

What Hans-Hermann Hoppe illuminates is that, by breaking down family and religious ties with the crowding-out effect of social security programs of all types, the modern total state does permanent damage to the underlying culture.

Conservatives, particularly those in the Pat Buchanan mode, tend to want to save the state from the consequences of its own assumption of authority over civil society. This is by no means limited to talk radio — it’s actually quite common on the alternative right, also. Libertarians, outside of Hoppe, tend to dismiss the importance of civil society, instead stressing the rights of individuals.

Identitarians and other nationalists tend to argue that the total state which began flexing its authority in the 18th century can be restored to its former glory by eliminating the complicating influences of foreigners and people of other religions. While there’s nothing all that wrong with such a proposal — deporting and importing foreigners has been a political tool for millennia used in all political systems for various purposes — it also ignores the long term, multi-generational effects of the usurpation of civil life by states and the consequences of that.

Social security tends to be extremely popular among ordinary people because of how much it does to liberate the individual from bonds of family, community, and religion. What it does is free parents and children from the traditional reciprocal duties owed between the parties. It also weakens the economic incentives underlying the marriage bond — if everyone can fall back on the mercy of the state rather than maintaining family relations, we shouldn’t be surprised when civil society breaks down, people find that they have little in common with anyone, much less their own countrymen, and then move to support various destructive political measures in frustration.

[...]

A program to end social security and other forms of insurance (like health insurance) would not find supporters in significant numbers, in large part because the impacts of those programs are irrevocable. The depleted and thin relations that people have within their families, to one another, and to their religious groups (should there be any) are so weak that, for most people, to turn away from the bureaucratic system would mean turning back on not just their livelihood but their entire way of life and thought.

Posted in Policy | 1 Comment »