Tyrants always use an economic crisis to destroy liberty
Right now, there is a worldwide economic crisis happening and, historically, tyrants use such crises as one of the best, if not the best, weapons to destroy liberty that ever existed.
Look through American history, and you’ll find that some of the greatest violations of federal power have come during an economic crisis — maybe second only to war. Although, it should be noted that an economic crisis often precedes war or perhaps even causes it. Wars stimulate the economy and end the crisis, giving rise to a new economic boom that leads to another economic crisis, that leads to another war. It’s a never-ending cycle,
Tyrants throughout history have always used an economic crisis to squeeze, control, and coerce their subjects and destroy liberty. Some created these crises for such a purpose, while others simply used what organically transpired for their own gain.
Thomas Jefferson says it plainly: “History, in general, only informs us what bad government is.”
People will do just about anything to survive, or more specifically, to have food and water. Without these basic necessities being met, people are lost, and they will follow anyone who is willing to provide these two necessities for them.
In America, for the most part, food and water are not all everyone thinks about; we have the luxury to think far beyond simply staying alive. We can create art, entertainment, sports, technologies, and more. We can fight for and appreciate concepts like liberty. And yet, when we take a close look at our history, many of these things — including liberty — fall by the wayside when the economy is in crisis.
Today, we sit at the precipice of another economic crisis in this country. Have you noticed the economic trends? Have you noticed the government’s continued response? And I mean all government, not just one party.
Here’s the thing:
The U.S. Constitution is unique in the world because the founders did not include a kill switch. It was written to never be put on hold, no matter the crisis. The framers were painfully aware that tyrants love to use or create a good crisis to destroy liberty, so they wrote the Constitution in such a way that there was no way around it — no matter how dire the circumstances.
In other words, even if the citizenry is clamoring for the U.S. government to save them, the Constitution prevents such “saving” federal behavior.
“I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements.” – Thomas Jefferson
The founders were intent on lifting up and protecting private property of all kinds, particularly of one’s own body and mind. That was, as attributed first to John Locke, the entire point of government. The key word here is “private.” Property is not private if government owns and manipulates it.
“All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise not from defects in the Constitution or Confederation, not from a want of honor or virtue so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.” – John Adams
It’s interesting to read about the slow shift in the psyche of the American public from that of laissez faire to a heavy amount of societal expectation on government to manage and control the economy. But the problem is the Constitution gives little room for the federal government to get involved in the regulation of banks and the economy.
This doesn’t mean that in some cases, it wouldn’t be better to change the government’s job description to allow for a bit more control when private entities are abusing their power and the citizen’s property, but for government to step in when there is no Constitutional provision for it is just arbitrary and ends up causing more damage than help.
When we ignore the tyrants and blame the federal government for the current economic crisis we’re experiencing — I’m not saying it didn’t play a part — we insinuate, dangerously, that it’s the federal government’s job to manage and fix the economy.
All this to say, guard your liberty as you struggle through this current economic crisis because I have good reason to believe things are only going to get worse. When that happens, we’re likely to see more and more Americans abandoning the principles of liberty, private property, and the Constitution as they surrender to fear and turn to tyrants for the answers.
The federal government is painfully confined by the Constitution. Government was never meant to be the answer to everything, much less an economic crisis. That was left to churches, communities, and the local governments to solve. It’s about time we start acting like it.
This article has been edited for publication. It originally appeared on The Liberty Belle and is used by permission.
Christin McMasters is a South Carolinian now residing in North Carolina and has a Ph.D. in political science. She is a budding blogger and political science instructor, and her passion is politics.
Using her keyboard as her weapon of choice, Christin imparts some of her excitement, passion and knowledge about American government on her website, TheLibertyBelleNC.com.
Follow Christin on Facebook TheLibertyBelleNC and Twitter @LibertyBelleNC.
