The Immorality of Forced Giving

Do you believe that it is moral and just for one person to be forcibly used to serve the purposes of another? And, if that person does not peaceably submit to being so used, do you believe that there should be the initiation of some kind of force against him?

In a fantastic opinion piece last Wednesday (April 1) entitled Our Problem Is Immorality, George Mason University economics professor Walter E. Williams asked these questions and followed through with an examination of the loss of morality in our current government and political situation.

I found Mr. Williams’ article to be insightful and just a little bit disturbing in its truthfulness.  Here are some excerpts from that article:

“Most of our nation’s great problems, including our economic problems, have as their root decaying moral values. Whether we have the stomach to own up to it or not, we have become an immoral people left with little more than the pretense of morality.

… Do you believe that it is moral and just for one person to be forcibly used to serve the purposes of another? And, if that person does not peaceably submit to being so used, do you believe that there should be the initiation of some kind of force against him? Neither question is complex and can be answered by either a yes or no. For me the answer is no to both questions but I bet that your average college professor, politician or minister would not give a simple yes or no response. They would be evasive and probably say that it all depends.

…[That] is because they are sly enough to know that either answer would be troublesome for their agenda. A yes answer would put them firmly in the position of supporting some of mankind’s most horrible injustices such as slavery. After all, what is slavery but the forcible use of one person to serve the purposes of another? A no answer would put them on the spot as well because that would mean they would have to come out against taking the earnings of one American to give to another in the forms of farm and business handouts, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and thousands of similar programs that account for more than two-thirds of the federal budget. There is neither moral justification nor constitutional authority for what amounts to legalized theft. This is not an argument against paying taxes. We all have a moral obligation to pay our share of the constitutionally mandated and enumerated functions of the federal government.

…[But] now that the U.S. Congress has established the principle that one American has a right to live at the expense of another American, it no longer pays to be moral.  People who choose to be moral and refuse congressional handouts will find themselves losers. They’ll be paying higher and higher taxes to support increasing numbers of those paying lower and lower taxes.”

I too would answer no to both questions asked by Professor Williams.  My Christian principles and certain libertarian political leanings prohibit me from answering in any other way.  That is, perhaps, why I find the current state of affairs in our nation so troubling. 

Much like Professor Williams, I find the concept of “redistribution” to be morally unjustifiable.  While I acknowledge that our society could no longer function without some form of government aid to certain parties (senior citizens most predominately), I think the idea that those who have earned more should be forced to give those earnings to those who have earned less is morally repulsive and constitutionally indefensible. 

I also agree with the Professor that the government is creating a situation whereby the average citizen will end up being penalized for taking a moral position.  As he said, you either take the money or someone else will and you’ll still end up paying for it.  They are creating an impossible situation for many citizens of this nation.

I for one feel the only way out of this mess is for those of us who will ultimately pay the penalty for the decisions currently being made is to start taking a stand now.  We need to start demanding our representatives represent us and our interests.  We need to start exploring term limits and realistic campaign finance reform so that we can elect people who want to make this country better and not just live off the fat of our hard work.  We need to hold our congresspeople accountable for the things they vote for or against (and those things for which they don’t even show up to vote).  We need to take back our government.

I encourage you to read the full article, Our Problem Is Immorality.