“This is idolatry, the same as ancient people worshiping their city gods or medieval people holding their Holy Church above all question. In the same way, states are idols to modern people. The lines of thought are identical; the only changes involve the names of the idols – the entities that are given every benefit of the doubt at all times.” ~P Rosenberg
They We Just Don’t Get It
I got an email from a reader a few days ago, asking about something we’ve all faced. Here’s a snip:
It gets a little lonely sometimes. At times I feel a little resentful, sometimes just plain angry that so few people know or care to know about economics and/or philosophy when they are so important.
I’m sympathetic, of course, having felt similarly more than once. But, as I often say, perspective is key. We’ve all complained about people who “just don’t get it,” but the real problem is that we just haven’t gotten it.
We have grossly underestimated the kind fight we’re in. We thought it was about economics andpolitics, but it’s much more than that. What we’re really fighting is idolatry. If that doesn’t make sense to you initially, I can’t blame you, but allow me to explain.
All Idolatry Shares a Single Root
We’ve all heard slogans like this one:
Why shouldn’t we take money from a billionaire who doesn’t need it, to feed a starving child?
After that, it’s almost impossible to make any argument without appearing heartless. And there’s a good reason for that: The slogan conveys a “first position” that is deceptive and manipulative… idolatrous, really.
This argument starts with an unspoken assumption that the state is beyond question and that any failures must be attributed to someone else. If there are starving kids, it could never be that the state was hurting them. Such a thought wouldn’t register. Continue reading