Quote of the Day: Government - Ricochet.com

Posted by parceline on

Saturday, January 7, 2023

“If the average man had had his way there would probably never have been any state. Even today he resents it, classes death with taxes, and yearns for that government which governs least. If he asks for many laws it is only because he is sure that his neighbor needs them; privately he is an unphilosophical anarchist, and thinks laws in his own case superfluous. In the simplest societies there is hardly any government.” – Will Durant

We just spent four weeks deciding who would be Speaker of the House. At least that is how it felt to political junkies. In reality it was four days and 15 votes. For those of you really into political history that isn’t even close to a record.

However much we on Ricochet were absorbed by this drama, the average man Durant talked about did not even notice. In my view that is a good thing. Because in the overall scheme the Speaker fight is not that important. It was going to get settled eventually and then (as Jon Gabriel noted) “the House can finally get back to the important business of borrowing several trillions of dollars for unnecessary projects.“

Did it demean the dignity of the House? The House of Representatives has lacked dignity for years. As if a body that contains luminaries such as AOC, Maxine Waters, and Adam Schiff has dignity. Did it keep the House from doing the people’s business? Picking a Speaker is the people’s business and it should be more than a rubber-stamp activity. God save us from politics in the House of Representatives, is what that claim says. Did it have the risk of leaving Congressional staffers and elected members of both houses unpaid? For me, that is a feature, not a bug. Let them understand what everyone in the private sector goes through routinely.

Moreover, this type of inside baseball politics is not of concern to the average man. It does not affect him. His or her life goes on regardless. That is a good thing if you believe the government that governs least governs best. Being obsessed with politics at the expense of your life is not healthy – either individually or as a society. Let us tend to our jobs at hand.

Published in Group Writing

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