The Evils of Paternalism

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIX, Issue 40, 12 October 1922, Page 37

The Evils of Paternalism

Invasion of Natural Rights If the virus of paternalism is permitted to permeate our body politic and incorporate its insidious principles into the Government, it will mark the turning point in the life of our nation (writes John McGuinness, in America The strength of the people lies in their capacity to develop sturdy citizens who, bound together by an unbreakable fibre of unity, will be self-reliant and self dependent, citizens whose relations with on© another, public and private, will be actuated by high moral principles, citizens who will be guided by the great principles laid down in the • Constitution, always respecting the natural rights of the family and the liberty of the individual. Paternalism destroys the elements of sturdy citizenship by weakening the moral fibre of the people and killing the spirit of self-reliance, of self-dependency, and of self-sacri-fice. Under paternalism initiative and ambition gradually cease and at the same time citizens are developed who turn to the State to fit them gratuitously for their duties in life, and to guide them in their activities. Paternalism finally develops into State Socialism and places upon the State the unnatural duties of parenthood, whereby it must provide for the natural existence of its members. We have in this country to-day strongly organised groups furthering paternalism. Parading their child before ; Congress, disguised as a blessing, they have carefully, and with no mean success, concealed its identity, thereby winning the support of many unsuspecting persons, who, in principle, are opposed to it. Among these paternalistic groups there are some who would hasten the day of paternalism through campaigns of education, others through the ballot-box, and still others through physical force. Examination of the antecedents of these groups fostering paternalism reveals that in nearly every case they are State worshippers who have always sought, as they do now, not only to formulate the duties of the individual, but to force him to surrender his natural rights to the State, bringing under its supreme jurisdiction marriage, maternity, infancy, and education. The most sacred intimacies of the individual’s rights are not even omitted from the category of State regulations drafted by these “paternalities.” Should their plans mature,, we would be deprived of our natural rights, rights which belong entirely to the individual and the family, rights!which antecede and are superior to those of the State, and. .which under no circumstances can ever be conceded to it. : "< A Slow Growth. y There may be some, however, who will think that if paternalism is as dangerous as said to be, it would mature over-night. If there are any who hold this view they are mistaken. The Empire of Home took over a century to come into being, but while the way was being well prepared for it, the liberties of the Romans were gradually slipping away from them without > their realising the change. This is precisely the case with Americans just now. They do not realise that a continually increasing Federal power showing itself in paternalistic legislation is gradually robbing them of their liberties. . One of the objects of the Constitution, seemingly forgotten, is to protect the citizen in his home from autocrats and bureaucrats at Washington, whoever they may be. Yet, we see well intentioned persons who would not knowingly pervert the Constitution, supporting these “paternalities” in all their efforts even to having the Federal Government enter the sanctity of the home to nationalise the mother and the child on the ground that the mother is not ' competent to care, for her child without the aid of Federal instructors. Have these well-meaning people forgotten that for centuries the flower of American manhood and womanhood has been reared without governmental interference?, Do they not know that many of our greatest citizens, like Lincoln, were born in the wilds, ‘and that the mothers of these men had no governmental instructors to counsel .them in bringing their children into the world, or in the best methods of training them? These mothers did not look to the Government for instruction in their motherly duties, or for free medical service; but they are the mothers who produced the builders of the nation. The real • objective ; of the group supporting ..this movement is not to : instruct and aid the mother in raising, her family, but to

instruct her %in the art of ) limiting it. Evidence of this was given by the character of some of the propagators of' the; maternity •Bill just enacted by Congress., j; v ; / 1 •• ( , A Fatal Indifference. ; ’ :.v , • ••, Paternalism is vicious', and’ tyrannical,; destructive of every principle of freedom. If the rank and file of American voters would only stop to reflect on the evil of paternalism, food for serious thought would be • found. They would discover, among other things, that it places upon them an extremely heavy tax, that it creates a multitude , of unnecessary office-holders who ;go forth',to. harass the people, and that it establishes in a very much more oppressive form what the signers of the Declaration of Independence set out to destroy. ; But as Elihu Root has well said: “The pity of it is that nobody seems to care Why talk about the liberties of the people, or the Constitution which was designed to protect them against autocracy ? Only old-fashioned people worry over these things, and the Constitution is an old document, quite out of date in these days in which the State is regarded as the supreme and sol© political and social entity. We can only attribute the apathy of Americans to these dangerous movements which notjmly threaten the life of the nation, but also their own individual security and freedom, to the fact that they as a people do not reflect on the serious and important things of life. The continual reading of the political press has made thinking a lost art. Ambassador Bryce tells us that the Englishmen of previous generations, intelligent but illiterate, were better, qualified to vote on important issues than their grandchildren of to-day who feed on the newspapers. This applies equally to our people and even to our legislators who show much political incompetency when treating the larger issues. Too often they simply vote on these issues without a thorough knowledge of their underlying principles, or what effect they will have upon the nation and people. Decay of Popular Government. ~ Aristotle saw the danger of popular types of government sinking into degeneracy. ' The framers of the Constitution were great students of government, familiar with the views of the old Greek philosophers on this subject. With the strong and weak points of other governments before them, they consecrated themselves to the task of formulating a Constitution that would shape the destiny of this mighty Republic and preserve the liberties of the people. The fathers also knew that the Government which they built upon the people would last just as long as the people willingly assumed the responsibilities of citizenship, and remained appreciative of the exhalted dignity and obligations laid upon them by the Constitution. i,., The evils of paternalism cannot be too plainly or forcibly stated. We need only turn to Rome to see its demoralising effects after she began the free distribution of corn, oil, and wine, which fostered idleness and all its accompanying vices. If we are to endure as a free country our citizens must, like the builders of the Republic, foster self-reliance and independence, never looking to the Government to perform duties for which it is unfitted, or duties for which it was not created. If the paternalistic spirit which is rampant in this country to-day is not checked and checked soon, it will completely subvert the principles on which our Government is founded. We see strong indication of weakness in our people to-day. Let them continue to shirk their responsibilities and duties by transferring them to the Federal Government’ and soon the Government, being no stronger than the people upon , whom it is built, will, collapse and will fall into the hands of despots and tyrants whose slaves we shall then become. ■ -6-0-0- — We meet with contradictions everywhere. If only two persons are together they mutually afford each other opportunities of exercising patience, and even when , one is alone there will be a necessity for this virtue, so true it is that our miserable life is full of crosses.—St. Vincent de Paul. , . '• , .