"Big" Government: A Frankenstein Monster?
By Charles Wellborn
[Dr. Charles Wellborn is Professor of Religion Emeritus, Florida State University and for 20 years was Dean of the Overseas Campus in London.]
The specter of "big" government is constantly conjured up today by influential elements of the American polity. Government is depicted as a Frankenstein monster, completely out of control. "Big" government has become a "red flag" phrase, painting a fearsome picture of an almost diabolical American government involved in a gigantic conspiracy designed to eliminate the basic rights and freedoms of all Americans. For some, the valid issues involved in any new piece of legislative action are immaterial. It can be opposed on the simplistic grounds that it is another manifestation of "big" government.
A few extreme political paranoids have barricaded themselves in mountain fortresses, awaiting with fanatic certitude that day when the United States government will make its move, acting, some of them say, as the agent of Satan in the final Armageddon.
Most Americans, of course, do not go to that extreme. But many of us, bombarded daily by rabble-rousing radio talk shows (which show scant regard for the truth), some sections of the media, and the inflammatory rhetoric of many politicians are susceptible to the nightmare of "big" government. Without ever actually having read George Orwell`s prophetic tract, 1984, many seize upon his terminology and talk of "Big Brother," a secret government listening in on our every thought and steadily moving toward control of our every action. Had they actually read Orwell`s book, they would realize the vast gap between his vision of the future and anything that could possibly occur in democratic America, barring some gigantic national catastrophe.
Frankly, I sometimes feel that I am wandering in Alice`s wonderland. Recently, at a very ordinary suburban dinner party, I listened with amazement as a seemingly sane, well-educated, successful business man told his dinner companions that, when the United Nations was founded in 1946, it was part of an international conspiracy by certain powerful, unnamed plotters to establish a totalitarian world government. I bit my tongue, partly out of polite respect to my hosts, but largely because I long ago concluded that facts and reason mean nothing to someone with a fanatical, irrational obsession.
Does a concerned Christian citizen have anything to say about the problem of "big" government? I think so. And I believe also that to speak out as a Christian is a part of our moral responsibility.
Christians live in two worlds. Jesus recognized this when he counseled, "Render unto Caesar those things which are Caesar`s, and unto God those things which are God`s." Some people have understood that to mean that there is a firm wall between secular and sacred responsibility. Not so. As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, we are constrained to abide by the moral teachings of Jesus, as best we can. Those same moral injunctions apply in the secular realm, and we are obligated to apply them to the concrete situations of government and politics.
The 19th century American evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, once preached a sermon in Chicago in the course of which he launched a vigorous attack on corruption in municipal government. Afterwards, an angry woman from the congregation approached Moody, asking accusingly, "Mr. Moody, are you not a citizen of heaven?" To which the evangelist replied, "Yes, madam, I am a citizen of heaven, but right now I vote in Cook County, Illinois."
Moody understood the double obligation of the Christian to live out his faith in both the sacred and secular realms. As a Biblical Christian believer, I also am constrained to try to act out that double imperative. I must apply Christian perspectives to problems like that of "big" government.
Let me make some initial disclaimers. I do not for one moment believe in unlimited power for the Federal government or for any other agency of government, state or local. I heartily support the manifold limits upon government written into the Constitution and the Bill of Rights by the Founding Fathers. I am deeply concerned about any attempt to undermine those limitations.
I believe also that purely local problems should be handled by local governments, so that law-making and regulation remain as close to the people as possible. One must, however, carefully distinguish between "local" problems and those which inevitably impinge upon people far beyond the local limits. Environmental pollution, for instance, seriously threatening to us all, is not a "local" problem.
One other disclaimer. I recognize the obvious difficulties and defects in the American democratic system. We ought to work to correct and reform those shortcomings. But I also recall the oft-quoted words: "Democracy is about the worst system of government one can imagine-until you compare it with the alternatives."
What does the Christian faith have to say about "big" government? For one thing, our faith says a vigorous "yes" to the basic individual rights enshrined in the Constitutional Bill of Rights. Freedom of religion, separation of church and state, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly-there can be no compromise on these issues. Given the manifest concern of Jesus for the worth and value of every human individual, the Christian has a clear mandate to help safeguard the liberties which make life for each person worthwhile. It amazes me that many of those who so vociferously declaim against "big" government`s supposed infringements on their own liberties are at the same time, paradoxically, in the forefront of those who seek to erode the rights of those who disagree with them. Continued efforts to blur the demarcation between church and state are a case in point. So, too, is the organized effort to attach a constitutional amendment which would declare our multi-faith nation a "Christian" state, whatever that term may mean in that context.
The French philosopher, Voltaire, was not himself an orthodox Christian, but he surely spoke words which Christians can affirm when he said, "I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Those sentiments are not only American and democratic. They are consonant with Christian insights in every sense. If someone wants to enlist me in a campaign against "big" government, they should show me a case in which government is fundamentally intruding upon and unreasonably limiting these basic rights. In that case, I would be ready to add my voice to theirs.
I would suggest a second Christian perspective which is important in the area of politics and government. Though the Constitutional documents do not speak in theological terms, they clearly demonstrate that the Founding Fathers were well aware of the Biblical doctrine that all human beings are sinners. They devised a political system, unique in its day, which set out a division of powers among the three branches of government–executive, legislative, and judicial–and a complicated system of checks and balances between and among those branches. The system is an explicit recognition of the fact that no individual or group can ever be trusted with unlimited power. Plato`s myth of a Utopia ruled by incorruptible philosopher-kings is just that–a myth. There are no incorruptibles.
Even the unhappy American dilemma of the President`s impeachment is, in its own way, a practical example of the workings of the system of checks and balances. The impeachment process was written into the Constitution to underline the fact that no person, however high an office he or she may hold, is immune from the possibility of being held to account, even possibly removed from office.
Thus far, my attempt to apply Christian perspectives to the problem of "big" government has emphasized important limits on government: civil rights, separation of powers, checks and balances. I hold these limitations to be of vital importance, and I recommend that my friends on the Radical Right reflect seriously and gratefully on these protections of their liberty.
I also have, however, some positive words to say about "big" government. The simplest thing is that, given the size, geographically and population-wise, of the United States, no alternative to "big" government actually exists. Ours is an incredibly complex society–economically, socially, and in every other respect. What happens on the Wall Street stock market, for instance, affects millions of people everywhere. The television news has recently reported the devaluation of the Brazilian currency. The shock waves of that development have reverberated in national economies around the world. As in the case of last year`s collapse of the East Asian financial structures, the jobs, livelihood, and savings of millions of ordinary people are threatened. There are urgent calls for concerted international action to avert a crisis. No "little" government could possibly act effectively in such a situation.
Of course, as I have already said, many local problems are best handled by local agencies or, perhaps, in some cases, by no governmental action at all. But these difficulties fade into relative insignificance beside the manifold inter-relationships of an intricately interdependent society with both national and international ramifications.
To look at the current human situation and the society in which we all operate is to become increasingly aware of a pervasive factor: the relative helplessness or powerlessness of the individual. That helplessness is not a result of government interference, but a function of the complex and impersonal forces which impinge upon every citizen`s personhood and independence.
I can call up only representative examples here, and I continue to choose them from the economic realm. My personal financial situation is in many important ways out of my control. True, many individuals can prepare themselves for a job or profession, work hard, and perhaps progress toward a decent salary. It is still possible for a few individual entrepreneurs, blessed with talent and a considerable amount of luck, to become millionaires. In the larger sense, however, we are all at the mercy of a complex world-wide macroeconomic system. National and international economic booms, recessions and depressions arrive, and we have not the slightest influence over them. The Japanese economy falters and workers in Peoria lose their jobs. The dollar or the pound or the yen fluctuates and our stock market investments, if we are able to afford any, fluctuate in responding but unpredictable rhythms.
It is no wonder that economics has long been dubbed the "dismal science." It seeks to chart a dangerous minefield. Some of my more radical friends argue for a stringent "laissez-faire" government policy in this area. (I have an intelligent friend who strongly resents the right of the Federal Reserve Bank to control base interest rates.) These people seem to believe in some sort of "Unseen Hand" which will work everything out happily and fairly if the government simply keeps its hands off the nation`s and the world`s economy. I see little evidence of the working of that "Unseen Hand," and taking into account the inherent greed and sinfulness of humanity, I have little confidence in it. One thing of which I am certain: that "Unseen Hand," if it exists, is not God`s hand. Given the widespread poverty and suffering of millions of our fellow humans, it is much more likely to be a satanic hand.
I am no economist, and I cannot presume to prescribe detailed economic policies for the nation. But I do reflect the situation of the average citizen when I say that, by and large, when it comes to the larger economic situation, I am powerless and helpless. The increasing inter-relationship of national and international economics only underlines my helplessness. The economic world is more and more controlled and influenced by giant multi-national corporations, transcending national boundaries. Mergers and take-overs, one corporation with another, are in every day`s financial headlines. I, as an individual, have absolutely no control or influence over these developments. Even one of the most successful modern entrepreneurs and currency speculators, George Soros, has recently written of his growing fears of what the almost totally unregulated international currency market can do to the average American.
I have said that I, as an individual, am helpless and powerless. But those are relative terms. I am not nearly so helpless as many millions of my fellow citizens. I am a retired university professor. I have a reasonable retirement pension, Social Security (a "big" government policy), medical insurance, and some savings. My situation is relatively secure. But I am disturbed by the fact that millions of my fellow Americans, not to mention untold multitudes in the rest of the world, do not have these things.
As a Christian, I feel shame that in the most prosperous country in the modern world–a country in the midst of the most prolonged period of economic prosperity in living memory–there are still millions of human beings who do not enjoy a half-decent standard of living. In an era of unprecedented prosperity, the gap between rich and poor has been growing steadily larger.
My more conservative friends will tell me that those powerless people have themselves to blame. They are lazy, unambitious, immoral. As a firm believer in the universality of human sin I have to agree that that is probably true of a good many of them, though their problem is no different, in basic ways, from mine, for we are all sinners. But I also know that many of these unfortunates suffer from factors over which they have no control. They are the tragically disadvantaged in our world. Their fate was to be born in certain situations: race, gender, family poverty, environment, mental or physical disability, over which they had no control. They started the race of life fifty or a hundred yards behind the starting line, and it ill-behooves those of us who have been more fortunate to condemn them because they have never caught up.
All of this is to say that in our complex world, I see a democratic government as the prime protector of the powerless and the helpless in our society. My modest charitable contributions will, I hope, help, but I know they are minor in the total context. What the powerless and the helpless in our society need is not only Christian charity, admirable as that is, but concrete legal action to help reshape the total picture toward an appropriate focus on "justice for all."
Here, I think, we need to learn some history lessons. When the Radical Right declaims against "big" government, they need to remember our past. If it had not been for the actions of a big federal government, human slavery might have continued to exist in this country for decades. If it had not been for big government intervention, there would never have been a federal banking system and, in the 1930`s hundreds of local banks would have gone bankrupt and the savings of millions decimated. It was big government that intervened to stop the building of ever more vast trusts and cartels, designed exploit American consumers. Had not a visionary American president with a big government behind him-sometimes using less-than-orthodox methods–understood the ultimate threat of Hitler, Western Europe, and perhaps the world, might now be dominated by Nazi tyranny. Children, aged 8 and 10, might now still be working in mines and factories, laborers might still be slaving at starvation wages 60 or 70 hours per week, and men and women might still be doing their daily work in criminally unsafe conditions had it not been for big government intervention. Black people in America might still be denied entrance to restaurants, theaters, universities, and hotels unless big government had stepped in. These are controvertible lessons of history.
Of course, none of these processes was perfect. The government has not always been on the side of the powerless. There are many legitimate grounds of criticism of various government actions, and I join in those criticisms. The government is a giant bureaucracy, and there are inherent weaknesses in any bureaucracy, even that of a multinational private corporation. Waste and inefficiency are often rife. Indeed, if you want an example of bureaucratic corruption, take a look at many a local school board. But my overall summary view is that, again and again, democratic government has proved itself the prime defense of the helpless and the powerless.
What does all of this mean for the Christian, striving conscientiously to be a good citizen in today`s America? I think it means a great deal. No serious reader of the Scriptures can doubt the compassion and concern of God, particularly through, His Son, Jesus Christ, for the poor, the weak, and the powerless in every society. We tap ancient Hebrew wisdom when we take note of the words of the Psalmist, "Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy" (Ps. 82:3). We need to hear that most forthright and fiery of Old Testament prophets, Amos, calling down terrible judgment upon the society of his day. Why? Hear Amos thunder, "Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and you take from him burdens of wheat: you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine of them" (Amos 5:11).
No one can misunderstand the importance of the words of Jesus, "Insomuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." The cup of cold water which we give to a thirsty human being is a concrete response to the Master`s command. But if all we do is give a cup of water, that man or woman will be thirsty again in a few hours time. To do justice and seek righteousness to do whatever we can, with the tools at our command, not just to feed and clothe the poor, but to change social structures and conditions. The poor will go on being poor, and the oppressed will go on being oppressed, unless we act to provide a level playing field and a genuine equality of opportunity. In this complex world it is the government which offers the best means to achieve those ends.
I am not a Utopian. I do not envision a human world without pain, suffering, poverty, or injustice. Neither am I an idealist when it comes to government. Government is an all-too-human institution, subject to all the limitations which that description implies. I foresee no perfect political party, no perfect president, no perfect Congress, or no perfect Supreme Court. Those options are not on offer. But these realistic recognitions do not absolve me from my Christian responsibilities. The scabs and sores of our society need healing. I am constrained by my faith to give my cup of cold water, again and again, but my Christian responsibilities reach beyond that. I must do what I can, and wherever I can, to make the overall situation a little bit better.
When I–a relatively powerless individual in a complex world–look at my options, one thing seems clear. My most effective avenue of action is the exercise of my rights and privileges as a citizen. I can, along with others, make my voice heard in a free, democratic, representative government–one with built-in protections for individual rights and prescribed processes to guard against the usurpation of power by any individual or group.
It is in this sense that with all reasonable reservations and disclaimers, I say my modest "hurrah" for "big" government.
