Jordan Eskovitz on Nostr: Some thoughts that will get me in trouble: The original use of the word "idiot" in ...

Some thoughts that will get me in trouble:

The original use of the word "idiot" in ancient Greece was for a self interested person who only minded their own affairs and did not participate in public life or civic duties. I think this captures a lot of the spirit of modern day Libertarianism and Anarchism. This is not to say that Libertarians and Anarchists don't ever participate in public and civic life, but it is to say that, on the whole, they function as political philosophies of idiocy. I think this is because both Libertarianism and Anarchism assume moral relativism and social egalitarianism.

Both of these political philosophies have understandably become attractive in our post-industrial, Liberal International Order. I think this is partly because we have lost sight of how our pre-industrial forefathers saw the world. For the Greeks, to be a virtuous citizen was to be engaged in public and civic life. But this was also at a time when one's country was seen as an extension of the family—the nation as being comprised of households. So duty to one's country was an extension of duty to one's family. This is alien to us now, for ours is a time of hyper individualism: The family is not a covenantal unit but is merely comprised of individuals. The household little more than a common dwelling place. The individual is supreme. The individual is the most important unit. The individual's rights and moral philosophy is essential. The individual demands to be "left alone".

I'll grant that the temptation towards tyrannical governance has been around since humanity Fell. Sin mars everything we do, including how we govern. But that doesn't mean that it is impossible for governments to rule justly—as alanbwt (nprofile…khkl) has pointed out, history has many such examples of good rulers and governments—it just means that in order for them to rule justly, a number of deeper things must first take place. Those in power need to first see themselves as also being under authority to One higher than them, namely to Christ, who rules over all things. There also needs to be a retrieval of a healthy understanding of what a family is, of covenant households, of citizenry duties, and of sound money. And, not least of all, there needs to be private and public repentance.

If men try to govern out of a moral relativism and social egalitarianism, then it will always result in tyranny, and it won't be solved by a Libertarian philosophy predicated upon the same moral framework.