Freedom from Want

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Painting by Norman Rockwell

As we're approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, many of us are counting our blessings and naming them one by one.  Every morning when I log onto Facebook, I see a number of friends posting their "thanksgiving of the day," building on their list throughout the month.  Eventually, most will include freedom as one of our most cherished blessings.  As we well know, liberty has been central to our national heritage.  We are promised in the Constitution the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  The Pledge of Allegiance and our national anthem also speak of our liberty and freedom.  It's part of who we are as Americans.  But since our country's founding, a significant change has occurred in how we define freedom.  R. C. Sproul, Jr. explains:

"A subtle but powerful change in the meaning of freedom emerged in our culture in the thirties, as a result of the economic upheaval of the Great Depression.  Under the New Deal, President Roosevelt introduced a new concept of freedom:  freedom from want.  This new ideal made it acceptable to compromise rights.  The government stepped in to free people from poverty and financial insecurity, enacting new measures to secure economic security.  Unfortunately, these guarantees necessitated programs aimed at redistributing wealth.  The poor were now 'entitled' to a certain level of financial security, event if it required the use of government force to impose unjust taxation on the wealthy.  The government embraced a legalized Robin Hood policy."

This redefinition of freedom opened a can of worms.  Not only do citizens expect the government to provide personal financial security, we also want business security provided in the form of price floors, parity programs, tariffs, research development, training programs, and the list goes on.  R. C. continues:

"As our wants grow, so grows our government.  There is no ceiling to possible wants, so a government promising freedom from want has a big job.  It is not strange that, since freedom has been redefined, the growth of government has been exponential.  But as government grows, our freedom fades proportionately.  With each new government program comes an automatic and irresistible loss of private freedom.  The constitutional system of checks and balances designed to retard growth in government power is no longer to do so effectively." 

Unfortunately, a growing percentage of our citizens value economic security over economic freedom. It's important to understand that there are always strings attached to the "gifts" from the government, strings that give the government more control over our lives.  

~ quotes taken from Biblical Economics by R. C. Sproul, Jr.