There is an ideology that has been around in America for a long time now, but has never had the momentum and support from our institutions that it currently enjoys. That ideology is collectivism. It has existed in varying degrees
Karl Marx
around the world in political movements like socialism, communism, and fascism. In its mild form it opposes capitalism, seeks to redistribute wealth, limit private property ownership, all through government regulation. (“Social Justice” is another term that is frequently used by collectivists.) This is “social democracy”. We are becoming very close to that now, if not already there.
Collectivism always puts the group needs before the needs/rights of the individual. The ultimate in a secular collectivist society is Communism, where the government, in the name of “the People”, owns or controls everything from food production to education. It manages information flow through news media, the arts, and academia. The duty of each citizen is to the state. The natural result of this philosophy is the weak perish, and the middle class disappears. The ultimate goal of total equality is nearly met, and for all the rhetoric of “social justice”, well…everyone lives in poverty except the ruling elite. After all, Collectivism is for the mob to appropriate all power to the elite; not for the elite to participate in.
[Islam is another collectivist society in which the rights/needs of the individual are not important, but demands each citizen serve the collective in order to maintain it. The only practical difference between Islam and Communism is that Islam is a theocracy, in which all aspects of life and society are controlled by the ideology, dispensed upon the collective, by the collective, if a theocratic government is not available. This is why Islam has allied itself with the American Left, a curious alliance indeed. Again, the middle class is virtually none existent, while the ruling elite prosper.]
America, conversely, was never set up to be collectivist in its ideology.
The founding documents, The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were designed to protect the rights of the individual from the state. The stark difference from America and the rest of the world is that our Declaration points out that “all men are created equal” and are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,–That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” [Emphasis added]
See, America was never intended to be a “Top Down” authoritarian government. It is not a Democracy, where the mob rules, but a Representative Republic, governed by law instituted by the People, and Representatives of their own choosing. In the words of Lincoln, “government of the People, by the People, and for the People.”
America has always been about the Liberty of Mankind to choose his own destiny, his responsibility to his God, and his duty to preserve these things for his descendants and his fellow citizens. It has proven that the success of the collective depends upon the liberty of the individual. When the individual is allowed to prosper and flourish, the community prospers together. That was the difference between the early Colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth. Jamestown had been a “collectivist” or communal endeavor in which all property was held in common and all needs came from the common purse, or storehouse. This leads to the “freeloaders” who contribute little or nothing and consume as much as everyone else. Jamestown died. Plymouth began as such but William Bradford recognized the flawed system and allotted a parcel of land to each family to provide for their own needs and any surplus could be sold or given to a neighbor. Capitalism.
It is commonly misunderstood among the “Social Justice” crowd and many average Americans, that charity is squelched by Capitalism. Quite the contrary, capitalism begets charity, especially when the prosperous citizen believes in his Creator and therefore has a sense of duty to his fellow-man which always results in a higher rate of contribution to community than an over reaching government taking from the prosperous and “redistributing the wealth” because the government requires its cut for inefficient administrative bureaucracy.
An authoritarian government can never create a benevolent citizenry. It can only dispossess its citizens to meet its own needs. A benevolent citizenry is created by allowing that society to prosper from within, to the point of plenty, when then by the dictates of conscience, not government, each person may choose charity, thereby raising the standard of living for all. William Bradford proved it out.
The argument could easily be made that “Godless Capitalism” is evil. I would not disagree; but would remind you that “Godless anything” is evil, including Godless Government, Godless Politicians, Godless Education, Godless Finance, and Godless Media. But the striking thing here is this: Those who would decry the evils of “Godless Capitalism” are of the very persuasion that ejected God from our institutions!!
Revolution Requires Chaos
If you haven’t picked up Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” by now, you simply must read it to gather a working understanding of what Barack Obama meant when he declared the “Fundamental transformation of the United States of America”. Professor Barack Obama, our past Chief Community Organizer, taught Alinsky’s methods to his students, and integrated them into his government to a decree that, it would appear, the USA will never recover from.
Alinsky’s fundamental premise is found on page 116, “The first step in community organization is community disorganization. The disruption of the present organization is the first step towards community organization.” He then advises the organizer, When you are labeled an “an agitator, they are completely correct, for that is, in one word, your function—to agitate to the point of conflict.”(p. 117)
Alinsky only left out one piece of the puzzle. What to do with what you break. Breaking the targeted system is easy; rebuilding something that is productive isn’t. But his acknowledgment at the beginning of the book should have given us a clue. To: “…the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom—Lucifer.”
America stands at the most pivotal point in her history since the Kansas-Nebraska Act (which resulted in the Civil War). We are polarized. We are factionalized. Our history has been rewritten to minimize the importance of our Judeo-Christian foundation. Our institutions have been purged of morality that comes from that foundation. Our language is adulterated with vulgarities which are most commonplace in our youth. Our youth have been hijacked by powers that redefine what family is and strip them of any faith in God that was instilled as a child, and replaced with a collectivist philosophy, “from each according to ability, to each according to need”. That’s Karl Marx, by the way. It’s also most of the leadership in the current American Democrat Party, unions, our education system, and the media, and yes, it’s got a root in the Republican ranks as well.
This did not begin with Barack Obama, but it may find success in his puppets. For the last 4 years, the Revolutionaries had a personified objective, a target to rally the followers, most of which are unwitting (Lenin’s term was “Polyezniys” or useful idiots), in Donald Trump. Where, for 8 years, the White House was viewed by the media, and the ranks of the revolutionaries, as an ally, it instantly became “public enemy number one“ while Trump was in residence.
As Alinsky said, “The issue is never the issue; the issue is always the Revolution“. Covid was a handy crisis to advance the Collective. Trump was handy to deepen the fissures. Uncle Joe is a handy puppet, and when he is used up, Kamala was the consummate choice for a Manchurian Candidate. Susan Rice is currently running things, just in case you hadn’t noticed…
The Historic lesson? Collectivist revolutions always take you farther than you want to go.
The Spiritual lesson? Godless revolutions always lead straight to Hell….
Next: The Cult of Woke
