These seem to be the options
that are given to us in American society. The government embraces certain
ideas. There are debates within the government as to what the ideas should be,
whether they should be static or reminiscent of past 'glory' or for other
factions the nation's policies should be dynamic and forward looking.
Despite the seemingly deep
divide, they both agree in terms of their basic assumptions regarding the
rightness and morality of the state. And all factions embrace certain
historical narratives about the uniqueness of the state vis-a-vis the other
nations of the world.
And all political factions
embrace the notion of power being employed through the threat of violence (implicit
in all legislation), to shape the culture and mold the will of people both in
our society and in others.
Corporations are only concerned
with ideas when they can utilize them in a way that markets their brand. If
allowed, corporations will step into the role of government which furthers
their task of promoting their brand. Usually this just means expanding their
field into a wide array of commercial concerns.
If given the opportunity they
will mandate their brand. We can see this in coal towns or how the banking and
credit industry functions (e.g. credit scores) or in how the insurance industry
labours to promote everything from seat belt laws to building codes.
Save us from the government is
a plea we often hear today and it's certainly one Christian's can resonate
with. Although many Christians who take up the cry are seem to be unaware of
their own allegiances and ideologies. All too often they also are quick to
utilize and embrace power and their cry of deliverance is rooted not in the
thing itself, but in fear of one form of statism, one twist on the narrative.
And many of these people are
blind to the power wielded by corporations and how they too can oppress lives,
shape legislation and protect themselves. Ask the people in West Virginia about
the tyranny of corporations who pollute and destroy their land and largely do
so with impunity. These Corporations have become institutions of power... quasi-states
as it were.
The real issue isn't the state
vs. the corporation. The issue at hand is the question of power itself. Any
time it is accumulated a hierarchy begins to form and the people at the bottom
will suffer.
Hierarchies are natural it can
be argued. That's life in a fallen world. Perhaps that's true. Any time people
live together in a society that is compromised of more than a few families
there will have to be some kind of rule. If the rule is unenforceable then it's
rendered meaningless.
Hence the need for some kind of
government. If the society is small enough the government can consist of the
local heads of household standing around the campfire for a meeting. Law
enforcement might be little more than a consensus of men showing up at your
door with clubs.
But for about 99% of the world
today that sort of frontier-style arrangement isn't really plausible. And in
truth when we consider the size of the population and the way resources must be
shared it's impossible. Even those like the Amish who reject much of modern
life are finding it difficult to avoid legal entanglement.
What's the answer? I don't
believe there is one. My point is only to suggest that many conservatives are
missing the real nature of the problem. Reducing government regulation and
pushing for privatization doesn't solve the problem. It's just swapping one
type of power for another. Both are corrupting and in the end harmful to many aspects
of human life.
As the Church we need to
re-think the whole issue of power. It's not easy to do, because it's deeply
entrenched in our theology and traditions. As the Church in the world I would
argue we're not called to embrace power but to reject it. Government serves its
Providential purpose. It keeps men (for the most part) from engaging in mass
slaughter. But it does this through the threat of violence, the threat of
retribution.
As Christians we cannot escape
this reality, but the New Testament teaches we are to have nothing to do with
it. From turning the cheek to allowing the Lord to be the executor of
vengeance, the state is always the 'other'... outside the covenant purview.
We are like Isaiah. We are
martyr-witnesses, a prophetic voice and remnant/altar community. We proclaim
the message people don't want to hear and we'll never stop no matter what they
try and do to us. We will appear as fools to them and we will certainly suffer
if we're being faithful. We don't seek power, we reject it, and like our Lord
we despise this world and all it has to offer and declare ourselves citizens of
Zion.
We don't do all of this because
we're getting something out of it. We turn our backs on the world and die while
rejoicing because we have the peace and joy the world cannot understand. We
possess the one thing that every philosopher has sought since time began. We
have the Truth.
And we possess it in a world of
lies and criminality, in an evil age full of those who seek their own wealth
and advancement and in the end are perfectly happy to rape, murder and steal in
order to get it.
This world is not our home and
we have no stake or interest in trying to see it 'reformed' or fixed. We are
her to proclaim and die, save and give hope... and then we go home.
Those who embrace power and
seek it (as if it were a substitute for the Kingdom) are condemned and having
tried to make this earth the Kingdom of Heaven will find they neither can forge
it nor will they partake of it. It will always escape their grasp.
Let us not be fooled by the
rampaging dialogue in the media and within our churches over political
paradigms and visions for society. They're all missing the point and the real
issues that are at stake.