The Tension Between Law & Liberty
In our society there is a tension between freedom and order. As order goes up there is a tendency for freedom to go down. As freedom goes up there is a tendency for order to go down. In the words of the late popular philosopher Eric Hoffer, “When the yearning for freedom destroys order, the yearning for order will destroy freedom.”
At least part of the reason for this instability is a rather impoverished notion of freedom. What’s that? The late historian Jacques Barzun summarized it well: “the right to do one’s own thing.” This definition, bequeathed to us by the Enlightenment, is the prevailing idea of freedom in our society. But notice how narrow this notion is. It leaves no room for social cohesion; it’s purely individualistic and narcissistic. Now, considering the limits of the state, this definition may be the best any government can do. But, for any society to survive it needs something more than this to give it cohesion and order.
What we need is a principled freedom, a freedom that grows out of desire to do more than satisfy one’s own “instincts or whims” (Solzhenitsyn). As Benjamin Franklin said, “[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
But if this “virtue” cannot come from the government, where does it come from?
Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”
Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.~Proverbs 14:34 NASB
