Robert Higgs

A popular slogan of the Italian Fascists under Mussolini was, “Tutto nello Stato, niente al di fuori dello Stato, nulla contro lo Stato” (everything in the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state). I recall this expression frequently as I observe the state’s far-reaching penetration of my own society.

What of any consequence remains beyond the state’s reach in the United States today? Not wages, working conditions, or labor-management relations; not health care; not money, banking, or financial services; not personal privacy; not transportation or communication; not education or scientific research; not farming or food supply; not nutrition or food quality; not marriage or divorce; not child care; not provision for retirement; not recreation; not insurance of any kind; not smoking or drinking; not gambling; not political campaign funding or publicity; not real estate development, house construction, or housing finance; not international travel, trade, or finance; not a thousand other areas and aspects of social life.

One might affirm that the state still keeps its hands off religion, but it actually does not. It certifies certain religious organizations as legitimate and condemns others, as many young men discovered to their sorrow when they attempted to claim the status of conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. It assigns members of certain religions, but not members of others, as chaplains in its armed services.

Besides, isn’t statism itself a religion for most Americans? Do they not honor the state above all else, above even the commandments of a conventional religion they may embrace? If their religion tells them “thou shalt not murder,” but the state orders them to murder, then they murder. If the state tells them to rob, to destroy property, and to imprison innocent people, then, notwithstanding any religious strictures, they rob, destroy property, and imprison innocent people, as millions of victims of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and millions of victims of the so-called Drug War in this country will attest. Moreover, in every form of adversity, Americans look to the state for their personal salvation, just as before the twentieth century their ancestors looked to Divine Providence.

When the state produces unworkable or unsatisfactory conditions in any area of life, and therefore elicits complaints and protests, as it has for example in every area related to health care, it responds to these complaints and protests by making “reforms” that heap new laws, regulations, and government bureaus atop the existing mountain of counterproductive interventions. Thus, each new “reform” makes the government more monstrous and destructive than it was before. Citizen, be careful what you wish for; the government just might give it to you good and hard.

The areas of life that remain outside the government’s participation, regulation, surveillance, and other intrusion or control have become so few and so trivial that they scarcely merit mention. We verge ever closer upon the condition in which everything that is not prohibited is required. Yet, the average American will declare loudly that he is a free man and that his country is the freest in the world. Thus, in a country where virtually everything is in the State, nothing is outside the State, and nothing against the State is permitted, Americans have become ideal fascist citizens. Like the average German during the years that Hitler ruled Germany, most Americans today, inhabiting one of the most pervasively controlled countries in the history of the world, think they are free.

http://www.independent.org/blog/?p=5309

Views: 67

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's video
Thumbnail

Route 91: Uncovering the Cover Up

"Video not always showing on you tube according to comment section. I can't see it anyways but…"
14 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post
15 hours ago
tjdavis posted a blog post
yesterday
Doc Vega favorited Burbia's video
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Burbia's video
Thumbnail

InfoWars reporter Jamie White ‘brutally murdered’ near Austin residential area, outlet says

"Gosh do you think the Deep State was sending Alex a message? These bastards!"
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's video
Thumbnail

Route 91: Uncovering the Cover Up

"The lying bastards never covered one aspect of the shooter who was in bad health and couldn't…"
yesterday
Doc Vega favorited tjdavis's video
yesterday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

furniture fail.

"Yip most folks here believe Trudeau the clown attempted to undertake a Whakapohane and failed…"
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
yesterday
tjdavis posted a video

Route 91: Uncovering the Cover Up

On October 1, 2017 58 people were killed at the Route 91 country music concert in Las Vegas....and by 2 weeks the media dropped the entire story due to all t...
Saturday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Do Not Sleep in a Wilderness Cabin Alone There’s something out there!

It’s been well described by a number of encounters, and in some of those encounters the subject…See More
Friday
rlionhearted_3 posted photos
Friday
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why Do They Want to Kill Elon Musk?
"Musk is the face of the intelligent geek nerd army who is exposing almost everything that concerns…"
Friday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Friday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Thursday
Sandy posted a video

DARK WATERS | Official Trailer | In Theaters November 22

Mark Ruffalo stars in #Darkwaters.Get tickets: https://www.darkwaterstickets.com/From Participant (Spotlight), DARK WATERS tells the shocking and heroic stor...
Thursday
tjdavis favorited Doc Vega's blog post Why Has it taken so Long for Alejandro Mayorkas to be Impeached? Well that's Finally Happening
Thursday
tjdavis posted a video

Deception Has Evolved Into MASS BRAINWASHING

Deception has taken a dark turn, and it's no longer just about manipulating individuals. Today, mass brainwashing has become a powerful tool used to control ...
Thursday
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Rainbow Rousing

"I wonder how much longer the USA and Russia is going to put up with UK/NATO/& the West war…"
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

A Promise I Cannot Keep

A mystical passage in a dream far away Perhaps deeply embedded in the Milky Way Rather than leave…See More
Tuesday

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted