Posts

One Good Man — Part Two: The Warning Before Destruction

Image
There is another biblical story which has been occupying my thoughts. It is the story of Jonah and Nineveh. Unlike Abraham, Jonah is not negotiating with God over how many righteous people might be found within a wicked society. Jonah is given a much simpler task. He is told to go to Nineveh and warn its people that destruction is coming. Jonah does not want to do it. He runs away. But eventually Jonah finds himself back on the path that God has chosen for him, and he goes to Nineveh. He delivers the message. The city is going to be destroyed. And then something remarkable happens. The people listen. They recognise what they have been doing. They repent. And God does not destroy them. The Purpose of a Warning There is something important about this story which is very easily overlooked. If destruction had been the only objective, there would have been no need for Jonah. There would have been no need for a warning. There would have been no need for ...
Post a Comment
Read more

One Good Man — Part One: The One Good Man

Image
There is an old biblical question which has occupied my thoughts for some time. How many good people does it take to save a society? The question appears most famously in the story of Abraham and Sodom. Abraham stands before God and questions the justice of destroying an entire city. What if there are fifty righteous people within it? Would it really be right to destroy the righteous along with the wicked? God agrees that He would spare the city for the sake of the fifty. But Abraham continues. What about forty-five? Forty? Thirty? Twenty? Ten? And so Abraham gradually negotiates the number down, each time asking whether the existence of a smaller number of righteous people would be sufficient reason for the city to be spared. It is a remarkable conversation. It suggests that the moral character of a society cannot simply be separated from the actions of the individuals within it. The existence of goodness matters. The existence of people who are prepared to s...
Post a Comment
Location: St Clement, Jersey
Read more

The Temptation of Power – Part 10: From the Summit of the Moral High Ground

Image
Every journey must eventually return to its beginning. This series began with a simple proposition. Every power creates opportunities for abuse. That principle has guided every article that followed. We have examined the growth of government. The decline of the household. The marketisation of care. The changing relationship between citizens and the state. The quiet effects of inflation. The immense authority exercised by the justice system. And the gradual transfer of society's expectations towards government itself. The purpose has never been to argue that government is evil. It is not. Nor has the purpose been to suggest that government is unnecessary. It clearly is. Civilisation requires laws. It requires courts. It requires police. It requires national defence. It requires public institutions capable of performing tasks that individuals cannot accomplish alone. The question has never been whether government should exist. The question has always been where its limits should lie....
Post a Comment
Location: St Clement, Jersey
Read more

The Temptation of Power – Part 9: When Government Takes God's Place

Image
Every civilisation places its ultimate trust somewhere. Throughout history, many societies looked first to family. Others looked to tribe. Many looked to religion. In the Western world, Christianity taught that ultimate authority belonged to God. Kings possessed authority. Governments possessed authority. Judges possessed authority. Parents possessed authority. Yet every earthly authority remained limited. Each answered to something higher. This principle shaped the civilisation that emerged over many centuries. It reminded rulers that they were not supreme. It reminded citizens that obedience was not unlimited. It reminded society that no human institution should ever become absolute. Whether one accepts the religious belief itself is, in many respects, beside the point. The political consequence was profound. Government was never expected to become everything. Over time, however, something remarkable has happened. As many traditional institutions have weakened, government has steadil...
Post a Comment
Location: St Clement, Jersey
Read more

The Temptation of Power – Part 8: Justice and the Machinery of Power

Image
No institution possesses greater authority over the individual than the justice system. It can arrest. It can search. It can seize property. It can prosecute. It can imprison. In some countries, it can even take life. These are extraordinary powers. They exist because society cannot function without law. Without courts, disputes remain unresolved. Without police, criminal violence flourishes. Without prisons, dangerous offenders remain free. Justice is one of the essential functions of any civilised society. Yet that is precisely why it deserves the closest scrutiny. The greater the power, the greater the opportunity for abuse. This principle does not begin with distrust of the police, the courts or prosecutors. It begins with a recognition of human nature. Judges are human. Police officers are human. Prosecutors are human. Witnesses are human. Complainants are human. Defendants are human. Jurors are human. Every participant possesses the same strengths and weaknesses found throughout ...
Post a Comment
Location: St Clement, Jersey
Read more

The Temptation of Power – Part 7: Inflation – The Tax Nobody Votes For

Image
Most people understand taxation. Governments announce new tax rates. Parliament debates them. Citizens complain about them. They are visible. Inflation is different. Almost everyone notices rising prices. Far fewer stop to ask why their money buys less than it once did. A loaf of bread costs more. Electricity becomes more expensive. Fuel prices rise. A weekly shop costs noticeably more than it did only a few years earlier. The usual explanation is simple. Prices have gone up. Yet that is only half the story. The other half is that the purchasing power of money has gone down. A pound still bears the same name. It simply buys less. The result is subtle. No new tax bill arrives through the letterbox. No parliamentary vote announces that your savings have lost value. Yet the effect is real. Every pound you have earned over many years purchases slightly less than it once did. Those who have spent years building savings discover that the value of those savings quietly diminishes. Those livin...
Post a Comment
Location: St Clement, Jersey
Read more

The Temptation of Power – Part 6: The New Dependence

Image
Every society must decide how it cares for those who cannot care for themselves. Children. The elderly. The disabled. Those temporarily out of work. Those facing genuine hardship. No civilised society can ignore human suffering. The real question is not whether help should be given. It is who should provide it. For most of history, responsibility rested primarily with families, neighbours, religious organisations and voluntary charities. Government certainly existed, but it was rarely expected to become the principal source of support for everyday life. Over the past century that expectation has changed dramatically. Today, many people naturally turn first to government when confronted by difficulty. Healthcare. Education. Housing. Income support. Pensions. Childcare. Social care. Employment assistance. The list continues to grow. Some of these developments have undoubtedly improved lives. Many people have received assistance they desperately needed. Medical treatment has become more w...
Post a Comment
Location: St Clement, Jersey
Read more