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One Good Man — Part One: The One Good Man

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

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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....
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Location: St Clement, Jersey
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The Temptation of Power – Part 9: When Government Takes God's Place

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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...
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Location: St Clement, Jersey
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The Temptation of Power – Part 8: Justice and the Machinery of Power

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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 ...
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Location: St Clement, Jersey
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The Temptation of Power – Part 7: Inflation – The Tax Nobody Votes For

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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...
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Location: St Clement, Jersey
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The Temptation of Power – Part 6: The New Dependence

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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...
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Location: St Clement, Jersey
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The Temptation of Power – Part 5: Who Holds Ultimate Authority?

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Every society must answer one fundamental question. Who, or what, possesses ultimate authority? The answer shapes everything that follows. It determines where people look for justice. Where they seek moral guidance. Who educates their children. Who cares for the vulnerable. Who defines right and wrong. Throughout history the answer has rarely been government alone. Authority has been distributed among many institutions. Families. Churches. Local communities. Voluntary associations. Businesses. Guilds. Charities. Universities. Each exercised authority within its own sphere. Each limited the influence of the others. This distribution of authority acted as a safeguard against the concentration of power. No single institution possessed complete control over society. If government overreached, other institutions could resist. If a church became corrupt, families could challenge it. If families failed, communities could provide support. Liberty flourishes where authority is dispersed. It wea...
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Location: St Clement, Jersey
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