Why Limited Government Is Integral to Biblical Flourishing

[TylerR]

Josh, this is why I think we need to be realistic, or we’re just wasting our time. Social Security and the ACA will never be repealed; let’s be honest with each other.

You are probably right but I see value in talking about ideology as well as the practical. After all the former supports the latter.

Well, we aren’t interested in the same things. I personally find the implementation stuff kind of tedious and boring… but there is certainly plenty of it out there. National Review, Weekly Standard, Washington Examiner and others have articles on specific policies, rules, and court cases every day. The Heritage Foundation does studies all the time on ways to implement their principles.

A few that may be of interest…

Pension Reform: https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/report/congresss-multiempl…

Healthcare Policy: https://www.heritage.org/health-care-reform/commentary/the-path-forward…

Some very specific education reform ideas: Micro-Schools Offer Kids a Customized, Hands-On Education https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/micro-schools-offer-kids-…

Disability Benefits: How a Bold New Disability Insurance Proposal Would Benefit Individuals With Disabilities and Taxpayers https://www.heritage.org/welfare/commentary/how-bold-new-disability-ins…

A kind of hot policy question right now is criminal justice system reform, First Step Act in particular. This is only a “statement,” but again there are plenty of articles about it: https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-foundation-presidents-statement…

I could do this for hours…

When I agreed earlier that I also thought many conservatives were not doing a good job of implementation, I was talking mostly about the problem of contradictory and reactionary “policy” efforts that don’t have much principle or research behind them… and the consequent inability to gain the sort of widespread support needed to get much done in a democratic government. But there are actually lots of conservatives working on all sorts of policy implementation all over the place… and thankfully, they are not all just going with their gut. We just need a whole lot more of the thoughtful kind.

She writes:

A representative government is defined as an institution that possesses the use of force by the “consent” of the governed. It’s important to note, however, that many representative and constitutional governments, including the United States, act in ways that are not consented to and often violate their constitutional arrangements

How so? Please explain. Would she rather Congressmen and Senators come back to their constituents for a public referendum on every single they do? This is why we’re a representative democracy. I have no idea what she’s talking about. I also don’t know why she seems to be unsatisfied with the one very simple recourse the public has - don’t reelect your representative! This seems like so much “rah, rah!” rhetoric for the choir.

When you write a short essay you have make some assumptions about what your readers already know…. otherwise, your essay has to be a textbook instead. There is a pretty long history of thought on the ideas of social contract, natural law, and so forth.

I think I misunderstood what you meant in that section initially, but it’s probably enough to say that the writer is assuming that her readers are aware of examples of failures of our government to limit itself to the consent of governed and its own constitution, but that they are not as aware of how biblical principles tie in to aspects of these problems. So that’s the part she aims in this piece to address.

I don’t know where it’s in writing, but given the author’s credentials, it’s likely that there are thousands of pages from her hand in various places on specific policies and implementations.

From the Amazon page bio…

Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley is the vice president of economic initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (IFWE), where she develops and commissions research toward a systematic biblical theology of economic freedom. She is a visiting professor at Georgetown University, and she also teaches at The Institute for World Politics and George Mason University. Additionally, she is a visiting scholar at the Bernard Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy. Previously, she has taught at Charles University, Prague, and she has served as the Associate Director for the Program in Economics, Politics, and the Law at the James M. Buchanan Center at George Mason University.

She is an editor of and contributing author to IFWE’s, For the Least of These: A Biblical Answer to Poverty. In her chapter, Dr. Rathbone Bradley examines income inequality from both an economic and biblical perspective and provides guidance to Christians on how to respond, particularly through our vocations.

Dr. Rathbone Bradley’s other academic work has focused on the political economy of terrorism with specific emphasis on the industrial organization of al-Qaeda. Her research has been published in scholarly journals and edited volumes. Based on her academic research she also worked as an economic analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of Terrorism Analysis.

Dr. Rathbone Bradley received her Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University in 2006, during which time she was a James M. Buchanan Scholar.