POWER

© MMX v.1.0.5
by Morley Evans

Here is one view I think is true:

Periodically wealth is redistributed, whether by the violent confiscation of property, or by confiscatory taxation of incomes…. Then the race for wealth, goods, and power begins again, and the pyramid of ability takes form once more; under whatever laws may be enacted the abler man manages somehow to get the richer soil, the better place, the lion's share; soon he is strong enough to dominate the state and rewrite or interpret the laws; and in time the inequality is as great as before.

— Will Durant

This suggests that people are not created equal and that this inevitably leads to unequal wealth and power. True enough and rightly so. But I do not think that those at the top have any right to "rewrite or interpret the laws" in ways that gives them even more than they already have. (Durant does not say they have the right. He just states what they do.) That is exactly what characterizes the George W. Bush Presidency: the conservative objective of limited government with low taxes quickly became no taxes for the most wealthy combined with huge increases in government scope and power which would be used by the most wealthy to get even more. Obama was elected by people who wanted an end to this. They were deceived. Obama's number one supporter was Goldman Sachs, the biggest crooks on the planet, as well as the warmongers who profit from U.S. imperialism. Overnight, Obama became Bush, just as Nixon had become Johnson. Rulers get into power by appealing to the masses, but then they serve the élite. "The people" do not control government and never have, or can. Yet the consent of "the people" is the source of power.

For those with power, controlling the masses and hanging onto power, wealth and privilege is the main social problem.

For everyone, generally, however, controlling power is the main social problem. That is the main lesson of the Bible, both New Testament and Old Testament. Protecting the sheep from the shepherds is behind every social movement. It is the mission of Jesus who taught in this life we are to protect the sheep and help them. That is the mission of His church. The Just fight injustice. Government governs best when government governs least and everyone, rich and poor, is equal before the law. This is the commonwealth.