Saving the American Idea: Rejecting Fear, Envy and the Politics of Division. By Paul Ryan. Heritage Foundation, October 26, 2011. Also at YouTube.
Ryan:
Rather
than raising taxes and making it more difficult for Americans to become
wealthy, let’s lower the amount of government spending the wealthy now receive.
. . . . . . . . . .
Telling
Americans they are stuck in their current station in life, that they are
victims of circumstances beyond their control, and that government’s role is to
help them cope with it – well, that’s not who we are. That’s not what we do.
Our
Founding Fathers rejected this mentality. In societies marked by class
structure, an elite class made up of rich and powerful patrons supplies the
needs of a large client underclass that toils, but cannot own. The unfairness
of closed societies is the kindling for class warfare, where the interests of
“capital” and “labor” are perpetually in conflict. What one class wins, the
other loses.
The
legacy of this tradition can still be seen in Europe today: Top-heavy welfare
states have replaced the traditional aristocracies, and masses of the long-term
unemployed are locked into the new lower class.
The
United States was destined to break out of this bleak history. Our future would
not be staked on traditional class structures, but on civic solidarity. Gone
would be the struggle of class against class.
Instead,
Americans would work, compete, and co-operate in an open market, climb the
ladder of opportunity, and keep the fruits of their efforts.
Self-government
and the rule of law would secure our equal, God-given rights. Our political and
economic systems – rooted in freedom and responsibility – would reward, and
thus cultivate, traditional virtues.
Given
that the President’s policies have moved us closer to the European model, I
suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that his class-based rhetoric has followed
suit.
We
shouldn’t be surprised . . . but we have every right to be disappointed.
Instead of appealing to the hope and optimism that were hallmarks of his first
campaign, he has launched his second campaign by preying on the emotions of
fear, envy, and resentment.
This
has the potential to be just as damaging as his misguided policies. Sowing
social unrest and class resentment makes America weaker, not stronger. Pitting
one group against another only distracts us from the true sources of inequity
in this country – corporate welfare that enriches the powerful, and empty
promises that betray the powerless.
Ironically,
equality of outcome is a form of inequality – one that is based on political
influence and bureaucratic favoritism.
That’s
the real class warfare that threatens us: A class of bureaucrats and connected
crony capitalists trying to rise above the rest of us, call the shots, rig the
rules, and preserve their place atop society. And their gains will come at the
expense of working Americans, entrepreneurs, and that small businesswoman who
has the gall to take on the corporate chieftain.
