Culture and Freedom

[Gauracandra]

Adam Smith was a great proponent of free-market capitalism. He viewed free-market capitalism as a system of “natural liberty”. However, he saw a very bad side as well. Capitalism focused on increased production through specialization. But this increased specialization created among people a narrower and narrower focus. This prevents the individual from seeing the bigger picture.

 

He writes:

 

“Another bad effect of commerce is that it sinks the courage of mankind, and tends to extinguish martial spirit. In all commercial countries the division of labor is infinite, and everyone’s thoughts are employed about one particular thing… The minds of men are contracted, and rendered incapable of elevation. Education is despised, or at least neglected, and heroic spirit is utterly extinguished.”

 

The problem then is one of culture. Education to create a cultured society could counteract the deforming of the human character from commerce. Only a cultured society can be truly free. The more our culture degrades, it is necessarily so that we lose our freedom. Smith states that “in free countries, where the safety of government depends very much upon the favourable judgment which the people may form of its conduct.”

 

If you have a strong culture you don’t need big government. If you have a mass of culturally ignorant people, then you get juries that award millions of dollars for spilling coffee on oneself. You have people faking injuries to drive up medical costs. If there was a strong culture, there would be mass participation in local churches. Congregations would take care of one another. Whether abortion, or crime, or the spreading of diseases, these are all signs of a breakdown in culture.

 

This is why cultural education is necessary in public schools. In the U.S., schools were originally proposed by the churches as a way of creating cultured individuals. Yes that’s right, it was the churches that asked the government to create our public education system. It was all about character training. Now any mention of God, or saluting the flag comes with a lawsuit.

 

Without cultural training, without a society centered on God, free market capitalism will degrade to the lowest common denominator. Liberty will be lost, and government will necessarily have to become larger and more dominant in our lives.

 

“What great men do, common men follow.” But what happens when the common man makes the great man? If we are not cultured what will we have to guide us? Whether in politics, or entertainment, or art, or industry and finance.