The Law Perverted

The foundation of government must be established upon the principle of justice. Justice allows for liberty to exist. Groups who possess this liberty are, in the words of Bastiat, “the happiest, the most moral, and the most peaceable nations.” In order for a group or government to operate upon a foundation of justice, there are no circumstances where it is moral for a unified body to do that which is immoral for an individual, for if such an act is committed, the rights of members are unprotected, the system can fall into a negative form of governance, and the dissolving of the group’s government is inevitable. 

When a group of individuals organizes in order to govern themselves, the subsequent “common defense” must protect the rights of the individuals. Frédéric Bastiat, a prominent French philosopher and journalist of 1850, said in his classic essay The Law, “The law is the organization of the natural right of lawful defense; it is the substitution of collective for individual forces.” In the words of another philosopher John Locke, an influential English political thinker, political societies or governments begin when one individual agrees with others “to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living one amongst another, in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any that are not of it.” Thus we see that if a group of individuals joins together to govern themselves, laws are naturally created for the protection of the people. The people now place their individual safety in the hands of the collective. The collective law is intended to prevent injustice from infringing upon the rights of the people. In the words of Bastiat, its purpose is “to secure persons, liberties, and properties, and to maintain each in its right, so as to cause justice to reign over all.” Although the citizens have agreed to support this collective force so as to have these rights protected, it does not mean that the collective force can now commit any act that an individual cannot. It is true that they have gained defensive power as a result of the people’s unification, yet they are limited in their ability to take action. In order for justice to reign, the collective force of a group must focus on protecting the life, liberty, and property of the individuals it serves.

       When a group commits an act that individuals would be told was immoral, the system can fall into a negative state. If, for example, an individual citizen decided to seize the money of others by robbing a bank, such a crime would need to be righted, prevented, and punished. This is an unjust, direct act against the property of the people, which is considered to be one of the freedoms to be protected by law. However, the government, through the legalized plundering of the people through means such as taxes, fines, and fees, commits this crime without being restrained or compelled to give reparation. Thus, it does not matter whether or not an act is illegal or legal in order for it to commit an immoral act against the people. Bastiat argues that the ideal form of government is one with the “absence of plunder. This is the principle of justice, peace, order, stability, conciliation, and of good sense, which I shall proclaim with all the force of my lungs till the day of my death.” We see these ideas demonstrated in the historical examples of communism, especially that of the Russian Empire. The communist system destroys liberty and devastates the economy, while removing all private property and enslaving the population. In order for this despotic form of government to remain in power, it must compel the population to surrender their rights and property, which is directly against the purpose of law. To achieve this objective, the system had to possess a boundless authority over all aspects of national life. The lure of a socialist system such as this, according to Bastiat, is that the government can legally and ably infringe upon the rights of the people without being punished. Communist regimes routinely resort to violence, torture, and even targeted extermination in order to terrorize and punish transgressing citizens. All of these actions are highly immoral and even considered to be horrific, especially if committed by an individual person. In November of 1989, when the Iron Curtain finally collapsed, the world was able to clearly see the devastating effects that the communist rule had wrought in Europe. The economy and environment were both severely devastated, and communist nations today continue to suffer from poor living conditions and oppressive rule. Thus we see that the government is doomed to have a negative effect on its people if such actions are committed, whether they be accidental or intentional. 

       The perversion, contradiction, and downfall of a force cannot be avoided if unjust actions are committed as a whole group. The purpose of law is not to promote justice, but prevent the opposite from happening, which is injustice. Thus, any laws or acts that do not meet this description are considered improper. Although an action committed by a group may not be in direct attack of the people’s freedoms, it is not engaged in the active protection of the individual. As laws continue to be misused and perverted under causes of greed and false philanthropy, injustices begin to be committed. “The law perverted! And in its wake, all the collective forces of the nation,” Bastiat observed. We see evidence of the inevitable perversion of laws in the infamous collapses of Greece and Rome. These great empires collapsed as a result of national disunity, for society was no longer restrained by their religions and moral codes. In both cases, national and local violence, initiated by both the people and the government, state regulations and controls on the educational system, causing the family unit to crumble, and bribery in court, leading to the destruction of just ruling. The people no longer respected a state that acted outside its intended bounds, ungoverned by its previous principles, committing immoral acts against its own people. Charles de Montesquieu, another French philosopher whose writings had a strong influence on America’s Constitution, teaches in his treatise The Spirit of the Laws that when the principles of government are corrupted, even “the very best laws become bad and turn against the state,” as we see in this case. Society cannot survive under a ruling system of corruption and injustice. When injustice reigns supreme in the actions of a government, it cannot escape the inevitability of a complete collapse.

There are no circumstances where a group can do what is immoral for an individual to do. This truth is confirmed by the words of great philosophers and through historical examples. The rights of the people are unable to be protected if the government acts outside its intended bounds. The group’s system can fall into chaos and devastation. They cannot escape their imminent downfall if the governmental rule is immoral. If a government is to remain successful, it cannot commit such injustices.