Part (4)Principle for a Free Socieity

[William M. Finley]

A buffer zone between the individual and the state
A key function of civil society in free societies is to act as a counterbalancing
force to the power of government. Where individuals are atomised
and not accustomed to the ways of human co-operation they are
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easier prey for the totalitarian temptations of those who offer security in
place of freedom. These little platoons stand in the way of tyrannical
government because they lay claim to the loyalties of their members, in
opposition to the demands of totalitarians for the un-conditional loyalty
of citizens to the state. The family, religious affiliations, private enterprises,
voluntary organisations and free trade unions undermine that loyalty
and transmit values that are antithetical to the obedience and acquiescence
required by totalitarians. That is why every totalitarian society
ever created by man has attempted to undermine them, and it is also
why the degree to which these institutions thrive and prosper is an indication
of how safe our freedoms are.
The enemies of civil society
It is no accident then that fascist and communist regimes throughout
history have declared war on the family, and tried to set children against
parents, wife against husband, and generation against generation. The
reason for this is that the state wants access to information to serve its
own purposes and needs to claim a prior and higher loyalty than that
which people naturally feel to their family. These institutions are subversive
in such societies because the affection and allegiance which they create
is productive of resistance to the demands of the state. A strong civic
society acts as a barrier against tyranny because it maintains a moral
order which protects and sustains the values of freedom. By undermining
civic institutions, big government strips the individual of protective
layers which stay the hand of intrusive government. When those layers
between government and individual are shed, the individual is left
defenceless against the enemies of the open society who would subordinate
the freedom of the individual to the authority of the state.
A complex web of mutual obligation
This network that sustains social power by restraining political power
creates a web of reciprocal rights and duties that allow society to govern
itself. Society is a great compact between not only each of its members,
but those who are no longer alive and generations as yet unborn. We act
in the interests of others whom we do not know and in some cases can-
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not know because we are driven by a moral sense that tells us what we
must do. These moral instincts push us to perform roles better and to
greater mutual benefit than any government ever could. Parents and
children have both rights and responsibilities towards each other. Each
generation has a responsibility to those that have gone before it, and
those which will come after it. Marriage, friendship, and even man’s relationship
with the animal kingdom are governed by these obligations, which
give birth to the bonds of society and guide us to fulfill our duties to others
as we hope and believe they will be done to us. It is because the state cannot
replace this network that cruelty results when it tries.