Where's the Line?

Over two centuries ago a document was signed, and this document was the Declaration of Independence. It was the embodiment of individualism and laissez-faire when applied to political philosophy. Discussions of the present day political spectrum do not seem to display any recollection of the values outlined in the Declaration’s opening, or the Constitution, for that matter. Simply, Americans have become detached. We have lost track of our identity, our beliefs, and our practices. When I here rhetoric being thrown around that hints at “entitlements” to wealth, education, and the like, it is rather alarming. What is a Man entitled to at birth? Where do we draw the line? Because, if we are not careful with our “duty to perfect Society” we will end up as a broken paternal state with sluggish economy and a chaotic tax-collection infrastructure. 

My question is have we not learned the side effects of big government? Were the feudal monarchies of the Middle Ages not a good example? How about the Soviet Union, the Third Reich, Fascist Italy, the Empire of Japan, the British Welfare State, the Progressive French Republic, the Greeks, the Irish, the Portuguese, the Spanish... Do any of their previous attempts at social equality show us the inevitable result? And, here we are, the once mighty, all powerful United States of America, falling right in line with the faulty socialist agenda of Europe. Big government is not effective at eliminating poverty, ignorance, or “redistributing the world’s resources.” It has been attempted - many, many times - all of which have failed.

It is due to these failures that the Individualist Movement keeps pressing onward, fighting the relentless advances of Altruism. We fight because we know the truth: socio-economic class division is inevitable, war is inevitable, poverty and ignorance will always exist. So, instead, we preserve the one true value worth fighting for - individual freedom. Because, in the end, we would all prefer to die on the terms of our consciousness, and not at the hands of a corrupt bureau... To die within the range of self-determination is the ultimate sense of liberty.