Comments on: Douthat on government and its rivals http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2012/01/douthat-on-government-and-its-rivals/ A First Things Blog Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:35:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: jason taylor http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2012/01/douthat-on-government-and-its-rivals/#comment-20702 jason taylor Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:04:14 +0000 http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/?p=12080#comment-20702 The Federal government is not a village. Nor is pointing that out merely being pedantic. A real village would have the ability to bend it's traditions to meet the needs of individuals because it has few enough people to see them as individuals. The Federal government is to big to see people as more then numbers even if it has a hypothetical benevolence toward those numbers. It is to clumsy an instrument to use for more then a collective benefit, such as building roads or at most a welfare system that consists mainly in the dispensation of subsidies to those who need the proverbial safety net. Attempts to actually meet the personal needs of people the way a real village(or neighborhood, or church, or for that matter a mere coffeehouse) might be able to are beyond the government's capacity. During a recent Earthquake in Nepal a Highland regiment spontaneously gathered funds to support them. They did this, not because of a British government policy, but because their regiment had a traditional, almost tribalistic, loyalty to the Gurkha regiment which had been comrades for generations. In other words they did it as a "village" not as an arm of the government. The Federal government is not a village. Nor is pointing that out merely being pedantic. A real village would have the ability to bend it’s traditions to meet the needs of individuals because it has few enough people to see them as individuals. The Federal government is to big to see people as more then numbers even if it has a hypothetical benevolence toward those numbers. It is to clumsy an instrument to use for more then a collective benefit, such as building roads or at most a welfare system that consists mainly in the dispensation of subsidies to those who need the proverbial safety net. Attempts to actually meet the personal needs of people the way a real village(or neighborhood, or church, or for that matter a mere coffeehouse) might be able to are beyond the government’s capacity.

During a recent Earthquake in Nepal a Highland regiment spontaneously gathered funds to support them. They did this, not because of a British government policy, but because their regiment had a traditional, almost tribalistic, loyalty to the Gurkha regiment which had been comrades for generations. In other words they did it as a “village” not as an arm of the government.

]]> By: David T. Koyzis http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2012/01/douthat-on-government-and-its-rivals/#comment-20692 David T. Koyzis Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:12:37 +0000 http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/?p=12080#comment-20692 Nikolai, please read the entire article, which puts my excerpt in context. If you start with the sentence in my excerpt, then, yes, it sounds like Douthat is setting up a straw man. Nikolai, please read the entire article, which puts my excerpt in context. If you start with the sentence in my excerpt, then, yes, it sounds like Douthat is setting up a straw man.

]]> By: Craig http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2012/01/douthat-on-government-and-its-rivals/#comment-20690 Craig Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:59:03 +0000 http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/?p=12080#comment-20690 Like the John Wayne analogy... I came to your blog from the church relevant site top 200 list. They have created a tremendous forum for finding new blogs that impact people. I hope my blog can be an encouragement to you also. I write it for encouragement and motivation daily. http://i-never-fail.blogspot.com Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to watching the connections grow! Like the John Wayne analogy…

I came to your blog from the church relevant site top 200 list. They have created a tremendous forum for finding new blogs that impact people.

I hope my blog can be an encouragement to you also.

I write it for encouragement and motivation daily.

http://i-never-fail.blogspot.com

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to watching the connections grow!

]]> By: Nikolai Volk http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2012/01/douthat-on-government-and-its-rivals/#comment-20689 Nikolai Volk Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:04:04 +0000 http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/?p=12080#comment-20689 <i>"[C]onservatives pretend that all it takes is John Wayne."</i> As a broad overview, I think the popular conservative ideals are too individualistic, but that doesn't permit straw man arguments like this one. I don't affiliate myself with either major political party, but I don't like how reductive Douthat's approach is. “[C]onservatives pretend that all it takes is John Wayne.”

As a broad overview, I think the popular conservative ideals are too individualistic, but that doesn’t permit straw man arguments like this one. I don’t affiliate myself with either major political party, but I don’t like how reductive Douthat’s approach is.

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