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Not long ago a journalist asked me what freedoms we take for granted
in America. Now, I spend most of my time sounding the alarm about the
freedoms we’re losing. But this was a good opportunity to step back and
consider how America is different from much of world history — and why
immigrants still flock here.
If we ask how life in the United States is different from life in
most of the history of the world — and still different from much of the
world — a few key elements come to mind.
Rule of law. Perhaps the greatest achievement in history is
the subordination of power to law. That is, in modern America we have
created structures that limit and control the arbitrary power of
government. No longer can one man — a king, a priest, a communist party
boss — take another person’s life or property at the ruler’s whim.
Citizens can go about their business, generally confident that they
won’t be dragged off the streets to disappear forever, and confident
that their hard-earned property won’t be confiscated without warning. We
may take the rule of law for granted, but immigrants from China, Haiti,
Syria, and other parts of the world know how rare it is.
Equality. For most of history people were firmly assigned to
a particular status — clergy, nobility, and peasants. Kings and lords
and serfs. Brahmans, other castes, and untouchables in India. If your
father was a noble or a peasant, so would you be. The American
Revolution swept away such distinctions. In America all men were created
equal. Thomas Jefferson declared “that the mass of mankind has not been
born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred,
ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God.” In America some
people may be smarter, richer, stronger, or more beautiful than others,
but “I’m as good as you” is our national creed. We are all citizens,
equal before the law, free to rise as far as our talents will take us.
Equality for women. Throughout much of history women were
the property of their fathers or their husbands. They were often barred
from owning property, testifying in court, signing contracts, or
participating in government. Equality for women took longer than
equality for men, but today in America and other civilized parts of the
world women have the same legal rights as men.
Self-government. The Declaration of Independence proclaims
that “governments are instituted” to secure the rights of “life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and that those governments
“derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Early
governments were often formed in the conquest of one people by another,
and the right of the rulers to rule was attributed to God’s will and
passed along from father to son. In a few places — Athens, Rome,
medieval Germany — there were fitful attempts to create a democratic
government. Now, after America’s example, we take it for granted in
civilized countries that governments stand or fall on popular consent.
Freedom of speech. In a world of Michael Moore, Ann Coulter,
and cable pornography, it’s hard to imagine just how new and how rare
free speech is. Lots of people died for the right to say what they
believed. In China and Africa and the Arab world, they still do.
Fortunately, we’ve realized that while free speech may irritate each of
us at some point, we’re all better off for it.
Freedom of religion. Church and state have been bound
together since time immemorial. The state claimed divine sanction, the
church got money and power, the combination left little room for
freedom. As late as the 17th century, Europe was wracked by religious
wars. England, Sweden, and other countries still have an established
church, though their citizens are free to worship elsewhere. Many people
used to think that a country could only survive if everyone worshipped
the one true God in the one true way. The American Founders established
religious freedom.
Property and contract. We owe our unprecedented standard of
living to the capitalist freedoms of private property and free markets.
When people are able to own property and make contracts, they create
wealth. Free markets and the legal institutions to enforce contracts
make possible vast economic undertakings — from the design and
construction of airplanes to worldwide computer networks and ATM
systems. But to appreciate the benefits of free markets, we don’t have
to marvel at skyscrapers while listening to MP3 players. We can just
give thanks for enough food to live on, and central heating, and the
medical care that has lowered the infant mortality rate from about 20
percent to less than 1 percent.
A Kenyan boy who managed to get to the United States told a reporter for Woman’s World
magazine that America is “heaven.” Compared to countries that lack the
rule of law, equality, property rights, free markets, and freedom of
speech and worship, it certainly is. A good point to keep in mind this
Thanksgiving Day.
This article originally appeared in the Washington Times in 2004 and was included in my book The Politics of Freedom.
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