History Repeats Itself
The Example of the Great Famine
Throughout history, governments have taken over large portions of the economy. Sometimes it is by force for political reasons, and other times it is “for the good of the people.”
Consider the familiar bible story of Joseph, Pharaoh, and the great famine. As a child and much of my adult life, I never questioned Joseph's role in this story. I have always thought he was nothing but a hero, and the whole thing was God's plan. But the more I look at it, the more I believe it is never God's plan for people to become enslaved to a government. Maybe there was more “man” in this story than we have previously thought.
Read on to see what I mean...
The Great Famine - Gen 41 to 47
We are all familiar with the build-up of the story, and how Joseph's dream predicted 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. Under Pharaoh's authority, Joseph nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in huge storehouses that he had built.
It is interesting that the plan wasn't, “Tell the people a great famine is coming so they need to store up grain during these next 7 years of plenty….” Rather, it was, “Bring the grain to the government and we will take care of you.” The lesson on that point is that, by their very nature, governments never trust people to be responsible for themselves.
As the famine spread throughout the land, people brought their money to Joseph and gave it to him willingly in return for grain. (Gen 47:14) Isn't it interesting that the people seemed to be grateful for this “help” even though they were actually buying back their own grain? Sound familiar?
This repeated itself until their money ran out (v15).
Then they brought their livestock, their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their mules and traded them for grain (v17).
But the famine wasn't over.
The people then came to Joseph and admitted they had nothing left (v18), except their land and their own lives. They had given all their other possessions to the government. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be your servants.” Wow. They called him "Lord" and asked him to buy their very lives and land. They were so desperate, they “asked” to become servants.
Verse 21 says, “Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other.” He then gave them seed to plant, and required 20% of it as a tax. Wasn't that genourous of him. He offered them a job working for the government.
Interestingly, in that same verse, the priests (politicians?) were exempt. They got to keep their land and didn't have to pay taxes. (v 26) I wonder if this is where the politicians in Washington got the idea they were exempt from the very laws that they force on the rest of us.
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This story isn't as comfortable as the way I understood it as a child. “Servitude” to a government can't possibly be God's plan. Manna falling from heaven during a famine sounds more like something God would do. Or at the least, inspiring the government to build up reserves and then “giving” the food to the people who produced it in the first place. But alas, those are religious discussions about one's view of “God in control” and hermeneutics…probably too controversial for most people to consider.
The political implications are slightly less controversial.
Throughout the world's history, governments have engaged in redistribution. Always with the same result…increasing power and control by the government, and loss of freedom, dependency, and servitude by the people. This is not something about which we have to guess or imagine. We have history to look at…”lest we forget.”
It makes common sense too. Whenever a human or animal is cared for by someone else, they become dependent on that care. There are no exceptions.
These truths prompted Thomas Jefferson to say things like, “ The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground,” and “I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.”
So here we are today, with about half the politicians and populace of the United States enthusiastic about the government “helping” the auto industry, the banking industry, the housing industry, the health care industry, and every other industry that is struggling.
It stirs up controversy when people say the government wants to “take over” the free market, or when they label politicians with any of the “ism” words (socialism, collectivism, communism…).
So let's give them the motivational benefit of the doubt, and assume the politicians really believe they are “helping” to save the United States .
It doesn't matter. Motivation doesn't matter. Intentions don't matter.
The results will be the same.
Just look at the story of the great famine and how the government of Egypt helped the people.
More to come...
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