Here’s How You Can Prevent Government Tyranny

Every day, it seems that government finds something new to control. It’s invading our businesses, our family life, our healthcare—you name it, and government probably controls it. Our democracy is turning into a democratic despotism, with the government or the majority having absolute power. We should’ve heeded Alexis de Tocqueville’s advice back when he wrote Democracy in America in the 1800s. He had the solution to prevent a tyrannical government, and perhaps it’s not too late to enact his solution and turn back the tide of tyranny. But you have to be willing to come out of your hole and associate with others!

First off, how has government gained so much power? As Tocqueville explained, in a democratic society, “all men are independent of each other, isolated and weak.” In an aristocratic society, people have permanent and obligatory associations based on what groups they’re born into. In a democracy though, people can choose to come together or not. If people don’t come together, they’re too isolated from others and cannot lean on others for assistance. That means they’ll start to lean on government instead. If people try to be independent from those around them, they’ll end up being dependent on government.

If people are isolated from each other, they’re too weak as individuals to protect themselves from an encroaching government. Government will constantly intrude “into the minutest details of human actions,” as Tocqueville warned. Government will take each “individual one by one into its powerful hands” and mold each person as it pleases. Tocqueville declared government might not violently tyrannize, but it will hinder, repress, extinguish, and turn citizens into “nothing more than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.”

Our government may not seem harsh and tyrannical on the surface, yet it has power that can control and manipulate even the smallest details of a citizen’s life.

So, how do we prevent a despotic government turning us into nothing but a flock of timid animals? Tocqueville’s solution is that we must unite together in voluntary associations. The “art of uniting” can defend and preserve freedom. Associations are a dam that holds back the wave of tyranny.

If U.S. citizens want something done, they can combine forces with others who have the same goals and views. “From that moment they are no longer isolated men, but a power seen from afar, whose actions serve for an example…” as Tocqueville explained. He went on to say that each association then defends its own authority and rights “against the encroachments of the government,” which “saves the common liberties of the country.”

Tocqueville observed Americans forming associations to construct churches, send missionaries, build industries, and create hospitals and schools. If citizens unite to accomplish what needs done in a community, then government will not need to come help. For instance, we’d no longer need government welfare if people united in a charitable association that provided for the poor.

How does this apply to you? You can do your part in preventing a tyrannical government by being involved in your community! Don’t be an isolated individual or else you’re easy prey for government intervention. We don’t need government to solve all our problems—we just need each other.

The American experiment of freedom is fragile, and it takes all of us to keep it from breaking. Please join us in a voluntary coalition of citizens! Together, we can unite against an encroaching government.

In Service,