Matt Collins
09-06-2010, 11:09 PM
C. S. Lewis on Liberty and Statism
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive," wrote C. S. Lewis, the Oxford/Cambridge scholar best known for his Christian apologetics and the Chronicles of Narnia book series. "It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
Independent Institute President David J. Theroux (http://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=531) expounds on Lewis's views about ethics and politics in "C. S. Lewis on Mere Liberty and the Evils of Statism." The following passage helps set the stage:
"Lewis was unquestionably and profoundly interested in the ideas and institutions that were the basis for free and virtuous individuals and communities, but he was not at all interested in partisanship or campaign politics," writes Theroux. "He instead focused on first principles, and public-policy matters were of interest only as they pertained to questions of enduring value. As a result of this focus, whereas the work of most modern scholars and other writers quickly becomes dated and obsolete, Lewis's work has achieved increasing timelessness and relevance."
"C. S. Lewis on Mere Liberty and the Evils of Statism," (http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2846) by David J. Theroux (Patheos.com, 8/23/10)
"Economic Science and the Poverty of Naturalism: C. S. Lewis's 'Argument from Reason,'" (http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=2278) by David J. Theroux (Journal of Private Enterprise, Spring 2008)
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive," wrote C. S. Lewis, the Oxford/Cambridge scholar best known for his Christian apologetics and the Chronicles of Narnia book series. "It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
Independent Institute President David J. Theroux (http://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=531) expounds on Lewis's views about ethics and politics in "C. S. Lewis on Mere Liberty and the Evils of Statism." The following passage helps set the stage:
"Lewis was unquestionably and profoundly interested in the ideas and institutions that were the basis for free and virtuous individuals and communities, but he was not at all interested in partisanship or campaign politics," writes Theroux. "He instead focused on first principles, and public-policy matters were of interest only as they pertained to questions of enduring value. As a result of this focus, whereas the work of most modern scholars and other writers quickly becomes dated and obsolete, Lewis's work has achieved increasing timelessness and relevance."
"C. S. Lewis on Mere Liberty and the Evils of Statism," (http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2846) by David J. Theroux (Patheos.com, 8/23/10)
"Economic Science and the Poverty of Naturalism: C. S. Lewis's 'Argument from Reason,'" (http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=2278) by David J. Theroux (Journal of Private Enterprise, Spring 2008)