Ezra
Taft Benson
13th President
1985–1994
The
United States
Constitution
The
Bill of Rights
Declaration
of
Independence
Survival and
the
American Way
of Life
Civic
Standards for
Faithful Saints
Righteousness
Exalteth A
Nation
Survival
of the American Way of Life
The
phrase "survival of the American way of life" carries a somewhat
different connotation to various groups even within the United States.
Probably to no other group will it bring a more significant meaning in
terms of farms of America than to those who operate our farms and ranches.
As one who has been reared among them, served them, and been served by
them, I declare that our rural people are today the strongest bulwark we
have against all that is aimed not only at weakening, but also at the very
destruction of our American way of life. It seems that man must get his
feet into the soil to keep sane. In any event, no other segment of our
population knows so well that "as ye sow, so shall ye reap."
America and the world must learn this eternal truth. Failure to do so can
bring only disappointment, suffering, and desperation.
It
is not surprising that we should turn our thoughts to a consideration of
those factors which will determine in large measure our future success and
happiness as a nation through the preservation of the American way of
life. What, then, is the American way of life? What are its fruits? Do we
really want our free enterprise system to survive?
If
you could have spent a recent year with me in war-torn Europe, that which
you would have seen would have given the answers. It is heartrending to
see people who have lost their freedom of choice—their free agency—and
who feel no security; who have no homes they can call their own; who own
no property; whose hearts are filled with hatred, distrust, and fear of
the future.
The
outlook for free enterprise in the world has never seemed so uncertain as
now. A world survey by the New York Times shows that
nationalization is growing rapidly, especially outside the western
hemisphere. Many nations have a mixed economy brought about by an increase
in state control and a corresponding weakening of the private enterprise
system. Under various forms of socialism and communism, the growth of
governmental restrictions and nationalization goes on apace. The
seriousness of the situation demands careful reflection by all interested
in the preservation and perpetuation of our system of individual free
enterprise, predicated, as it is, on a democratic capitalistic economy
under a republican form of government.
The
New York Times also printed the results of a survey of twenty-two
nations, made by correspondents—and of all the countries, Canada
appeared to be the only one in which private enterprise "can be said
to be functioning today with anything like the freedom from governmental
controls that obtains in the United States."
Millions
of people today have become slaves to the state. The dignity and value of
the individual, except as a tool of government, have vanished in many
parts of the world. We have experienced in years past in many nations,
including America, the slavery of person to person. We fought two great
wars to settle these issues in our own land. The first was a fight for
national freedom; the second was a fight for freedom of person from
person. The current question, and one that has brought and is bringing so
much sorrow and misery to people in many parts of Europe, is that of
slavery of the individual to the state.
Should
we as American citizens be concerned? We need not think it cannot happen
here.
Fortunately,
the founding fathers of this great land, under the benign influence of a
kind Providence, established a solid foundation aimed at guaranteeing a
maximum of individual freedom, happiness, and well-being. "We hold
these truths to be self-evident," they said in the Declaration of
Independence, "that all men are created equal; that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights,
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed." This inspired document proclaims clearly
that governments should be established on such principles as "seem
most likely to effect" the "safety and happiness" of the
people. The Constitution of the United States, which Gladstone has
described as "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time
by the brain and purpose of man," was aimed to "establish
justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense,
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to
ourselves and our posterity."
In
these sacred documents are embodied eternal principles that no man, group
of men, or nation has the right to withhold from others. Here is our basis
for freedom of individual achievement. Our Constitution with its Bill of
Rights guarantees to all our people the greatest freedom ever enjoyed by
the people of any great nation. This system guarantees freedom of
individual enterprise, freedom to own property, freedom to start one's own
business and to operate it according to one's own judgment so long as the
enterprise is honorable.
The
individual has power to produce beyond his needs, to provide savings for
the future protection of himself and family. He can live where he wishes
and pick any job he wants and select any educational opportunity. He is,
to a high degree, free through his own hard work and wise management to
make a profit, to invest in any enterprise he may choose, and to leave a
part of his accumulation to be inherited by others as they may, in large
measure, determine. He may enjoy the sacred rights of freedom of speech,
freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, and freedom of worship. To this
American entrepreneur his home is his castle, and in the event that he is
accused of an offense against the laws established by the people, he has
the right of trial by a jury made up of his own fellow citizens.
All
these and more, embodied in written documents that cannot be changed
easily and quickly to suit the whim of some would-be dictator, are our
heritage under the American way of life. Here is freedom guaranteed by the
limitation of government through a written constitution. Do we recognize
and fully appreciate the priceless value of this legacy? Now, while the
world is in commotion and turmoil over ideologies and political
philosophies, is a good time to reflect upon the past. It is a good time
to draw a few comparisons—to take stock.
Under
these principles of freedom and enterprise America has become the richest
nation under heaven and has grown to be the most powerful and influential
nation in the world, using an economy based upon freedom of individual
achievement. Here has been established the most highly developed
industrial system in the world, together with the technological equipment,
human and otherwise, to support it.
Our
republic has now been an operating unit for almost two centuries. During
that period we have developed a productive plant and a way of life that
have given the highest standard of living for the masses known to the
civilized world. In the long run, a nation enjoys in the form of goods and
services only what it produces. We have established an all-time record of
production.
Within
the past century we have received a huge increase in net output per
man-hour. These vast gains in human welfare have lessened human toil. At
the time of the Civil War the average work week was seventy hours. In
America the inventive genius provides horse-drawn and tractor-drawn
equipment, and one family can cultivate 50, 100, 200, or even 400 acres
and more. A man working by hand has the physical force of one-tenth of a
horse. A man with a ten-horsepower tractor has ninety times that much
power. American ingenuity under freedom of choice has harnessed tremendous
amounts of mineral energy to do physical work. Most occupations in the
United States today require more horse sense than horsepower. Under our
free enterprise system there are good reasons to believe that the
technological progress of the past will continue in the future, perhaps at
an accelerated rate.
Our
free enterprise system also allows for all necessary flexibility. No other
economic program responds so readily to changes in wartime and peacetime
demands. Witness what happened after the fall of France in 1940, when the
President asked Congress for 50,000 planes to strengthen America's defense
in a dangerous world. Other nations and some of our people cried,
"Impossible! We haven't the plants, money, or materials." What
was the answer of America's free enterprise system? By June 1945, 297,000
war planes had been produced, nearly 100,000 of them bombers.
No
fair-minded person contends that the private enterprise system is perfect.
It is operated by human beings who are full of imperfections. Many of us
deplore the fact that a few of our corporate entities seem to lack that
social consciousness proportionate to their power and the privileges
granted them by the state. Some businesses apparently still fail to
recognize that there are social and spiritual values as well as profits
that should be considered in their operations.
Neither
do our needs always correspond to our demands under the free enterprise
system. For example, the American male still prefers steak and potatoes
and apple pie to a better balanced diet. Many American families often
prefer housing below a decency level to the "indecency" of
getting along without a family car. As a nation we have spent twice as
much money for liquor and tobacco as for medical care, about the same for
movies as for the support of the churches, and almost as much for beauty
parlor services as for private social welfare. Whether wise or unwise,
these decisions on the part of individuals as to how they spend their
money are the result of free consumer choice, which is a part of the free
enterprise system.
With
all of its weaknesses, our free enterprise system has accomplished in
terms of human welfare that which no other economic or social system has
even approached. Our freedom of individual opportunity permits us to draw
upon our natural resources and upon the total brain and brawn power of the
nation in a most effective manner. This freedom of individual choice
inspires competition. Competition inspires shrewd and efficient
management, which is conducive to the production of the best product
possible at the lowest price.
Are
we to discard a system that has produced so much simply because it has not
worked perfectly? We all admit there are abuses. One should not condemn an
entire system because of the abuses of a handful of those who do not play
the game according to established rules. We often refer to the family unit
as the very basis of civilized society, and yet all will agree that family
life is not perfect—divorces are too frequent, some homes are
unhappy—but our objective is not to throw the family overboard, but
rather to work for the improvement of family relations. Even the churches
of America are not perfect, but no sane American would recommend that the
churches be discredited and discarded. We all recognize religion as the
basis of true character-building for which the world is starving.
The
evidence clearly indicates that our most cherished rights and interests
are all a part of the American way of life. Can communism, socialism,
fascism, or any other coercive system provide these priceless blessings
which flow to us as a part of our American way of life? The common
denominator of all these coercive systems is the curtailment of individual
liberty. Surely we will all agree that our Constitution provides the basis
for the only economic system acceptable to true Americans.
Although
we all cherish the material blessings which flow from the American system
of individual achievement, it would be folly for us to close our eyes to
certain challenging and dangerous trends that are in evidence and that
strike at its very foundation. As Americans, far removed from the
struggles which won for us our freedom, we are inclined to take the
inevitable blessings of freedom for granted. It has been seven generations
since the adoption of the American Constitution. Many in America today
seem to have forgotten the cost and the value of freedom.
In
addition, during the past few years, particularly, loud voices have been
calling attention to the weaknesses of private enterprise without pointing
out its virtues. We have been teaching our people to depend upon
government instead of relying upon their own initiative as did our pioneer
forefathers. Our freedom to work out our individual destinies has been
abridged. We have been looking upon government as something apart from us
and have failed to realize that we, the people, are the government.
We
have also been making individual success unpopular. There has been a
tendency to refer to men who have cash to invest in tools and equipment
for the use of workers as "coupon clippers," "economic
royalists," "capitalists," and "profiteers"—as
though there were something inherently bad in it. Evidence of this fact is
found in the writings and discussions of our high school and college
students, the majority of whom, it is reported, believe private enterprise
is a failure, although they don't have a clear understanding of what
private enterprise is. With them, as with many adults, there is a vague
notion that it is some unfair system which tends to give special advantage
to big corporations and wealthy individuals. This attitude is encouraged
by certain textbook writers who hold the idea, in many cases, that a
government-planned economy is the remedy for all of our economic ills and
the weaknesses in our American way of life, to which they readily point
without referring to the beneficent fruits of the system.
We
are rearing a generation that does not seem to understand the fundamentals
of our American way of life, a generation that is no longer dedicated to
its preservation. A long-range educational program beginning with the
adult level is, of course, the only answer. Our people, both before and
after they arrive at the age of the right of the ballot, should understand
what it is that has made America great. We can only appreciate freedom if
we understand the comparative fruits thereof. It was Jefferson who said:
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." It is one thing to
win freedom; its preservation is equally important. If reference is made
continually to weaknesses of the private enterprise system without any
effort to point out its virtues and the comparative fruits of this and
other systems, the tendency in this country will be to demand that the
government take over more and more of the economic and social
responsibilities and make more of the decisions for the people. This can
result in but one thing: slavery of the individual to the state. This
seems to be the trend in the world today. The issue is whether the
individual exists for the state or the state for the individual.
In
a democracy the real danger is that we may slowly slide into a condition
of slavery of the individual to the state rather than entering this
condition by a sudden revolution. The loss of our liberties might easily
come about, not through the ballot box, but through the death of incentive
to work, to earn, and to save. Such a condition is usually brought about
by a series of little steps which, at the time, seem justified by a
variety of reasons and which may on the surface appear to be laudable as
to intent. It has been pointed out that the more basic reasons offered by
would-be planned economy advocates are "the desire to change and
control others, the search for security, and the desire of individuals or
groups to improve their own economic status or that of others by means of
direct governmental intervention."
Europe
today is evidence of the fact that one of the most common routes toward
serfdom is followed by those in search of economic security. Never has
there been so much apparent interest in security. Many programs so labeled
have wide appeal. In order to appraise properly any so-called governmental
security plan, however, we must look behind its name. Many so-called
progressive programs are attractively labeled, and if we are to preserve
our freedom and liberty, we must constantly analyze the nature of issues
and programs and ignore labels that have been attached to them.
Equality
is also a favorite term. Most people believe themselves to be below the
average in income; therefore they feel they stand to gain through
equalization via governmental intervention. All would like to equalize
with those who are better off than they themselves. They fail to realize
that incomes differ, and will always differ, because people differ in
their economic drive and ability. The evidence clearly indicates that
government has been unable to prevent inequality of incomes and, further,
that equalization efforts usually stifle initiative and retard progress to
the extent that the real incomes of everyone are lowered.
Many
of our problems and dangers center in the issues of so-called fair prices,
wages, and profits and the relationship between management and labor. We
must realize that it is just as possible for wages to be too high as it is
for prices and profits to be excessive. There is a tendency, of course,
for almost everyone to feel that his share is unfair, whether it is or
not. An effort to adjust apparent inequities often calls for government
subsidies. Too often these are authorized without asking, "Who will
pay for them?" Much of our program of letting the government pay for
it can be described as "an attempt to better yourself by increasing
your pay to yourself and then sending yourself the bill."
The
only safe and solid answer is the mechanism of a free market operating in
an enterprise and free competition. Here everyone has a chance to cast his
vote in the election that will decide what is a fair price, fair wage, and
fair profit, and what should be produced and in what quantities. To
contradict the justice of that decision is to contradict the whole concept
of justice by the democratic process. All will agree that the democratic
processes and the free market—both parts of our American way of
life—are not perfect, but they are believed to have fewer faults and to
do a better job than any other known device. A sure way to take a shortcut
to serfdom is to discard the sovereign rights of all the people in either
the political or the economic realm.
We
must remember that government assistance and control are essentially
political provisions, and that experience has demonstrated that, for that
reason, they are not sufficiently stable to warrant their utilization as a
foundation for sound economic growth under a free enterprise system. The
best way—the American way—is still maximum freedom for the individual
guaranteed by a wise government that establishes and enforces the rules of
the game. History records that eventually people get the form of
government they deserve. Good government, which guarantees the maximum of
freedom, liberty, and development to the individual, must be based upon
sound principles, and we must ever remember that ideas and principles are
either sound or unsound in spite of those who hold them. Freedom of
achievement has achieved and will continue to produce the maximum of
benefits in terms of human welfare.
Our
way of life is based upon eternal principles. It rests upon a deep
spiritual foundation established by inspired instruments of an all-wise
Providence.
(Ezra
Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties [Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 305.)
Jesus
Christ Joseph Smith
Jr.
Brigham Young
John Taylor
Wilford Woodruff
Lorenzo Snow
Joseph F. Smith
Heber J. Grant
George A. Smith
David O. McKay
Joseph F. Smith
Harold B. Lee
Founding
Fathers Spencer Kimball Howard Hunter
Gordon Hinckley First Presidency Elders
Citizens
Rule Book
