Mike Winther kicks off Section 6a of "Biblical Principles of Government" with a poignant quote from Thomas Jefferson: "It's strangely absurd to suppose that a million human beings collected together are not under the same moral laws which bind each of them separately." This assertion underlines the principle of The Collective Application of God's Commands.
Mike dives into the concepts of individualism and collectivism, explaining individualism as dealing with individuals, whereas collectivism addresses the group as a whole. He highlights the role of government as a collective entity that represents and governs all citizens.
In searching for principles to guide government, he points out that Scripture offers clear guidelines on what government should and should not do. He also asserts that God's commands and guidance to individuals also apply to groups, emphasizing that what applies to the individual should also apply to the collective, unless scripture specifies otherwise.
You'll Learn:
[00:34] "It's strangely absurd to suppose that a million human beings collected together are not under the same moral laws which bind each of them separately." Thomas Jefferson
[01:06] The principal of The Collective Application of God's Commands.
[01:28] Individualism is when we deal with individuals. Collectivism is dealing with the whole.
[01:39] Government is a collective that represents all of the citizens and rules all of the citizens.
[01:48] We often look for principles to guide the government. There are principles in Scripture that give guidelines for what the government should and should not do.
[01:57] God's commands and guidance to us as individuals also applies to us as groups. We can assert what applies to the individual applies to the collective unless scripture specifically states otherwise.
[02:34] Capital punishment is given as an authority to civil government.
[03:10] An example of individual versus collective.
[08:48] Socialism places limits on the ownership of private property.
[09:19] We need to understand the idea of economic loss. The more goods and services we produce will result in the price going down.
[14:02] We produce for a number of reasons including its built into our DNA and it mimics God. We can help others by producing more and giving them the fruit of our labor.
[20:25] Contrasting the loyalty of serving your fellow man or being given things by the government.
[23:49] The philosophical schools of economics: The classical school of economics includes teachings by Adam Smith. A partial free market scenario.
[25:29] The Keynesian School of Economics from John Maynard Keynes. The government needs to manage and control the economy. Stimulation and slowing down an economy and having a central bank came from Keynes.
[26:46] The Neoclassical School of Economics is kind of between the other two.
[26:58] The Chicago School of Economics comes from the University of Chicago. The father of this school is Milton Friedman. He says government intervention is damaging the economy and moves closer to a free market model.
[27:41] The Austrian School of Economics. Pure free market economics.
[30:00] Mike talks about environmental issues and economics.
[39:41] Using government policy to choose winners and losers.
[44:54] Ethanol is a net negative energy source.
[46:42] Debt and deficits.
[53:38] Jobs are not the measure of our well-being, it's the goods and services that we have.
[54:45] Mike talks a little bit about monopolies.
