Читать реферат по английскому: "The Future Of Limited Government" Страница 3

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Modern Western societies, especially the United States, have worked toward the goal of inclusiveness, that is, forcing everyone to conform, rather than excluding those who won?t. If we accept the notion that societies are formed for mutual benefit and security, and that the price to the individual is the surrender of some freedom, then it must be acknowledged that security and freedom are inversely proportional. To insist on the full exercise of individual freedom will, in effect, exclude us from participating in society. The view that is common in the United States, that rights are an entitlement not connected to social responsibility, puts society in severe danger. Society cannot exist without the support of its members. To think otherwise gives truth to the view attributed to B.F. Skinner that there is no general acceptance of what a ?Good Society? is, so coercion and control are necessary to stifle anti-social behavior patterns. This would be true if one accepts the idea that society must be all-inclusive. If, on the other hand, a society clearly states its values in a document like the Constitution, then it becomes the choice of each individual to accept those values and choose to participate.

If we completely accept the author?s claim that ?science has shown, with increasing clarity, that humans act as they do not because of free will, but because of the environment in which they survive,? then we reduce humanity to animal level, capable of acting only through instinct and conditioning. If this is true, the discussion of individual freedom is unnecessary. Control is then the only issue.

There can be no argument against the author?s view of change being a critical consideration in the balance between government and freedom. To say that the world has entered ?an era unlike that of any time in the past,? however, seems rather futile. No time has been like any other time, and to say we are facing rapid change when no other generation has is simply not true. While clearly different, the Industrial Revolution perhaps changed life, for good or bad, more than our technological revolution. What we must realize in order for our society to survive any change is that the foundation of society, meaning human nature, does not change. That is the basis for behavior and for the actions of society. When we, our government, and our courts begin to think otherwise is when problems arise.

Trends do not necessarily continue in a straight line. It is the responsibility of our government and our courts to apply the basic values of our society to new conditions. Rather than deciding how society is to fit into a changing environment, our government needs to focus on how changes can benefit our society.

If the conclusion of the paper is that rapid developments in technology demand a reevaluation of civil rights and liberties under the Constitution, and greater activism by the Supreme Court, we must not overlook the fact that technology is merely an extension of human capabilities. Rather than a fundamental reevaluation of Constitutional freedoms, what is needed is a Supreme Court that does not misinterpret those fundamental freedoms. Fundamental does not mean absolute. We have given up some freedom to be Americans. That is the price we pay to live in a society residing in a dangerous world.

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