In part 3 of the Uncommon Knowledge interview with Paul Rahe Peter Robinson and Paul Rahe explore the 4 characteristics of American culture that tend to protect it from the slide into  soft despotism. These are:

Local Government – Local government is accessible. If you want something done or change there is a possibility of getting it done at the local level. In the early American Republic if you wanted to build a school, road or hospital you did it locally. The distant federal government didn’t do very much. This gives people a feeling of power and control over their own lives and surroundings. This helps fight the feeling of helplessness and ankiatude (there’s that word again, which I am spelling wrong) that can bedevil free republics.

Civic Association – Unlike France, American’s did things through private associations. Like local government this gives people power over their own lives (not to mention that it is most likely much more effective)

Religion – Americans in Tocqueville’s time were shockingly religious, unlike France. Religion puts a certain responsibility on the individual that you are the master of your own soul. This provides a sense of dignity as well as areas of your life which you will not allow anyone to encroach upon.

Family – During this time the French family was not in great shape. Adultery was common. This was not the case in America. The women were strong minded and kept the men inline.

It seems to me that the stronger the central government gets the more it weakens all 4 of these institutions. You have seen this throughout the western world to varying degrees and America is far from untouched.

Take Religion, for example. If the government already has a substantial control over your life why pray to God? If government is already promising you everything you need doesn’t it tend to “Crowd God Out”? Is it any wonder than in the advanced welfare states of Europe (not to mention Canada) that religion is dying?

Same thing with Family. What are the ties that bind? If the government promises to take care of you in your old age via social security, why have kids? Is this not the driving factor behind the falling birth rates in most western nations?

Chapter 6 of Angelo Codevilla’s “The Character Of Nations” is entitled Civility. By “Civility” he doesn’t mean politeness.  Rather he discusses what qualities it takes to be a citizen and what kinds of civic qualities different kinds of regimes encourage.

To Codevilla, a civil society made up of citizens is one in which the rulers are bound by the same rules as the ruled. This is why taking an oath of office is so symbolically important in western countries. When a ruler is sworn in he is subjecting himself or herself to a greater power. Citizens must have clearly defined rights which the rulers must respect. The most important of these is property rights, meaning that you have a right to your own life, the fruits of your own labour and that these cannot be arbitrarily taken from you. People who enjoy such liberties have a long term stake in society and tend to take a propriety interest in their surroundings. These reinforce the habits of virtue and freedom which support the rule of law and are the bulwark of civil society. Citizenship means the possibility of ruling as well as being ruled. It means being able to participate in decisions both large and small that may affect your own life.

To Codevilla true citizenship is largely a pretense in the modern world. Rather than being citizens, most people are content to be subjects. They are happy to live their lives as consumers of government services. Merely being able to vote in different rulers who promise to dispense the goodies is not an act of citizenship.

Codevilla mentions de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America“. De Tocqueville wrote this book in an effort to contrast the faux citizenship engendered by the French Revolution vs the real thing in America. The question is I suppose is if America is remaining true to it’s roots of true citizenship or is it falling for the siren’s call of the subject. Something to think about.