Closed Shop
Charlie Earl
The income
tax is immoral because it involves the government (your master) stealing the
product of your labor. Closed union shops are immoral because in some cases
they deny you an equal opportunity to trade your labor for wages. The two major
political parties are immoral because they collude to deny alternative voices
access to the political process in the various states and on the national
stage. Liberty is definitive. You either have it, or you do not. Liberty is
tempered by responsibility and accountability wherein you cannot suppress or
deny someone else’s liberty to advance your own. Therefore, license (unfettered
anarchy) cannot be defined as liberty. It is license.
A “closed”
shop in any context is a denial of an INDIVIDUAL’S liberty. While it may
advance the goals of a defined collective, individual choice is overrun and
shattered. There is another type of closed shop that has destructive
consequences for our nation. It is the Eastern University Cabal…(EUC) ..pronounced
“yuk.” It is a human tendency to associate with others with whom we are most
comfortable. We often share similar values and beliefs, so it is logical that
government and the east coast power centers are dominated by graduates from
Yale, Harvard, Georgetown and other institutions like them. It becomes a
“closed shop” of elites many of whom assume they have divine rights to
micromanage the lives of their fellow citizens.
The term
“closed shop” may not be precise enough to describe the various forms of
exclusion in our culture and our nation. “Tribalism” may be a more accurate
term although it is weighted by ethnic and racial distinctions that may not be
present in the examples I cited above.
Obviously
there is some tension between the concept of the closed shop and the freedom of
association that is inherent in liberty. The contradiction is solved by citing
one word: government. In those instances where government mandates, endorses,
subsidizes or encourages barriers to openness and opportunity, the immoral
closed shop will exist. If government is not the motivator or enforcer, then the
path of exclusive voluntary association has been chosen. While the idea that
any group may chose to exclude some while including others may seem
distasteful, it is the power and force of government involvement that tips the
balance from undesirable to immoral. When one is forced to join or prevented
from affiliating with any group because of government action, the concept of
free choice is violated. Admittedly … some groups under both public and private
auspices require an identifiable level of special knowledge and expertise (e.g.
physicians, engineers, attorneys). The criteria for membership to those closed
shops should be as simple and basic as possible. Too often government entities
have conspired with professional practitioners to construct barriers and
hurdles to limit the opportunities for others to “join the club.”
Liberty is
often characterized as a lonely pursuit. One person following her or his dreams
and ideals without harming others or damaging their property describes the usual
concept of personal freedom. It’s more than the lonely traveler blazing a path.
It can include working with others or forming voluntary associations to handle
difficulties that may face a community. But….true liberty should not and cannot
deny others the opportunity to join if they are moral and willing to abide by
the rules of the voluntary association (e.g. company workplace rules, Lions
Club regs.). On the other hand forcing someone to join or support an
association that does not conform to her or his ideals or is viewed as too
restrictive is an immoral use of force. Closed shops of any kind that are under
the wing of a too-powerful government are wrong.
Charlie Earl
No comments:
Post a Comment