Americans of all ages, all conditions, all minds constantly unite. Not only do they have commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but they also have a thousand other kinds: religious, moral, grave, futile, very general and very particular, immense and very small.
Americans use associations to give entertainment, to found seminaries, to build inns, to raise churches, to distribute books, to send missionaries to the antipodes. In this manner they create hospitals, prisons, schools.
Finally, if it is a question of bringing to light a truth or developing a sentiment with the support of a great example, they associate. Everywhere that, at the head of a new undertaking, you see the government in France, or a man of rank in England, in the United States you will be sure to find an association.
That’s French ambassador Alexis de Tocqueville writing in the 1830s.
The French government commissioned de Tocqueville to travel to the United States. His job was to study American society and politics. And what he found amazed him.
That is, Americans worked together to manage society and take on important projects. This was done through private associations. And everything was self-funded.
Nobody was forced to do any of the things de Tocqueville mentioned. And the government levied no taxes to fund these projects.
Instead, those who found the projects useful and necessary came together to complete them. Everything centered around community at the local level.
What’s more, many of these associations also served as “safety nets” for people.
I’ve done a little bit of research on America’s great mutual aid networks of that time period. A great (but certainly not complete) resource for this is David Beito’s From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services.
I don’t think many of us realize just how robust and self-reliant Americans were back then. The mutual aid networks were incredibly comprehensive.
Members shared ideas and boots-on-the-ground intel… They facilitated skills-training and jobs-training programs… They matched each other up with career and investment opportunities… They banded together to take care of physical infrastructure… And they instituted programs that made access to quality health care cheap and accessible to all members.
That’s where the term “lodge doctors” came from.
Many of these networks would keep doctors on the payroll. Then, when a member needed medical attention, their lodge doctors were immediately available. And at far reduced prices since they were already on retainer.
A few of these old mutual aid societies are still around today. The Moose Lodge and the Order of Elks are two examples.
The thing is – these associations are extremely watered down today. They only do a fraction of what they once did.
That’s because the Welfare State crowded them out. And then the virtue-signaling philanthropy industry kicked them while they were down.
We’ve been talking all week about the America is going to the dogs narrative that’s prevalent today. It’s pushed upon us through both traditional and social media. It’s all about the perception that America had a good run… but now it’s on the decline.
And maybe that’s true in the major cities. Especially the poorly governed ones.
But from my perspective, there are still plenty of strong communities out there in this country. And I think people are feeling the need to band together with those of like mind more than they have in about a century.
This is a dynamic Robert Nisbet explored in his book The Quest for Community. In the book, Nisbet pointed out something that I found quite insightful.
The rise of the Welfare State enabled what’s often called “radical individualism”. This is the idea that it’s every man (or woman) for himself… and that somebody else will handle any problems that may impact society or its infrastructure.
This is quite ironic.
Proponents of the Welfare State claim that it’s necessary specifically because of so-called radical individualism. But the history of 19th century mutual aid in America says otherwise. Americans were far more community-minded before big government came to power.
The point is – America only falls if we let it.
And that’s because America isn’t one giant entity. Fundamentally, it’s an idea. The idea that individual liberty is a natural right… and that nobody has the right to infringe upon the liberty of others.
America is the idea that every man should be the king of his own castle, as Thomas Jefferson put it.
In other words, America exists at the local level. It’s all the countless communities dispersed across this great landmass.
That means we are in control. Each of us. As my friend Paul Rosenberg puts it awake, engage, act.
-Joe Withrow
P.S. Do you get the feeling that the principles of western civilization and American history are being lost?
To me, it’s clear that government-approved textbooks do them both a major disservice. In fact,
I’m amazed at how little I knew about our heritage. That is, until I sought out independent educational sources.
And one of the best resources I’ve found is Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom.
It features 33 video-based courses taught by some knowledgeable and passionate people. Several of them are professors at small private colleges that accept no federal funding. That provides them with full autonomy.
Liberty Classroom features basic history courses on both western civilization and American history. There are also courses on the culture of the early American republic as well as the early days of the western frontier.
Then there are courses on “freedom’s progress”. This is the history of political thought in the western world. There are several fascinating courses on mythology and science fiction in western civilization as well.
And finally, Liberty Classroom features quite a few courses on free market economics. That is to say, real economics. Not the hypothetical economics taught in all but a handful of American universities today.
Put it all together and this is the education I wish I had received in high school and college.
And it’s about more than just personal development.
This material provides a solid foundation for understanding the modern world. That includes the ability to parse through biased information to identify incentives. If you can find the incentives, you can get much closer to the truth.
So I can’t say enough good things about this program.
If you would like to give Liberty Classroom a look and browse its course offerings, just go here: