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Imprimis, On Line
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March, 1995
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IMPRIMIS (im-pri-mis), taking its name from the Latin
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term, "in the first place," is the publication of
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Hillsdale College. Executive Editor, Ronald L.
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Trowbridge; Managing Editor, Lissa Roche; Assistant,
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Patricia A. DuBois. Illustrations by Tom Curtis. The
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opinions expressed in IMPRIMIS may be, but are not
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necessarily, the views of Hillsdale College and its
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External Programs division. Copyright 1994. Permission
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to reprint in whole or part is hereby granted, provided
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a version of the following credit line is used:
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"Reprinted by permission from IMPRIMIS, the monthly
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journal of Hillsdale College." Subscription free upon
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request. ISSN 0277-8432. Circulation 580,000 worldwide,
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established 1972. IMPRIMIS trademark registered in U.S.
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Patent and Trade Office #1563325.
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---------------------------------------------
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Volume 24, No. 3
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Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan 49242
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March 1995
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---------------------------------------------
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"The Moral Foundations of Society"
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by Margaret Thatcher
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Former Prime Minister, Great Britain
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---------------------------------------------
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In November 1994, Lady Thatcher delivered the
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concluding lecture in Hillsdale's Center for
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Constructive Alternatives seminar, "God and Man:
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Perspectives on Christianity in the 20th Century"
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before an audience of 2,500 students, faculty, and
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guests. In an edited version of that lecture, she
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examines how the Judeo-Christian tradition has provided
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the moral foundations of America and other nations in
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the West and contrasts their experience with that of
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the former Soviet Union.
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---------------------------------------------
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The Moral Foundations
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of the American Founding
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History has taught us that freedom can not long survive
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unless it is based on moral foundations. The American
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founding bears ample witness to this fact. America has
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become the most powerful nation in history, yet she
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uses her power not for territorial expansion but to
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perpetuate freedom and justice throughout the world.
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For over two centuries, Americans have held fast to
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their belief in freedom for all men-a belief that
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springs from their spiritual heritage. John Adams,
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second president of the United States, wrote in 1789,
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"Our Constitution was designed only for a moral and
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religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the
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government of any other." That was an astonishing thing
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to say, but it was true.
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What kind of people built America and thus prompted
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Adams to make such a statement? Sadly, too many people,
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especially young people, have a hard time answering
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that question. They know little of their own history.
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(This is also true in Great Britain.) But America's is
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a very distinguished history, nonetheless, and it has
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important lessons to teach us regarding the necessity
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of moral foundations.
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John Winthrop, who led the Great Migration to America
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in the early 17th century and who helped found the
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Massachusetts Bay Colony, declared, "We shall be as a
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City upon a Hill." On the voyage to the New World, he
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told the members of his company that they must rise to
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their responsibilities and learn to live as God
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intended men should live: in charity, love, and
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cooperation with one another. Most of the early
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colonists were infused with the same spirit, and they
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tried to live in accord with a Biblical ethic.
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They felt they weren't able to do so in Great Britain
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or elsewhere in Europe. Some of them were Protestant,
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and some were Catholic; it didn't matter. What mattered
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was that they did not feel they had the liberty to
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worship freely and, therefore, to live freely, at home.
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With enormous courage, the first American colonists set
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out on a perilous journey to an unknown land-without
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government subsidies and not in order to amass fortunes
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but to fulfill their faith.
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Christianity is based on the belief in a single God as
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evolved from Judaism. Most important of all, the faith
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of America's founders affirmed the sanctity of each
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individual. Every human life-man or woman, child or
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adult, commoner or aristocrat, rich or poor-was equal
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in the eyes of the Lord. It also affirmed the
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responsibility of each individual.
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This was not a faith that allowed people to do whatever
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they wished, regardless of the consequences. The Ten
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Commandments, the injunction of Moses ("Look after your
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neighbor as yourself"), the Sermon on the Mount, and
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the Golden Rule made Americans feel precious-and also
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accountable-for the way in which they used their God-
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given talents. Thus they shared a deep sense of
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obligation to one another. And, as the years passed,
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they not only formed strong communities but devised
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laws that would protect individual freedom-laws that
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would eventually be enshrined in the Declaration of
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Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
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Freedom with Responsibility
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Great Britain, which shares much of her history in
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common with America, has also derived strength from
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its moral foundations, especially since the 18th
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century when freedom gradually began to spread
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throughout her society. Many people were greatly
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influenced by the sermons of John Wesley (1703-1791),
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who took the Biblical ethic to the people in a way
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which the institutional church itself had not done
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previously.
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But we in the West must also recognize our debt to
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other cultures. In the pre-Christian era, for example,
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the ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle had
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much to contribute to our understanding of such
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concepts as truth, goodness, and virtue. They knew full
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well that responsibility was the price of freedom. Yet
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it is doubtful whether truth, goodness, and virtue
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founded on reason alone would have endured in the same
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way as they did in the West, where they were based upon
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a Biblical ethic.
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Sir Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), author of The Decline
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and Fall of the Roman Empire, wrote tellingly of the
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collapse of Athens, which was the birthplace of
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democracy. He judged that, in the end, more than they
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wanted freedom, the Athenians wanted security. Yet they
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lost everything-security, comfort, and freedom. This
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was because they wanted not to give to society, but for
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society to give to them. The freedom they were seeking
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was freedom from responsibility. It is no wonder, then,
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that they ceased to be free. In the modern world, we
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should recall the Athenians' dire fate whenever we
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confront demands for increased state paternalism.
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To cite a more recent lesson in the importance of moral
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foundations, we should listen to Czech President Vaclav
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Havel, who suffered grievously for speaking up for
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freedom when his nation was still under the thumb of
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communism. He has observed, "In everyone there is some
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longing for humanity's rightful dignity, for moral
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integrity, and for a sense that transcends the world of
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existence." His words suggest that in spite of all the
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dread terrors of communism, it could not crush the
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religious fervor of the peoples of Eastern Europe and
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the Soviet Union.
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So long as freedom, that is, freedom with
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responsibility, is grounded in morality and religion,
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it will last far longer than the kind that is grounded
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only in abstract, philosophical notions. Of course,
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many foes of morality and religion have attempted to
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argue that new scientific discoveries make belief in
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God obsolete, but what they actually demonstrate is the
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remarkable and unique nature of man and the universe.
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It is hard not to believe that these gifts were given
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by a divine Creator, who alone can unlock the secrets
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of existence.
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Societies Without Moral
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Foundations
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The most important problems we have to tackle today are
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problems, ultimately, having to do with the moral
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foundations of society. There are people who eagerly
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accept their own freedom but do not respect the freedom
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of others-they, like the Athenians, want freedom from
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responsibility. But if they accept freedom for
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themselves, they must respect the freedom of others. If
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they expect to go about their business unhindered and
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to be protected from violence, they must not hinder the
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business of or do violence to others.
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They would do well to look at what has happened in
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societies without moral foundations. Accepting no laws
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but the laws of force, these societies have been ruled
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by totalitarian ideologies like Nazism, fascism, and
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communism, which do not spring from the general
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populace, but are imposed on it by intellectual elites.
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It was two members of such an elite, Marx and Lenin,
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who conceived of "dialectical materialism," the basic
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doctrine of communism. It robs people of all freedom-
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from freedom of worship to freedom of ownership. Marx
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and Lenin desired to substitute their will not only
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for all individual will but for God's will. They wanted
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to plan everything; in short, they wanted to become
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gods. Theirs was a breathtakingly arrogant creed, and
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it denied above all else the sanctity of human life.
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The l9th century French economist and philosopher
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Frederic Bastiat once warned against this creed. He
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questioned those who, "though they are made of the same
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human clay as the rest of us, think they can take away
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all our freedoms and exercise them on our behalf." He
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would have been appalled but not surprised that the
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communists of the 20th century took away the freedom of
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millions of individuals, starting with the freedom to
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worship. The communists viewed religion as "the opiate
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of the people." They seized Bibles as well as all other
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private property at gun point and murdered at least 10
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million souls in the process.
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Thus 20th century Russia entered into the greatest
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experiment in government and atheism the world had ever
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seen, just as America several centuries earlier had
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entered into the world's greatest experiment in freedom
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and faith.
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Communism denied all that the Judeo-Christian tradition
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taught about individual worth, human dignity, and moral
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responsibility. It was not surprising that it collapsed
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after a relatively brief existence. It could not
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survive more than a few generations because it denied
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human nature, which is fundamentally moral and
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spiritual. (It is true that no one predicted the
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collapse would come so quickly and so easily. In
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retrospect, we know that this was due in large measure
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to the firmness of President Ronald Reagan who said, in
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effect, to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, "Do not try
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to beat us militarily, and do not think that you can
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extend your creed to the rest of the world by force.")
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The West began to fight the moral battle against
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communism in earnest in the 1980s, and it was our
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resolve combined with the spiritual strength of the
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people suffering under the system who finally said,
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"Enough!"-that helped restore freedom in Eastern Europe
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and the Soviet Union-the freedom to worship, speak,
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associate, vote, establish political parties, start
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businesses, own property, and much more. If communism
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had been a creed with moral foundations, it might have
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survived, but it was not, and it simply could not
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sustain itself in a world that had such shining
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examples of freedom, namely, America and Great Britain.
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The Moral Foundations of Capitalism
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It is important to understand that the moral
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foundations of a society do not | extend only to its
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political system; they must extend to its economic
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system as well. America's commitment to capitalism is
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unquestionably the best example of this principle.
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Capitalism is not, contrary to what those on the Left
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have tried to argue, an amoral system based on
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selfishness, greed, and exploitation. It is a moral
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system based on a Biblical ethic. There is no other
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comparable system that has raised the standard of
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living of millions of people, created vast new wealth
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and resources, or inspired so many beneficial
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innovations and technologies.
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The wonderful thing about capitalism is that it does
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not discriminate against the poor, as has been so often
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charged; indeed, it is the only economic system that
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raises the poor out of poverty. Capitalism also allows
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nations that are not rich in natural resources to
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prosper. If resources were the key to wealth, the
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richest country in the world would be Russia, because
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it has abundant supplies of everything from oil, gas,
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platinum, gold, silver, aluminum, and copper to timber,
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water, wildlife, and fertile soil.
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Why isn't Russia the wealthiest country in the world?
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Why aren't other resource-rich countries in the Third
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World at the top of the list? It is because their
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governments deny citizens the liberty to use their God-
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given talents. Man's greatest resource is himself, but
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he must be free to use that resource.
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In his recent encyclical, Centesimus Annus, Pope John
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Paul II addressed this issue. He wrote that the
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collapse of communism is not merely to be considered as
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a "technical problem." It is a consequence of the
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violation of human rights. He specifically referred to
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such human rights as the right to private initiative,
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to own property, and to act in the marketplace.
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Remember the "Parable of the Talents" in the New
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Testament? Christ exhorts us to be the best we can be
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by developing our skills and abilities, by succeeding
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in all our tasks and endeavors. What better
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description can there be of capitalism? In creating new
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products, new services, and new jobs, we create a
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vibrant community of work. And that community of work
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serves as the basis of peace and good will among all
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men.
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The Pope also acknowledged that capitalism encourages
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important virtues, like diligence, industriousness,
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prudence, reliability, fidelity, conscientiousness, and
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a tendency to save in order to invest in the future.
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It is not material goods but all of these great
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virtues, exhibited by individuals working together,
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that constitute what we call the "marketplace."
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The Moral Foundations of the Law
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Freedom, whether it is the freedom of the marketplace
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or any other kind, must exist within the framework of
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law. Otherwise it means only freedom for the strong to
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oppress the weak. Whenever I visit the former Soviet
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Union, I stress this point with students, scholars,
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politicians, and businessmen-in short, with everyone I
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meet. Over and over again, I repeat: Freedom must be
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informed by the principle of justice in order to make
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it work between people. A system of laws based on
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solid moral foundations must regulate the entire life
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of a nation.
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But this is an extremely difficult point to get across
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to people with little or no experience with laws
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except those based on force. The concept of justice is
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entirely foreign to communism. So, too, is the concept
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of equality. For over seventy years, Eastern Europe and
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the Soviet Union had no system of common law. There
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were only the arbitrary and often contradictory
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dictates of the Communist Party. There was no
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independent judiciary. There was no such thing as truth
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in the communist system.
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And what is freedom without truth? I have been a
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scientist, a lawyer, and a politician, and from my own
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experience I can testify that it is nothing. The third
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century Roman jurist Julius Paulus said, "What is right
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is not derived from the rule, but the rule arises from
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our knowledge of what is right." In other words, the
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law is founded on what we believe to be true and just.
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It has moral foundations. Once again, it is important
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to note that the free societies of America and Great
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Britain derive such foundations from a Biblical ethic.
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The Moral Foundations of Democracy
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Democracy is never mentioned in the Bible. When people
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are gathered together, whether as families,
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communities or nations, their purpose is not to
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ascertain the will of the majority, but the will of
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the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, I am an enthusiast of
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democracy because it is about more than the will of
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the majority. If it were only about the will of the
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majority, it would be the right of the majority to
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oppress the minority. The American Declaration of
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Independence and Constitution make it clear that this
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is not the case. There are certain rights which are
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human rights and which no government can displace. And
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when it comes to how you Americans exercise your rights
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under democracy, your hearts seem to be touched by
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something greater than yourselves. Your role in
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democracy does not end when you cast your vote in an
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election. It applies daily; the standards and values
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that are the moral foundations of society are also the
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foundations of your lives.
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Democracy is essential to preserving freedom. As Lord
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Acton reminded us, "Power tends to corrupt, and
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absolute power corrupts absolutely." If no individual
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can be trusted with power indefinitely, it is even
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more true that no government can be. It has to be
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checked, and the best way of doing so is through the
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will of the majority, bearing in mind that this will
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can never be a substitute for individual human rights.
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I am often asked whether I think there will be a single
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international democracy, known as a "new world order."
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Though many of us may yearn for one, I do not believe
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it will ever arrive. We are misleading ourselves about
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human nature when we say, "Surely we're too civilized,
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too reasonable, ever to go to war again," or, "We can
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rely on our governments to get together and reconcile
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our differences." Tyrants are not moved by idealism.
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They are moved by naked ambition. Idealism did not
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stop Hitler; it did not stop Stalin. Our best hope as
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sovereign nations is to maintain strong defenses.
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Indeed, that has been one of the most important moral
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as well as geopolitical lessons of the 20th century.
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Dictators are encouraged by weakness; they are stopped
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by strength. By strength, of course, I do not merely
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mean military might but the resolve to use that might
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against evil.
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The West did show sufficient resolve against Iraq
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during the Persian Gulf War. But we failed bitterly in
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Bosnia. In this case, instead of showing resolve, we
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preferred "diplomacy" and "consensus." As a result, a
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quarter of a million people were massacred. This was a
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horror that I, for one, never expected to see again in
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my lifetime. But it happened. Who knows what tragedies
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the future holds if we do not learn from the repeated
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lessons of history? The price of freedom is still, and
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always will be, eternal vigilance.
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Free societies demand more care and devotion than any
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others. They are, moreover, the only societies with
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moral foundations, and those foundations are evident in
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their political, economic, legal, cultural, and, most
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importantly, spiritual life.
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We who are living in the West today are fortunate.
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Freedom has been bequeathed to us. We have not had to
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carve it out of nothing; we have not had to pay for it
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with our lives. Others before us have done so. But it
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would be a grave mistake to think that freedom requires
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nothing of us. Each of us has to earn freedom anew in
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order to possess it. We do so not just for our own
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sake, but for the sake of our children, so that they
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may build a better future that will sustain over the
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wider world the responsibilities and blessings of
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freedom.
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---------------------------------------------
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Margaret Thatcher was born in 1925 and went on to earn
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a degree in chemistry from Somerville College, Oxford,
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as well as a master of arts degree from the University
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of Oxford. For some years she worked as a research
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chemist and then as a barrister, specializing in tax
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law. Elected to the House of Commons in 1953, she
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later held several ministerial appointments. She was
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elected leader of the Opposition in 1975.
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###
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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End of this issue of Imprimis, On Line; Information
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about the electronic publisher, Applied Foresight,
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Inc., is in the file, IMPR_BY.TXT
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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