In her book Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher[1] described the essential character of American society at the beginning of the twenty-first century in this way: “America is more than a nation or state or a superpower; it is an idea—and one which has transformed and continues to transform us all. America is unique—in its power, its wealth, its outlook on the world. But its uniqueness has roots, and those roots are essentially English. . . . It was from our Locke and Sidney, our Harrington and Coke, that your Henry and your Jefferson, your Madison and Hamilton took their bearings.”[2] Of course the men Thatcher cited were strong advocates of limited government. The question before us is whether limited government actually means anything in our time in American culture and politics. The thesis of this essay is that the only way forward is to go backward, back to a commitment to a sharply more limited government than we have in America today.
Chad Brand serves as Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics. He is also Associate Dean of Biblical and Theological Studies at Boyce College and Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.Have our latest content delivered right to your inbox!
