To produce conflict among people having different values and preferences would be easy. Beer and tennis lovers could use threats, intimidation and coercion to make wine and biking lovers play tennis and drink beer. If they did this privately, they'd risk going to jail or getting punched out or shot by bike and wine lovers. So it'd be safer for them to use government power to get their way. And, of course, if one group of people has the right to use government to get its way, what's fair about denying another group the same privilege?
Free people have the right to choose whether they'll use their time and money resources to bike or play tennis, or drink wine or beer. They also have the right to choose what form of health insurance they wish, including none at all. Parents have the right to decide whether their children will say a prayer at school or not, be taught strict moral values or not, and whether they're taught what's passed off as sex education.
Conflict arises when there's government involvement. In the case of government schools, there's either going to be prayer in school or no prayer in school. If I want my kid to have a morning prayer, and the government forces me to pay for schools, I'm going to join forces with like-minded people to try to impose my preference on others, and others will do the same thing. It's a zero-sum game, and one of us must lose. Most government activity is a zero-sum game. But if schools were privately produced, I'd send my kid to the school of my preference and you to yours, and we'd be friends.
Liberty means free choice. If I don't want to be in Clinton's socialized health-care plan, what moral standard dictates that I should be forced to be or ultimately suffer the pain of death if I don't go along?
You say, "Williams, what do you mean, death?" Suppose I refuse to be in Clinton's plan? The government fines me. I say, "Your actions are immoral. I have not violated the rights of others. I refuse to pay the fine."
The government says, "We'll send marshals to take your house to settle the fine." I say, "No, you won't." Then the government says, "Remember Waco and Randy Weaver!" At that point, I either yield to the threats or say, ''Come on, sucker."
The genius of the framers was their call for limited government. The fewer decisions made through the political process, the lower the potential for the brutal human conflict. That's the beauty of market decisions - people with different tastes and values live side by side in harmony. When government decides, the same people fight one another.
There's a lot to be said for the emerging Tenth Amendment and secessionist movements sweeping the nation. Many Americans are demanding that they be left alone.
