What’s to blame for the Broken Society?

A CoffeeHouser, William, asks how I can blame socialism for the Broken Society – a problem which he says is an “absence, not the promotion, of a collective responsibility”. This cuts straight to the heart of the problem. It is a play on words. “Collectivism” in the terms of state socialism (and the current welfare state) has become an agenda for the atomisation of society. It means more selfishness. The more folk rely on the state, the less they depend on each other. If welfare means a family is better off apart than together, the economic rationale of a family vanishes. If welfare pays more than minimum wage work, is it any wonder so many choose welfare?

I have a simple rule: more government means less community. As a great woman once said: 

“There is no such thing as society. There is living tapestry of men and women and people and the beauty of that tapestry and the quality of our lives will depend upon how much each of us is prepared to take responsibility for ourselves and each of us prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate.”