Moderation as a Government System

America produced Elon Musk. Its laws allowed a “wiz-kid” from South Africa to send rockets to the sky, build electric cars, revolutionize banking transactions, change social media, and take the internet into a new age. America is falling apart. Donald Trump gave Elon Musk authority over government spending. Musk was not elected; he was appointed. Firing thousands of government officials, slashing research funding, slicing climate change initiatives, and dismantling humanitarian campaigns, Musk has violated the Constitution. He represents America’s greatness and its flaws—how any person in the United States can succeed, benefiting society with innovation, and how the ultra-successful can gain power, oppressing others for their benefit. America needs balance—a government that promotes individual creativity and protects individual freedoms.

Individuals must have the freedom to create. As humans, it is ingrained in our nature to think—to use our experiences to come up with something—and then to bring those lucid ideas to life. Since antiquity, humans have crafted. We have painted stories on the faces of stones in Red Rock Canyon, built temples geometrically aligned with equinoxes in Tenochtitlan, erected gothic cathedrals in France, and constructed steam-engine-powered factories in England. Our creativity has driven progress. Machines have made arduous tasks convenient. Science has developed medicines that save hundreds of millions of lives every year. Philosophy has made political systems more democratic. With creation, comes inequality, for some will supersede others. They will become more wealthy, more intelligent, and more powerful. Consequently, others will have less of those things. In the past two centuries, governments have attempted to stifle this inequality by eliminating individualism and promoting collectivism. Ayn Rand’s Anthem describes this “equal” state. In her world, everything is dismal. There is no art, there is no emotion, and there is no technology. Because the state suppresses their tendency to invent, people have become automatons, unable to think for themselves. They live in perpetual misery. Thus, Rand asserts that equality does not mean happiness. The best state of government is the one in which man is “free from his brothers” meaning that people are happiest when they serve themselves and only themselves. She believes that there should be no controls and everyone’s for themselves. They should not consider the group. There should not be any restraint. The government should be an expedient to the wants of the individual. For from the individual their inventions can benefit all society. She makes the case that if freedom is needed for happiness then inequality is necessary for society.  Moreover, inequality brings about good because it drives competition, giving people the motivation to make their circumstances better. This is where we get the Elon Musk of the world—who grew up with a single mother and a one-bedroom apartment. It is from his endeavors to improve his situation that companies like PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX were made. It is those companies that employ thousands, assist millions, and have changed the world. Therefore, in the process of bettering oneself, the whole community benefits.

There are downsides to complete individualism. To climb to the top, people will exploit others. Take early 20th-century America as an example. During this industrial revolution, factories were built in nearly every major city in the United States. Car companies manufactured automobiles in Michigan. Railroad makers forged steel in Pennsylvania. Food producers canned preservatives in Chicago. America’s economy relied on these industries and their leaders. Thus, the United States government did all that it could to multiply the output of these manufacturers—even if the well-being of the workers was neglected. In his The Jungle, Upton Sinclair, a socialist who advocated for labor rights, illustrated the inhumane working conditions, low wages, and physical abuse workers endured to criticize the U.S. government for not protecting the people. The protagonist, Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian who immigrates to Chicago to support his family, works through the day and night in conveyor belt lines where he is exposed to rotting meat, vermin, and the verbal abuse of his boss. Reflecting on the absence of meaningful government intervention, Jurgis pitied “the people…who saw the government inspectors in Packingtown, [and thought] they were protected.” They were not. Meant to investigate the conditions of the factories on behalf of the workers, the inspectors were instead appointed by the packers and paid by the government to ensure that the best meat was being exported. Evidently, the government prioritized the amount of money the packers would make over the lives of its citizens. In the same way, the Trump presidency has bowed down to Elon Musk, a man who prioritizes the quality of the product over the quality of the people who make the product. Tesla is the most valuable car company in the world. However, people work non-stop, are forced to sleep on the floor, and are fired at a moment’s notice. People deserve to be treated well. They deserve to not be exposed to abuse. The only way they secure those rights is through government involvement. The government must impose regulations to prevent the cruelty of exploitation.For a society to foster creativity while preserving individual freedoms, there must be a balance between government oversight and personal liberty. Excessive regulation stifles innovation and, with it, the essence of our humanity, leading to oppressive societies like the one depicted in Anthem, where existence becomes unbearable. However, the complete absence of government is not a solution either. Without oversight, individuals will exploit one another for personal gain. As illustrated in The Jungle, a powerful few would inevitably rise to dominance, creating a state in which the majority suffer, forced into servitude. To prevent such extremes, a government must be strong and self-sufficient, ensuring it does not become reliant on a single individual. If a government depends economically on an individual yet must impose checks on