The state as a replacement to the family

Created: 2022-11-11 08:09

We used to have very weak states. Mainly because it was bureaucratically impossible to micromanage a nation when all the data processing was fully analogical. See Society went from material goods based to information services based & Computers enable micromanagement

An emperor cared mainly about collecting tax and waging wars. He didn’t care if the guy from across the street robbed you. That was up to local authorities, which were all locally managed, to handle. And often it was even left to the people to solve.

This required strong (extended) families and communities. Which would be able to provide for the individuals. The bonds between individuals in the local level were required to be strong. Which made for individuals to be weak, as in the community and family would take priority over the individual.

Once the state and market started to gain power and the ability to micromanage, they realized that it would be in their best interest to replace the role of the family and local community and provide to the individual (education, health care, etc.). This makes the individual stronger as in they can make their own decisions instead of the decisions that are the best for the family and local community.

#question However, is an individual that selfishly makes decisions the best for society as a whole? Is the state and market involvement in the personal lives of people for their best interest? Doesn’t the family and local community know better about what’s best to the individual than the government and market which are following their agenda?

#question state and market being larger “organizations” (very loose usage of the word here) are much more capable in providing better solutions to some of the problems that individuals and communities face. Eg. a local community could never subsidize the research of cancer treatments. What should be the balance here?

#question today’s world enjoys (and suffers) the benefits of technology, which in the past weren’t there. That is mainly what enabled the possibility of a stronger state and market. How would the world today look like if the family and local communities were the strong ones? Is that even possible or was the strengthening of the state and market an unavoidable by product of the introduction of theology “progress” (the digital revolution basically)?

NOTE: this connects to “Community” and “The Role of the Local Church” notes in Biblekasten. As well as 1 Timothy 4 which talks about how to care for the widows (church should care for those with no family and those with family should rely on their family).