For the Christian futurist, Joel McDurmon’s article Providence, Pandemic, and Progress is a must-read.
The progress of technology in history increases the power of humanity for both good and evil. This means that the power for free markets is increased, but it also means that the power of criminals, criminal syndicates, and tyrannies is also increased.
This dual increase of power means that the potential fallout from an imbalance of good versus evil in society also grows over time. Good and evil are in certain respects a zero-sum game. If evil prevails, it does so at a corresponding deficit of good, because evil prevails only in places where good should be, in the hearts of individuals. A disruption in the social equilibrium between good and evil then has consequences multiplied by the increased power available in any age. This is why it is absolutely crucial to have a moral populace if we are to have a free society, and this need grows over time.
The famous sentence from John Adams describes this situation: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
The same sentiment, however, underlies the Proverb: “When a land transgresses, it has many rulers” (Prov. 28:2). As evil manifests more greatly in the hearts of individuals, people look for ways to suppress it. People seem to want to deal with increased wickedness that is magnified by power by using more or opposing power—power must be suppressed with power, or so is the most common sentiment (which is only sometimes correct). In short, in order to address growing evils in society, people demand more government, i.e., “many rulers.” Government is by definition power, so it never misses a chance to respond to this call.
from Joel McDurmon’s article Providence, Pandemic, and Progress i
So, go read it!
(My own Sci-Fi flavoured comentary is here.)
