“When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law.” – Frédéric Bastiat
We stand in an age where legality often opposes morality, and as Bastiat warned, this tension breeds a dangerous choice for the individual: abandon conscience or abandon obedience. Neither outcome leads to a free society. Instead, the fabric of liberty unravels, thread by thread.
The Inverted Law and Legalized Plunder
The original purpose of law, according to Bastiat, was to protect life, liberty, and property. But when the state becomes the source of plunder—extracting wealth, rights, and power under the guise of legality—it ceases to serve justice and instead institutionalizes theft. The more laws that contradict moral principles, the more citizens internalize that legality, not morality, defines right and wrong. This corrupts their moral compass.
Kohlberg’s Six Stages and the Arrested Moral Development of Modern Man
Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral development theory outlines six stages:
- Obedience and Punishment – Do what avoids punishment.
- Self-Interest – Do what benefits you.
- Interpersonal Accord – Do what pleases others.
- Law and Order – Do what maintains order and respects authority.
- Social Contract – Do what protects rights and values agreed upon.
- Universal Moral Principles – Do what is right by conscience and eternal principles.
Most people plateau at stage 3 or 4—doing what others expect or blindly obeying laws—even if the law is unjust. Rare is the person who ascends to stage 6, guided by truth, not conformity. As Bastiat and Kohlberg imply, a corrupted system halts moral development, creating adults who remain ethically immature.
The Infantilization of Citizens
“As the state grows, one’s sense of self-ownership is destroyed, liberty is traded for security, the human spirit diminishes, and the citizenry increasingly thinks and behaves like dependent children.” – Eric Englund
When the law relieves individuals of moral agency by prescribing every detail of life, people grow dependent. This is not development; it is regression. Citizens turn to the state for approval, protection, and purpose—resembling obedient children rather than responsible adults.
The Measure of a Nation
“The true test of civilization is…the kind of man the country turns out.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
A nation’s greatness is not in its GDP or weapons, but in its citizens: Are they brave? Just? Self-governing? Or have they been conditioned to obedience, intoxicated by comfort and afraid to question power? If the men it produces cannot distinguish between law and morality—or worse, conflate the two—it is not a civilization, but a managed herd.
The Path Forward: Raising Men of Moral Clarity
Reversing this decline begins with:
- Teaching absolute moral truths, rooted in conscience and nature, not political convenience.
- Exposing legalized injustice so people do not internalize it.
- Encouraging personal responsibility, not dependence on institutions.
- Rewarding those who speak truth over those who parrot consensus.
- Uplifting integrity over compliance.
A free society is not built by laws but by men. When the soul of the man is crushed, the laws that follow are merely the chains of slavery.
