The Dark Side of the Welfare State
Public Assistance as an Instrument of Domination
The True Nature of the Welfare State
Governments and regimes throughout history have fundamentally been institutions designed to direct and regulate organized societies on behalf of the ruling class through either force or fraud. It may seem like this definition would label governments themselves as evil. However, I should clarify that, while cynical it may be, I would argue that just as in the case of individuals, force and deception can play both a positive and necessary role. Additionally, while the concept of the ruling class carrying a pejorative connotation, ruling classes are not fundamentally sinister, although, throughout history, they almost always adopt an antagonistic role over the lower classes in their respective societies.
It is fundamentally true that governments are institutions of force, possessing and exercising force and propaganda in increasingly nuanced and sophisticated way to ensure that domestic, and even foreign populations stay within their designated bounds. Today, though, many people feel as though the government holds a secondary function, perhaps even a new primary one, where it ensures the welfare of the population through a system of programs that promote fairness and equity throughout society.
Governments have historically been complicit in siphoning wealth and other resources into the hands of the ruling class in the form of tax money, subsidies, etc. Yet today, most developed countries have lucrative public assistance programs and nationalized institutions and industries such as education and, in many countries, healthcare. Food, housing, education, healthcare, disability, and retirement, have, since the beginning of the industrial revolution, have been declared as rights, and often subsequently, to some extent, provided by the government.
Yet therein lays the problem. The government itself is primarily the institution of force, and it rarely excels in anything but domination. In truth, governments act in an apparently amoral or even immoral fashion, carrying out acts of seizure, violence, and fraud on behalf of their citizens. If these actions were committed by a private actor, would certainly lead to their condemnation as a criminal. In short, even democratic governments do our dirty work so that we can reap the benefits with a clear conscience, blissfully ignorant of the atrocities that it took to acquire those advantages.
“So, what then, is the result of the supposed ulterior motive of government assistance?” You may say. “Are these not good things? Doesn’t this new shift in government focus in supporting everyone, even those with the least political power, mean that democracy is working? In any case, these things are all rights. Aren’t government resources better spent on securing those than protecting the fortunes of a small cadre of billionaires?
Good may not be the right word for it. It is hard to argue that, at least on some level, our present-day welfare state is beneficial and improves the overall quality of life in modern nations. However, it all comes with a cost, much of which is rooted in the true functions of the redistribution of resources.
As mentioned before, a small club of wealthy and well-connected individuals make up our country’s elite class. These people can tap their immense resources to influence, undermine, and even direct public policy according to their interests. We may have the ballot, but they have their checkbooks. Elections come every 2-4 years; lobbyists are in contact with government officials every day. Despite any pretensions toward the greatness of liberal democracy, our system is fundamentally plutocratic. Our government is only the executive arm of the overarching system. Unlike other eras, where the top rung of society was dominated by people who at least apparently espoused national values, this task is today (poorly) delegated to the political class that runs our government. The fact that the wealthiest members of our society have the government firmly under its control cannot be overlooked. Washington depends on it for its very survival. For one, the wealthiest 1% of citizens pay a whopping 26% of all income taxes, even after all their tax cuts. The bottom 50% of earners, by contrast, only contribute about 3.1%.[1] In addition, large corporations –and high-rolling donors such as George Soros and Charles Koch— invest in government policies, contributing donations, favors[2], and even insider stock advice to our elected officials on Capitol Hill. If you think that everyday citizens dictate the country through the ballot, you’re kidding yourself. On top of that, they have a mutually beneficial relationship with each other. By contrast, the oft-complaining average voter is, in reality, little more than a nuisance for any politician. If you ever got the feeling that elected officials are contemptuous of the public, you may be right. Elections may be advertised as a democratic process whereby citizens elect their representatives, but in reality, it is a Bonapartist mechanism that functions to take the temperature of the public, make them think they’re in control, and keep them placated.
So what does this all mean in relation to public services? They serve a dual purpose. For one, public assistance like food stamps allow corporations to underpay their employee and deny them benefits, since the government is able to fill the gap. Recent reports that businesses such as McDonald’s and Walmart, are, in fact, among the greatest beneficiaries of SNAP programs and Medicaid.[3]
Furthermore, the act of providing assistance reinforces the dominance of the state over its people. The 19th century American economist Thorstein Veblen elaborates on this in The Theory of the Leisure Class, where he states that charitable donations, philanthropy, and other such ostensible acts of altruism performed by the robber barons of his day amounted to nothing more than display of conspicuous waste. This meant that the elites in society demonstrated their superiority by bestowing the surplus of resources upon lower classes. In terms of today’s welfare state, resources are generously given to lower classes, and even middle classes. The way student loan forgiveness is dangled in front of debt-saddled college alumni to garner votes in a prime example of this. This has possibly led to the strange allegiance that American progressives and “democratic socialists” have developed in the years since the 1970s. These leftists may pretend to think that the U.S. government is a democratic entity that serves their purposes and defends them against the abuses of private power. Deep down, however, many accept that the government is run by a plutocracy and serves to placate the lower classes for their own advantage. Like the obsequious serfs they are, they are thankful for their crumbs, allowing them to trade the attainment of social status for the emulation of it, e.g. fancy cars, expensive clothes, etc.
This, of course, leads to an ever-increasing state of dependency. This is because providing resources to those who should be left to earn for themselves leads to a state of desperate dependency that manifests as entitlement and disguises itself as rights. Ironically, the very practice designed to pacify the masses has become a catalyst for unrest, as proletariats, precariats, and others castrated and rendered beholden to the system clamor for more relief. Many in today’s society are hopelessly dependent upon the system. Of course, the government has this figured out too, where angry rioters are permitted to raise hell upon their environment, as long as they don’t compromise the system itself. Consider the response of the George Floyd riots in contrast to the Capital Hill riots. Then you’ll see what I mean.
This interpretation of the welfare state hopes to lift the veil from the eyes of anyone who sees it as a natural good. In reality, it serves only to ingratiate the people to their superiors and foster obedience and dependency. The fact, however, is that there is no substitute for self-reliance, resilience, and independence. Understanding the true nature of this so-called “assistance” is a good way to start to comprehend the true nature of the state as fundamentally at odds with individual freedom. Whether it is sending the Gestapo to your doorstep or a check to your mailbox, its goal is to control you for the sake of the ruling dictatorship. Don’t let it.
[1] https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/summary-latest-federal-income-tax-data-2023-update/#:~:text=The%20top%201%20percent%20of%20taxpayers%20paid%20%24723%20billion%20in,to%2042.3%20percent%20in%202020.
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/08/how-philanthropy-benefits-the-super-rich
[3] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/19/walmart-and-mcdonalds-among-top-employers-of-medicaid-and-food-stamp-beneficiaries.html