Gerry Spence is well known in libertarian circles for representing Randy Weaver in his murder trial. That, along with the alluring title of his new book, Give Me Liberty!, provides reason enough for the book to be picked up, and talked about, amongst lovers of freedom.
Spence has divided Give Me Liberty! into three sections: the first presents his argument that we are, in his words, "the new American slaves"; the second deals with freeing the self; and the third, with freeing the nation. Also presented in Part III are twenty-six "dreams to liberty"; these are steps that Spence recommends we take to reclaim our society. Throughout the book, Spence draws on the power of example, providing scenarios of those whom he seeks to emancipate -- the poor, the injured, the forgotten -- as well as conversations with capitalists, corporate executives, the wealthy, judges, lawyers, and others who, he claims, enslave us as well as themselves. However, the overblown style Spence employs on every page quickly reduces the effectiveness of these images -- they become hyperbole, along with much of the book's narrative.
The primary promulgator of today's slavery is the free market, according to Spence -- our corporate capitalism enslaves those who work for it, those who purchase from it, and those who run it. (He seemingly uses "capitalism" interchangeably with "free enterprise".) We are all slaves to the pursuit of profit, yet we think we are free. Even the judicial system, Spence maintains, is in the thrall of the giant corporations whose existence was enabled by a series of judicial rulings in the 1800s. His approach to dealing with corporations is laid out in his dreams to liberty, but first, Spence describes how to free the self.
It is in Part II -- Freeing the Self -- that Spence is at his best. He understands the true nature of freedom -- born of the sole individual, given to the self by the self, and nurtured by one's refusal to allow others to enslave oneself. He recognizes security as the enemy of freedom, and shares these insights with clarity and passion. Yet Spence spends relatively little time on these ideas, preferring instead, it would seem, to browbeat his readers with more depressing stories and hyperbole, such as: "... work, and its puritanical elevation as among the greatest of virtues, is a religion that converts the diamonds of human creativity into the coal of the industrial machine" (p. 142). Such a technique may work well in the courtroom, but in a book of over three hundred pages, it quickly loses its effectiveness and begins to grate. The effect is to take what should have been an uplifting, positive message and cloak it in pain and suffering. Who would want to pursue liberty when it's presented in that fashion?
Throughout much of the first two sections, the reader might successfully interpret much of Spence's message as coming from a libertarian-leaning position. The disparaging remarks about free enterprise are, to this point, rather few, and one can interpret them in ways that aren't threatening to a pure free-market perspective. With Part III -- Freeing the Nation -- it becomes more challenging to continue with such an interpretation, as Spence begins to lay out his dreams, the steps he recommends we take to free ourselves and our society.
The first solid indication that Spence's view of liberty is at odds with most libertarian interpretations comes in his second dream, which calls for compulsory voting as an interim step toward incorruptible leaders. From there, hopes quickly fade, as he begins to promote other compulsory acts -- such as a lottery to raise campaign funds -- and committees formed to select a council of leaders "to whom we will delegate those responsibilities we do not have the courage to exercise for ourselves". When Spence clearly -- in italics -- renounces self-government as a viable alternative on page 231, one wonders why most libertarians would continue reading. One reason is to have a clear picture of what Gerry Spence is promoting.
Spence says he wants liberty, for all people who are now slaves of the corporations (employees, consumers, competitors, and CEOs alike). To change our government, he suggests the eventual abolition of voting for candidates -- those who serve are to be selected by lot. He calls for committee after committee to oversee, to appoint, to watchdog, not only government and the legal system, but also those dastardly corporations as well. Have we not already got ample evidence of the failure of this approach? More importantly, how does this free individuals -- who are not permitted to duck their selection or appointment -- and, by extension, society?
What Spence is advocating seems to be an egalitarian socialism -- reading between his rhetoric it's much of the same class-struggle arguments that led to the bolsheviks co-opting the Russian revolution. The most casual student of politics recognizes the failure of their form of socialist government. He makes excellent points about the inequity of power and justice in our society today, yet his solutions seem as open to domination by special interests as the present system. Spence's denouncement of our current economic system as a workable one misses the mark, because from the outset it has not been a system of free markets.
Spence employs great examples, and paints evocative (if overblown by the hyperbole) images. His legal points are no doubt accurate. He's an advocate for the downtrodden, and he wants "the little people" to enjoy a freedom they've never had, according to him. What he's proposing in order to accomplish that isn't liberty in any sense that most libertarians would use the term. Gerry Spence is extremely passionate about something he believes in very strongly, and probably thinks that what he's advocating is something better than what most people have today. But, what he's proposing seems to be a different set of chains, perhaps with fur-lined cuffs to be more comfortable for the wearer.
If the cry is "Give me liberty!" of this variety, my reply is, "Please don't!"
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