Freedom and Agency

This is the fifth in our five-part series titled "Mormonism, Agency, and Politics." In the first post we discussed the importance of agency in Mormon doctrine. In the second we addressed Satan's strategy of limiting our agency. In the third, we addressed the view that agency can be restricted simply by restricting freedom. In the fourth, we examined the idea that agency can be restricted by removing differences between good and evil and explored its political implications.

Throughout this series we've contested the idea that government action (taxation, regulation, etc.) in any way limits our agency. We Mormon Liberals have been told quite a few times that such actions restrict agency, and that restricting agency is Satan's plan. So, by the transitive power of liberals-are-evil, that means that anyone who is for (responsible) taxation or (balanced) regulation is on Satan's team.

Well, we Mormon Liberals aren't on Satan's team, thank you very much. And, as we've argued previously, we are for government intervention because we honestly believe it helps people.

We hope this series has demonstrated that we can be very pro-agency and also pro-regulation, pro-taxation, and pro-government.

We also hope this series demonstrates our ability to be both liberal and Mormon at the same time without cutting corners on either. The gospel is about freedom and agency, and lefty politics are also about freedom and agency. In fact, we believe these progressive, liberal, and lefty policies are actually more conducive to freedom than their conservative counterparts. Here are just a few ways we believe that liberal politics lead to increased freedom:

We believe freedom means that hard work leads to enough income to support a family (it doesn't now).

We believe freedom means allowing women to make difficult decisions about their body without consternation (they can't now).

We believe freedom means not condemning the sinner, and not condemning things that actually aren't sins (many still condemn things the Church calls non-sins).

We believe freedom means an environment that is not destroyed by pollution, air that is not hazardous to our health, and an ecosystem not upset by folks out to make a profit (the ecosystem is upset).

We believe freedom means an economy that is not controlled by a few wealthy at the top, an economy that doesn't drive people into destitution, and an economy that gives everyone a fair shot regardless of who their parents are (not happening now)

We believe freedom means being allowed to hold whichever political beliefs we want to and not feel like second-class members of the Church (frequently is not the case).

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The Series:

Part 1: The Importance of Agency

Part 2: Restricting Agency

Part 3: Political implications of the view that force limits agency

Part 4: Political implications of the view that removing distinctions limits agency