The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 STATUS: END PRODUCT OF WELFARE 313welfarism, it may be appropriateto consider at the same time thecondition in which the non-Indianpopulation of Canada is likely tofind itself after we have lived justhalf that period in the great welfaresociety that has been designedfor the rest of the people of thiscountry. Are the conditions of thewelfare state in which every citizenhas been enrolled in any significantway different from thosewhich, for a century, have characterizedthe Indian's way of life?If the direction and regulation ofthe daily life of the Indian hasbrought him to his sorry plight,is there any likelihood that thesame kind of policy, pursued nationally,will produce among therest of us the kind of growth thatwe envisage for Canada's secondcentury? This is hardly likely tobe achieved unless there existsboth within and without the reservethe kind of society in whicha man can develop his independenceand grow to maturity ;where he will discover the motivesand incentives that are lackingand that are so necessary to thegrowth of any self-reliant humanbeing.Where Does One Turn?There was a time when such asociety could be found outside theIndian reserves. That kind of societyis now a vanishing phenomenon.The whole of our nation isfast becoming one great Indianreserve in which the agents of thestate are directing our lives anddestinies as certainly and as completelyas they have been dragooningthe lives and destinies of theIndian people for the past hundredyears. It is now not simply a questionof where the Indian can go toregain some self-respect and independence.The question is whetherany of us can maintain his ownself-reliance and identity as viablehuman beings in the face of theassault upon our lives by thepower of the state. The welfarecult, to which almost all politiciansappear to be committed in the mistakennotion that the individualwishes to be treated as a dependentchild, has moved Canadiansbehind the protective shadows ofan all-enveloping, maple-leaf curtain.To some, it may seem a welcomeshelter from the adversitiesof the times. But as surely as itreduced the Indian to a state ofslavish dependence and deprivedhim of his freedom to Iive as aself-sufficient human being, so itwill cause us all to degenerate intomere digits whose only real existencewill be found in the booksand c·omputers, the statistics andreports of the proliferating governmentsof this country.My one hope is that the Indianmay regain his soul and find his