Is revolution possible in a Western culture? Author Mark Steyn thinks so. And he points to recent mob attacks at the Wisconsin State Fair and in Philadelphia as a possible foreshadowing of more escalated, pre-revolutionary riots in Greece and London.
Chuck Colson recently interviewed Mark Steyn for BreakPoint on Steyn’s latest book, After America: Get Ready for Armageddon. Steyn explains why the problem is ultimately a moral one:
Increasing dependency, disincentivizing self-reliance, absolving the citizenry from responsibility for their actions: the multitrillion-dollar debt catastrophe is not the problem but merely the symptom. It’s not just about balancing the books, but about balancing the most basic impulses of society. These are structural and, ultimately, moral questions. Credit depends on trust, and trust pre-supposes responsibility. So, if you have a credit boom in an age that has all but abolished personal responsibility, it’s not hard to figure how it’s going to end.
As Mr. Colson says, the moral breakdown in Western culture is the reason we’re building more prisons. Is it too far a jump to think this is yet another sign that America is in a “pre-revolution state”?