Nock saw the state as “them,” not “us,” and “them” really came to mean Roosevelt. You must know that Roosevelt was hated by many during the Great Depression. Not disliked, hated. The laissez faire crowd saw every move toward government relief of intolerable conditions as government self-aggrandizement—Nock’s term, not mine. Despite the fact that people were desperate in the streets, extreme-sport capitalists saw only usurpation of the powers of the church (as the precursor to the modern social relief agency) and the individual—that old fall-back, the rugged individual—Nock’s term, not mine.

Professor Nock pulls no punches. With a Beckian flourish he proclaims, “This regime was established by a coup d'État of a new and unusual kind, practicable only in a rich country.” Yup. A coup d’etat. You almost want to ask for Mr. Roosevelt’s birth certificate.

Nock’s antipathy to Roosevelt knew few boundaries. Perversely, Nock saw in the New Deal, “the erection of po

saw the state as “them,” not “us”

Bingo! I think that is one of the major differences between the US and many Western European countries and the reason Americans are scared witless over what is for us, normal, civilized things like universal healthcare, etc. In my home country, Denmark, we aren't "at war" with our government because they ARE us. They work for US, not the other way around. It reminds me of that saying:

"The people should never fear their government, the government should fear its people."

Exactly.

When not more than half the people support something, then it becomes tyranny to the other half. And majorities have often proved to be wrong, and trample the principled few.

RAW DEAL: The New Deal and FDR in a new light

The New Deal consummated the revolution in centralism launched by Abraham Lincoln in 1861-65 and extended by Woodrow Wilson, 1913-21.

Exactly. By attacking your government, you are attacking yourself. People should embrace their government, and when their government does something you don't like, don't seek to destroy or undermine it. Seek to change it. Instead of screaming like lunatics, bellowing fascist slogans and lies, write your member of congress and your senator, and tell them that you, their employer, are not satisfied. Make the voice of the people to the government louder than the voice of the rich and special interest groups. Don't scream about them, talk to them!

"The people should never fear their government, the government should fear its people."

I like that. How do we scare the government.?

In America? Tell them they WILL be held accountable for their actions. Or, make the receiving pay-offs to senators etc from lobbyists illegal. Or put a cap on the amount of money any one corporation can donate to a party. Or give people more than two identical political parties to choose from, so there was actually a possibility that policies and politicians could be expelled, that aren't actually for, or by, the people. THAT would scare the bajeezes out of them. .