With Economic Protectionism, President Asserts Control Over Private Companies

A government with power of discernment, whose officials think and feel and act empathetically towards their favored interest group, is a government of tyranny.

Such a government is characterized by officials who use the structure of government to codify their sentimentalities: to protect those causes that, in their opinion, are most deserving of aid.

But, there is no empiric standard that drives such action. Rather, opinion becomes the engine of government, directing its every move. The chief folly of such a government is its relativity. Rule of law is negated; there is no egalitarian impulse ensuring all citizens are treated fairly. There is a hierarchy established amongst the citizenry, which is rooted in the discretion of lawmakers. All are expected to contribute to the government, on which they are told their continued freedom depends, but not all receive the same treatment from government. Some are told they must sacrifice so that others may thrive and, in the long run, the prosperity of the country as a whole will provide for all.

The hardships of those in the citizenry whose interests are not deemed as being sufficiently worthy of the protection of the beneficent hand of government are swept aside, which introduces an element of callousness into a…