In Gods We Trust?: Social Security Among the Ancient Incas

0:00When we consider the problems posed by excessive political activity, we frequently begin by seeking to classify government according to types. There are the absolute monarchy, the limited monarchy, the democracy, the republic, and many other forms. Very infrequently do we hear anything mentioned about theocracy, a combination of secular and ecclesiastic power. Communism and socialism, both of which are not types of government, really, but economic theories, depend for their existence on a kind of theocratic structure. Communism and socialism both elevate the state to the position of a deity and combine all authority, ecclesiastic and state in the person of the man or the bureau, which wields total economic control, be he dictator or chairman of the worker's council. Communism, socialism merges the faith of the church, the teaching of the schools, and the authority of the federal, state, and local governments into a rod of iron wielded mercilessly by the man at the top, be he Inca, Caliph, Caesar, Führer or President Man's upward march toward civilization has not been a simple, natural growth.

1:32He has been forced to struggle valiantly in order to progress. And under the heel of repressive state control, man has made little progress. In such a condition, he has to struggle mainly to survive. The principal battle which has engaged humanity's attention has been the fight for power, who shall rule and who shall be ruled. When freedom from government was stated in the Declaration of Independence as an American principle, man's progress in this country became unparalleled. Today, with one out of three receiving some sort of financial assistance from our government, in the form of tax money, re-diverted to privilege groups. We realize belatedly that freedom from government, which was the hallmark of America, has nearly been abandoned as a national policy. Instead, we are rapidly re-approaching a theocratic state. The more completely we look to the government for our welfare, for guidance, for direction, the more completely Approximately fourteen hundred and fifty years before Christ, the powerful hulking figure of a man dominated the politics of Peru in South America. This man created a

3:01government which exercised greater power over its subjects than any other government of of which there is a trace remaining today. He was a socialist dictator, and his government was a theocracy. Today, Peru is a republic in South America. It is located on the west coast, and it is a beautiful mountainous country of nearly 5,000 square miles. On the southern border, 12,000 feet above sea level, is the highest lake in the world, Lake Titicaca. The ancient inhabitants of the Andes Mountains set up a government at Cuzco. Here they established what is unquestionably one of the most frightening systems of rule ever devised, state socialism, with the tyrant at the top who was deified. The Incas were sun-worshippers. The head of their government was the head of their church, and he was the same man. This combination Education of Religion and Politics provides a theocracy, and Manco Capac may have been the first theocrat in the Western Hemisphere. He was the first Inca, and he established a government which was intricate and highly organized. He built a colossal bureaucracy,

4:22the ramifications of which penetrated into every home in the land. According to his edict, Only those who were related to him by blood had the right to rule. Thus Manchilcapac was represented in the provinces by governors of the royal blood. Officials were placed above ten thousand families, one thousand families, and even ten families, on the principle that the rays of the sun entered everywhere, and that therefore the light of the Inca must Manco Capac was apparently skilled in architecture and engineering. He and his workers pushed long, straight government trails through vast mountains and bridged seemingly impossible gorges with magnificent government spans which today are still in use. They also built long, Long, straight government roads, which are as serviceable as today's improved macadamized surfaces. They had not developed the wheel, so all inclines called for stairs. The Inca people and their sturdy beast of burden, the llama, plotted up and down thousands of steps.

5:38They erected huge government temples and government palaces, which were adorned with gold and and silver, with countless images and ornaments. Sumptuous government baths were supplied with hot and cold running water by means of pipes laid in the earth. The luxury of the Inca chief and those who were related to him have caused some writers to feel that the Incan civilization was highly advanced. In truth, it was not. Comforts may May have been a lot of the politicians, but anything except comfort prevailed for the subjects. There was no such thing as personal freedom. Without freedom, a slave culture emerges. Every man, woman, and child had his status and identity, the Inca Social Security number, branded on him at birth. Since this was a complete welfare state, each person was naturally the responsibility of the government, and the government had to look after its property and maintain an accurate inventory of its assets.

6:48Status identification was the logical means to this end. Each was under constant surveillance, as much as were the lamas of the royal herds. Individual effort was unheard of. A man's Man's life was planned for him by the authorities from the age of five years. Even the woman he was to marry was selected for him by the government officials. Manco Capac was opposed to individual liberty on principle. In his mind, freedom was an attribute belonging only to those who ruled. Everyone else must be ruled. This ancient Inca was intent on molding Socialism is conformity to a centralized plan carried to its ultimate end, and under Manuil Capac this socialist theocracy reached its greatest development. Every man, woman, and child belonged to the state. A government official determined where each one should live, and children were The Inca were not permitted to live with their parents. Being wards of the state, they became state property.

8:04Quarrels, originating even within a household, were settled by a police officer, a relative of the Inca. Men who were of the proper age to marry had a mate selected for them by a government official. Women who lost their husbands were mated the same way. No one owned any private property. The Inca owned everything and everybody. All production was his, all land, all improvements on the land. He assigned inhabitants to the various dwellings, nor were they allowed to settle there indefinitely. Reassignments were made every year, so that the people were periodically split up, segregated, divided, and thus unable ever to organize resistance to the Inca.

8:52Tasks were assigned to each human being from the age of eight years. There was full employment. Most were required to work in the fields, and only the barest of subsistence was retained by anyone for his own use. Even worse, if possible, was the Inca system of education. Thought control was thoroughly understood and practiced, and all children came to learn that their sole purpose in existence was to serve the state. Groups of individuals, usually the most handsome children, were herded off at an early age to become victims of sacrifice later on. They were taught intricate dance steps, how to utter mystical prayers, and to participate in an Awesome Ceremony, the culmination of which was their own death. And this they rehearsed for years, until the moment of supreme sacrifice. The slightest infraction of rules brought a public flogging, many times continued, until death ensued. And the greatest crime of all, according to the historical records available, was the crime of blasphemy against the Son, or in other words, of disagreeing with the government. In the minds of the Andean people,

10:10the government and their God were one. Today we look with horror at such barbaric practices as human sacrifice, totalitarian government, and complete regimentation. We marvel that the Inca people could have been and so superstitious as to fall under such despotic control. Yet today, under the urging of professional politicians, many in America, this land dedicated to freedom, have become convinced of the value of socialism, which insensibly leads to the same conclusion. For socialism can be defined as that theory of economic and political action, which provides that all property and all means of production and distribution shall be controlled by a centralized authority.

11:04The American theory of self-government began as an assumption that each man had a right to control himself. He did not have to be controlled and if left to his own devices could provide for himself and his dependence. The American theory was so effective that in the three hundred odd years it was even partially practiced, it revolutionized all standards of living and elevated them to peaks beyond anything ever dreamed of by the ancient theocrats. The American dream of freedom is based on the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that each human being has certain inalienable rights.

11:50In theory, the government of the United States was established to provide for domestic tranquility its sole function to protect the lives and properties of Americans. But when government considers itself and its laws in the nature of divine decrees, then regiments its people, and by means of taxation, praise upon the property of these people, where can one go for protection? The ancient Inca civilization, although it left traces of magnificence and splendor, was hacked to pieces by the swords of the conquering Spanish invaders who met with little resistance. History tells us that the Inca people themselves had little spirit when it came to defending their homes.

12:37They were so accustomed to being ruled that the thought of resistance to authority never occurred to them. Their civilization perished, and their record should stand as a timely warning to us. That in which we place a blind trust is inevitably our god of the moment. If we place our trust in the care of politicians, government decrees, centralized planning, and look to a government agency for our security, our welfare and our support, we are in fact abandoning freedom and accepting a pagan faith. If this nation is to endure, it must endure as one of free men.