Our Threatened Freedom

Are We Becoming a Postage Stamp Republic

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Political Studies

Lesson: 126-169

Genre: Conversation

Track: 126

Dictation Name: Vol. J - Part 09 - Are We Becoming a Postage Stamp Republic Location/Venue: Unknown

Year: 1980’s – 1990’s

[Dr. Rushdoony] Are we becoming a postage stamp republic? This is R.J. Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom.

When I was a boy I learned a great deal about politics from my stamp collection. In those days, the total number of stamps issued by all the strong nations were very, very few. A collection of all the world’s stamps except the most valuable could fit into one large album, covering all stamps ever issued in 1940. Now, almost that many are issued in 2 or 3 years. In those days many countries were known to us as postage stamp republics. They were known as very shaky nations, politically and economically, and not likely to have a stable administration. Every few years a new dictator would take over these postage stamp republics. Two things especially marked these countries, and every boy could spot them in his stamp album. First, the postage stamp republics issued new stamps all the time, whereas the strong countries rarely changed their stamps. These weaker nations issued new ones several times a year. The main market for these issues was the stamp dealer and collector. Cheap stamps for the unwary buyer. Sometimes more stamps were sold to collectors than to users. Second, these postage stamp republics had very obviously unstable economies. Not only were they constantly issuing new stamps, but the postal rates kept rising. Inflation as a fact of economic life was plainly confessed on every postage stamp.

The strong nations then had an unchanging postal cost. The weak unstable and inflationary countries had a fluctuating postal rate. Thus as a boy, I learned not only geography and history, but a great deal about politics and economics from my stamp collection.

It is a rather sad knowledge now, because I can now see that the United States has become a postage stamp republic. Every so many days a new stamp or a sheet of different stamps is issued. These are issued to make money, because Washington knows that a few million Americans who save stamps will buy and never use those new stamps. The result is a considerable profit to the postal service, one of the few areas where it comes out ahead. Moreover, our stamps also reflect inflation. In 1981 we saw an unprecedented fact in American history. We had three different postal rates in one year, 15 cents, 18 cents, and 20 cents. We may see more dramatic rises in postal rates in the years just ahead.

Postage stamp republics have a poor track record in history. They are marked by political instability, inflation, and a loss of freedom. It is time we changed something besides our postal rates.

This has been R.J. Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom.