Daniel Isin GECIV 100 Sister Weber 14th January 2021 Week 2 Essay 1 True liberty must exist for citizens of any nation to be provident and self reliant as within their rights Yet only when citizens are accountable free agents can true liberty be sustained Provident living is living within one s means avoiding debt and planning for the future Provident living exists in partnership with self reliance accepting personal responsibility for one s own financial spiritual emotional and political well being Both should be made available to citizens of any country for the benefit of their country and themselves If people live within their means they avoid debt If people cater to their spiritual and emotional needs public virtue increases A collective effort to take responsibility for one s own life could increase the overall standard of living in that nation The Book of Mormon is chalk full of examples that demonstrate this truth For example after Jesus Christ had ministered to the Nephites they had all things in common and enjoyed a period of peace and happiness To be provident and self reliant the governing powers of a nation must provide a nurturing environment for true liberty to thrive True liberty is a delicate balance of unlimited liberty and total order and control True liberty exists only when law order and freedom are balanced There must be laws for order to prevail Laws govern the universe and dictate the most complex systems of incredible organisms we see every day If the universe operates on sets of laws why not people Laws create a boundary for freedom to be exercised Without that boundary freedom becomes a vice not a virtue Governing bodies have the responsibility to ensure their people are provided with just laws to protect their rights and foster peace Establishing laws is one thing upholding them is another The right to make decisions that either uphold or break laws of the land and all other decisions is called agency Accountability is a readiness or obligation to accept blame or account for one s conduct All parties are free agents but for order to reign all must be accountable to the laws of the land Where a strong sense of accountability presides and agency is morally exercised public virtue increases Some falsely believe that greater happiness can be achieved without the barrier of laws However a complete breakdown of laws leads to anarchy And conversely a lack of freedom is tyranny With a rightful balance of liberty and law people may comfortably live safe provident and self reliant lives without fear of their rights being obstructed Nations that practice this will see an increase in their standard of living and public virtue