Necessity Versus Law

In “Necessity Versus Law,” Rushdoony exposes how the ancient pagan maxim “necessity knows no law” steadily replaced God’s law as the governing principle of Western society, allowing rulers, states, and eventually individuals to justify any action—however immoral—by appeals to emergency, public welfare, or reason of state. Once necessity became the “higher law,” God’s law was reduced to a private concern, morality collapsed, and both personal conduct and civil authority were freed from accountability. The state emerged as the chief beneficiary, defining itself as the realm of necessity and therefore beyond law, claiming jurisdiction over every sphere of life while acknowledging no authority above itself. Rushdoony argues that totalitarianism cannot be defeated by fear or resistance alone but only by rejecting its foundational premise and restoring the absolute sovereignty of God and His law. True freedom comes not by bowing to the supposed necessities of the state but by confessing that the only real necessity is obedience to God, whose law alone restrains tyranny and gives life.

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