Today I was sat in a lecture on Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia, which is a book that inspired the likes of Ragan and Thatcher.
Nozick's theory is that the State should be minimal, that it should be something of a nightwatchman and an enforcer of contracts, rather than a provider of welfare. He believes that the poor, old and sick etc. should be left to the provision of private charities.
I find this a rather interesting proposition because it is so alien to my socialist sentiments, however there's one question that I just can't get off my mind...If the state was minimal and healthcare, food etc. wasn't so readily provided, would we see a culture in which those who follow Jesus could really blossom and stand out? (to a greater degree than at present?)
Following on from this, in his book Discipline and Punish, Foucalt describes our state as one in which those who do not fit within our definition of what is 'normal' are locked up, hidden from society. This includes those who are mentally disturbed.
This got me thinking of moments when Jesus cast out demons from people exhibiting signs of what we might call sectionable behaviour. If we outreached to those institutions to which we now send the 'abnormal', would see more healings?