You cannot make men good by law: and without good men you cannot have a good society.

I'm re-reading Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis for another post I'm working on and came across this interesting quote that applies largely to the Healthcare debate in our Nation right now.

I do not mean for a moment that we ought not to think, and think hard, about improvements in our social and economic system. What I do mean is that all that thinking will be mere moonshine unless we realize that nothing but the courage and unselfishness of individuals is ever going to make any system work properly. It is easy enough to remove the particular kinds of graft or bullying that go on under the present system: but as long as men are twisters or bullies they will find some new way of carrying on the old game under the new system. You cannot make men good by law: and without good men you cannot have a good society.