Power, Laws and Governments
Natural
Rules exist. They govern our life. As stated, ignore gravity on the Earth and
the consequences of jumping a great distance without devices to offset gravity
will have a severe NEGATIVE outcome. You crash.
Are
there only Natural Rules? We have already seen that even in early tribal life
there were ‘norms’ that governed behavior.
In earlier times, “most people probably enjoyed the close
intimacy of the roaming band, but those unfortunates who incurred the hostility
or mockery of their fellow band members probably suffered terribly. Modern
foragers occasionally abandon and even kill old or disabled people who cannot
keep up with the band. Unwanted babies and children may be slain, and there are
even cases of religiously inspired human sacrifice. Harari, Yuval Noah.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (p. 52). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
At some point the naïve tribal groups need leadership,
whether it was for the hunt, resolving disputes including distribution of
spoils of the hunt, where to go next, camp or not, all the stuff of day to day
living. Groups realized that some of the members had superior skills in some
areas that made them leaders. Ultimately the followers had to cede that power
to the leaders to produce a more efficient result or one easily accepted by the
tribe.
Before there was Government (and after), some people
dominate others by superior intellect, technology, guile, better stamina
(including disease resistance) and luck. These people can maintain recognition through skilled
persuasion and wisdom, ultimately this translates into Power.
There is a reason to cede power - to effectively do more stuff more efficiently. Not everybody can the boss.With power can come oppression. Who wants to be oppressed? No rational human unless there is a benefit to that individual or group. Those that support power often feel that if they withdrew support the power would fade.
Any discussion of the nature and ends of liberty and
justice inevitably touches upon the role of government and law in society.
Why? “The interventions of higher communities, such as the
state, in the activities of lower bodies should therefore be made with
reference to the political common good: i.e., the conditions that enable all
persons to make the free choices through which they fulfill themselves.
Subsidiarity thus combines axioms of non-interference and assistance.” Gregg,
Samuel. The Essential Natural Law (p. 54). Fraser Institute. Kindle Edition.
There exists a natural law concept of
subsidiarity. “The word itself is derived from the Latin subsidium, meaning “to
assist.” This idea was partially formulated by (Thomas) Aquinas when he
commented, “it is contrary to the proper character of the state’s government to
impede people from acting according to their responsibilities—except in
emergencies” (Gregg, The Essential Natural Law p. 53).
Concepts of Government and Law are central to “both
the Code of Hammurabi and the American Declaration of Independence (which)
claim to outline universal an eternal principles of justice, but according to
the Americans all people are equal, whereas according to the Babylonians people
are decidedly unequal. (Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind p. 108).
The origins of the expression “natural law” are to be found
in debates between the Greek philosopher Plato and those thinkers known as the
Sophists. In broad terms the Sophists believed that politics was not about questions
of right, wrong, justice, or injustice. They maintained that social
arrangements reflected whoever was the strongest. Hence, it was “natural” for
the strong to rule the weak. Such was the “law” of human “nature.” Plato
disagreed with the Sophists. For him, politics and justice could not be reduced
to the rule of the strong. Nevertheless, Plato recognized the rhetorical power
of the term “natural.” He thus decided to use it for his own purposes. In
Plato’s thought, “natural” became a way of saying “human,” and one distinctive
feature of humans is that we have reason. This is what makes humans different
from animals. They act according to instinct alone. We do not. (Gregg, The
Essential Natural Law p. 21).
Early man realized that leadership could make things more efficient but
that leadership also ceded freedom. Hence it appears that the evolution of
power may have begun with “a big man is a highly influential individual in a tribe, especially in Melanesia and Polynesia. Such a person may not have formal tribal or
other authority (through for instance material possessions, or inheritance of
rights), but can maintain recognition through skilled persuasion and wisdom.
The big man has a large group of followers, both from his clan and from other clans. He provides his
followers with protection and economic assistance, in return receiving support
which he uses to increase his status. https://en.wikipedia.org ›
wiki › Big_man_(anthropology)
“This
attention to reasonableness is at the heart of natural law’s conception of the
rule of law. It stresses that the very idea of the rule of law is partly
derived from the conclusion that it is reasonable to limit arbitrary power”. (Gregg,
The Essential Natural Law p. 55).
(However,)
everywhere, rulers and elites sprang up, living off the peasants’ surplus food
and leaving them with only a bare subsistence. These forfeited food surpluses
fuelled politics, wars, art and philosophy. They built palaces, forts,
monuments and temples. Until the late modern era, more than 90 percent of
humans were peasants who rose each morning to till the land by the sweat of
their brows. The extra they produced fed the tiny minority of elites – kings,
government officials, soldiers, priests, artists, and thinkers – who fill the
history books. (Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind p. 101).
How and why did this happen? Put this together with our discussions on Religion
and Stories, Economics, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,
Happiness, Power, Force etc. and what will still be discussed.
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