A World of Devils -- and Political Perfection
by Kyrel Zantonavitch
According to "the father of the American Constitution," James Madison, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." He and the other Founding Fathers furthermore thought that any system of government -- even absolute monarchy and dictatorship -- would be ideal "If angels were to govern men."
Thus one answer to the problem of creating an ideal socio-economic and political system is change human nature. If not that of citizens, then at least that of government leaders. Find a saintly, Platonic "philosopher-king" to rule.
But this is all nonsense. The thinkers behind the American Revolution may have been the greatest political theorists that ever lived -- but they were still spouting rubbish with all this anguished sighing and moaning about humans not being "angels."
Firstly, human nature was never the problem. Secondly, even if human nature is somehow flawed or problematic, there's virtually nothing anyone can do about it. Thirdly, even if future scientists can eventually, miraculously alter fundamental human nature, it's far from clear that they'll make a significant improvement on it, or that this will prove to be the ideal solution to the problem of social harmony and political system-building.
It seems obvious, as even the Constitutional framers would have agreed, that the correct answer to the question is to create a system of law and governmental organization which is compatible with human nature as it is, and always has been, and evidently will be for a long time to come. If possible, this social and political system should exploit unchangeable human nature and positively thrive under it.
The name of this ideal and perfect system is freedom. The foundation of this political and socio-economic utopia is liberty, justice, and individual rights.
The ideal and definitive governmental system is one with no tolerance for the initiation of (physical) force or (financial) fraud by others against the sacred and untouchable individual, and no tolerance for socio-economic taxation or regulation by government against this same sacred and untouchable individual.
Under this final and absolute system of government, even if men were devils, they and their society would flourish. Even if all citizens were converted to Hitlers, Stalins, and Maos, there would still be a type of political and social paradise created. And this would be so even if all the state leaders were changed into absolute demons as well. The definitive political system and last word on government would take advantage of human nature and effectively make the citizens and leaders behave in an idealized fashion.
The whole societal system would discourage and punish -- not just crime and tyranny -- but general immorality and unproductivity. Even peccadillos like discourtesy and tardiness would be dealt with ruthlessly and efficaciously by "the system."
Such is the product of a political system based entirely on individual freedom. Such is the result of liberty and justice for all.
The key and solution to every governmental problem is just one word, standard, principle, concept, and ideal: freedom. James Madision and the Founding Fathers -- with all their lamentations about supposedly faulty and corrupt human nature -- completely missed the political boat. All their desperate yearnings for a "benevolent dictatorship" -- and converting humans into "angels" -- couldn't have been more wrong.
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