5. We humans do not exist complete within ourselves. Humans are gregarious creatures, needing human companionship to be fully functional and content. At the same time, we are selfish beings who want things our own way in order to associate with one another. This fundamental dichotomy of the human personality is both a source of weakness and of strength, and this paradox drives humanity towards its uncertain future.
6. Because we are not complete within and by ourselves-of which a lack of any means of spontaneous self-procreation is the most obvious demonstration-we must cultivate associations with other humans, forming individual and community relationships with these other humans. The implicit rules of these relationships are the foundation for the rules of the interrelationships between multiple, diverse groups of humans. A codification of these rules is the basis for a consistent system of laws governing the interactions of these multiple diverse groups of humans within a given sphere of interaction. A cohesive network of these implicitly agreed upon, codified legal systems, integrating social, political, criminal, and economic spheres for these different groups of humans, who see a collective advantage in advancing the mutual interests of this network for its members' is called the Social Contract.
7. Nothing comes without a price. If you are expecting broad unlimited freedom of thought and action without a concomitant price, you are only deluding yourself. You cannot have the advantages of a modern industrialized society without paying for it. This includes the current use of those advantages, as well as the cost of maintenance and improvement for their future use. For example, if you want educated employees to run your complex machinery, read your blueprints, follow your written instructions, write informative reports and maintain coherent records, you are going to have to pay for them now in the public schools. If you want your construction projects, large and small, to be done according to the plans you approved, if you do not want to see a thousand little bits of sabotage and substandard work done that cost money, lives and ruin your business' reputation, you will have to treat the people who work for you well, including paying a livable wage, and providing decent working conditions. If you desire a decline in sick days; create a healthy working environment in every sense of the word "healthy." This includes affordable, comprehensive healthcare for everyone, and that means government oversight on healthcare, and a public option for the current plans.
8. The reason for laws against theft and other crimes, is not that without these laws, and their attendant punishments, everyone would go out and rob and murder and rape, etc., just for the hell of it. It is primarily because there is a small part of the population-the estimates are around four percent-that are wired wrong mentally; they are to some greater or lesser degree, sociopaths.
Why this is true, I do not know. Perhaps humanity needs, or in the past has needed, a small percentage of its population with the "mark of Cain," as it were. It may be that in our more barbaric past that people without a moral compass were needed to perform some acts that were "morally" wrong or at least reprehensible: acts of war, etc.
9. It is because of the disposition of a small percentage of the population-as well as those who out of pure moral weakness are more prone to play "follow the leader" in these wrongful acts-that so many laws and regulations are required by a society in order to protect the majority of its members. The irresponsibility and/or amorality of a few, requires that the rest of us bear a greater burden than most of us feel is necessary.
This is true in every sphere of our lives: political, social, and economic. Checks and balances must be instituted in every area, and at all levels of human interaction to prevent the strong from exploiting the weak, and the majority from oppressing a minority. Regrettably, the larger and more complicated our society becomes the more checks and balances that need to be added to the system. The recent debacle in the world of Wall Street demonstrates that fact beyond all refutation.
We must, at the same time, avoid binding ourselves with outdated rules and regulations. Some rules are universal and timeless: those against any individual or small group of humans acquiring too much power-political, social, or economic-being a fundamental example. But many others, including most of the provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, have long outlived their usefulness for the vast majority of the American people. Still others-such as the Alien and Sedition Acts under John Adams and the current PATRIOT Acts-should never have seen the light of day.
10. Now, if we are dependent upon our fellow humans in this society for the rights that we can freely and publicly enjoy, without fear of approbation or repercussion from them; how do we maximize the number and scope of the rights that we enjoy? The answer is quite simple: by the acceptance of responsibility.
And not just responsibility for ourselves, and our immediate families. That is a start, a minimum, but it cannot be the end. The more responsibility that you accept-not only for yourself and your family, but also for the ever expanding spheres of relationships between yourself, other individuals within your immediate communities, and the larger sphere of communities that encompasses the Social Contract-the more your fellow humans will be willing to allow you a wide latitude of action concerning your own freedom, and how you use it. Historically, the best American examples of this are Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.
TANSTAAFL!-There ain't no such thing as a free lunch!
I, as always, welcome comments on my article, for how am I to see the errors in my reasoning, unless they are pointed out to me.
1 | 2
