government theory

Chapter 39 On the Origin of Political Society (2)
He is the one whom most should be trusted; a father's love secures the property and interests of his children under his care; their habit of obeying him in their youth makes them more obedient to him than to others.Government is inevitable among men who live in groups, that is to say, there must be one man to rule them, and unless negligence, cruelty, or any other defect of mind or body makes him unsuitable for the position, who could be so fit as their father Woolen cloth?If, however, the father dies, leaving behind children who are unfit to rule because of immaturity, lack of wisdom, courage, or any other quality, and several families come together and agree to continue to live together, they exercise their natural Liberty, to elect for their rulers those whom they think most able and probable to govern them best.In the same way we see those Americans who enjoyed their own natural liberty before the conquest and expansion of the great empires of Peru and Mexico, though, on the other hand, they generally embraced their The dead king's heir; but when they found him weak and incompetent, they made their ruler the staunchest and bravest.

106．From this it can be seen that, though our examination of the earliest sources of settlements and the historical records of the peoples generally finds that the government is under the control of one individual; The formation of a society is based on the consent of those individuals who are to join and establish a society; and when they are thus constituted as a body, they may establish any form of government they think fit.But as this circumstance has led some to misunderstand that government was originally monarchical and paternal, we may here examine why this form of government was generally adopted at first.This is because, in the first establishment of some states, perhaps the predominance of the father would have induced him to devolve power in the first stages; There is no veneration or respect for patriarchy, but because all small principalities, that is, nearly all, are usually—at least sometimes elective—as they approach their origin.

107．First, the father's dominion over his children in their infancy accustoms them to be at the mercy of one person, and they know that so long as this domination is done with care, persuasion, kindness, and love, Domination suffices to achieve and protect all the political happiness one seeks in society.They would thus take for granted which form of government they should choose, being accustomed to it from childhood, and experience teaching them that it is both convenient and safe.Moreover, we may say that monarchy was the easiest and clearest to men, since experience had taught them no forms of government, nor had they been persecuted by imperial tyranny to guard against encroachments of privilege or Harassment by authoritarian power.These privileges and despotic powers are inherited from the monarchy and imposed on the people.So it was commonplace that they did not bother at that time to contrive to restrain any tyranny of those who empowered and governed them, nor to contrive a way of checking and balancing the power of the sovereign by division of powers.

They have not been oppressed by tyrants, and the social customs, the amount of property, and the way of life are not enough to make people greedy and ambitious, which leaves them no reason to worry or guard against, so they are naturally placed in this most extreme Simple and clear, and the most suitable form of government for their current situation, because their current situation requires more defense against foreign aggression than legal diversity.Since equality in a simple and meager mode of life confines their desires to the small property of each, seldom causes disputes, and need not be adjudicated by many laws.At the same time, due to the small number of violations and criminals, there is no need for various officials to supervise the legal procedures and judicial execution.Since they joined the society with like-mindedness, they can only be considered to have some friendship and friendship with each other, and they trust each other. The suspicion between them must not be as great as that of outsiders, so the first thing they have to pay attention to and consider is how to defend themselves. foreign aggression to protect themselves.It is natural for them to place themselves under a government for this purpose, to elect the wisest and bravest men to command them in war, to lead them against their enemies, and to be their rulers in this respect.

108．Thus we see America, which is still a model of Asia and Europe in primitive times, where the vastness of the land was sparsely populated, and the lack of human and financial resources prevented the idea of ​​​​enlarging the land, nor did it lead to the expansion of the extent of the land. Initiating conflicts, the kings of the Indians are the generals of their armies. Although they enjoy absolute command power in war, they can only exercise a small ruling power and very limited sovereignty in peacetime within the territory; the decision is It is usually the people or the parliament that make peace or fight, and because the war itself is not suitable for many people to lead, the command power will naturally belong to the king alone.

109．As far as the nation of Israel is concerned, the main tasks of their judges and early kings seem to be to serve as generals and army leaders in wartime (but from the point of going ahead of the people when they go out, that is, they are in front of the team when they go out and return. except), which is clearly stated in the story of Jephthah.When the Ammonites attacked Israel, the Gileadites became frightened and sent for Jephthah, the illegitimate son of the Gileadites who had been expelled.Then they made a covenant with him to make him their ruler if he would help them against the Ammonites.This incident is recorded in the Bible: "The people made Jephthah a leader and a commander." ("Old Testament Judges" Chapter 11No.11), in our opinion, this is It is like making him a judge.So the "Bible" also said: "He was a judge of Israel." ("Old Testament Judges" Chapter 12 Section [-]), that is to say, he was their general for six years.

For another example, when the people of Shechem were ungrateful to Gideon, who was their judge and ruler, Jotham rebuked them and said, "My father fought for you at the risk of death, and rescued you from the hands of the Midianites." ( "Old Testament Judges" Chapter 9No.17) only mentions that he served as a general.Indeed, that is all that can be seen in his or any other Judge's history.Although Abimelech was called a king, he was at best a general of the people of Shechem.The reason why the people of Israel needed a king was because they disliked the evil deeds of Samuel's sons, "Like other nations, there are kings who rule over them, lead them, and fight for them" ("Old Testament · Samuel Books" Chapter 8No.20 ).At this time God agreed to their request and said to Samuel: "I will send a man to you, and you will anoint him to be the king of my Israel, and he will save my people from the hand of the Philistines." (Previously Book Chapter 9No.16) It seems that the only task of kings is to lead their armies and fight for their defense.Therefore, when Saul ascended the throne, Samuel poured a jar of ointment on Saul's head and said to him, "The LORD has anointed him to be the prince of his inheritance." After the people of Mizpah solemnly elected Saul as king and cheered for it, those who would not make him king could only object by saying: "How can this man save us?" (I. Chapter 10No.10) as if they intended to say: "This man is not fit to be our king, he does not have sufficient strategy and ability to defend us in battle." Until God decided to hand over the ruling to David said something like this: "Your throne will not last long. The LORD has found a man after his own heart and made him the ruler of his people." (Chapter 20No.13) To be their generals; therefore, those tribes of Israel who opposed David's enthronement and remained loyal to Saul's house came to Hebron with the condition of their obedience, and told him, among other reasons, that they must not Not to obey him as they obey their king, for in fact he was their king during Saul's reign, so they have no reason not to honor him now.They said: "When Saul was our king, you led the Israelites in and out. The Lord also promised you that you would shepherd my people Israel and be their ruler." ("Old Testament Samuel" Write down "Chapter 14 Section 5)
110．Thus a family gradually develops into a nation, the authority of the father is inherited by the eldest son, and everyone brought up under this authority tacitly submits to him, and the smoothness and equality of this government does not hinder anyone, and everyone grows old. Honestly agreed, until it was basically established through the test of time later, and the inheritance rights were confirmed in the form of law; Together, united into society—whatever the case may be, since in time of war men need an able general to defend them against their enemies, and since innocence and honesty in that hard and moral age make men have a deep respect for others Feelings (which were at the beginning of nearly every government that survives in the world) led the first founders of the state to place the government generally in one single person, except as the nature of the matter and the purpose of the government required. There are no other express limitations or restrictions.Whichever the case may be, the original sovereignty belonged to one person, it is certain that it was committed to a single person only for the public welfare and safety; It is for these purposes that the rulership is exercised.Unless they do, young societies cannot survive.Without this nanny paternal care, and prudence with regard to the common good, all governments, out of their infancy, perish, and soon, prince and people alike.

111．Even though this golden age (before vain ambition, vicious possessiveness, and evil spirits corrupted the mind, when the true meaning of power and honor was perverted) had more virtue, and thus had better rulers and less vile and there was no ever-expanding privilege to overwhelm the people on the one hand, nor any strife to curtail or limit the power of magistrates, so that there was no question of ruler or government between ruler and people. struggle.But in later generations, ambition and extravagance encouraged the ruler to maintain and expand his power, instead of doing what people had authorized him to do, and flattery and flattery made the monarch feel that he should have interests that were completely different from those of his people, so people felt There is a need to look more carefully at the origins and rights of regimes, and to find ways of limiting arbitrariness and preventing abuses.They have entrusted this power to another for their own benefit, only to find it used to their own injury.

(End of this chapter)