This document discusses how human desires can be fulfilled through supportive social systems and how governments can support these systems. The core human desires are to experience love through family, gain material goods through the economy, achieve social status through civil society, gain knowledge through education, and worship through religion. Fulfilling these desires leads to happiness. However, certain crimes like adultery, theft, corruption can undermine these systems and lead to unhappiness. The document recommends governments establish policies to protect families, private property, civil liberties, independent education and religious freedom to support long-term happiness.
4. What Do All People Want?
In view of the fact that all knowledge and
every pursuit aims at some good, what is
the highest of all goods achievable by
action? Verbally there is very general
agreement; for both the general run of
men and people of superior refinement it is
happiness; they identify living well and
doing well with being happy.
Aristotle
5. People Are Social Beings.
"It would be strange to represent
the supremely happy man as a
recluse. No one would choose to
have all possible good things on
the condition that he must enjoy
them alone; for man is a social
being and one whose nature is to
live with others; accordingly the
happy man must have society, for
then he has everything that is
naturally good."
Aristotle
6. How Is Happiness Attained?
When our desires are fulfilled. For example:
Hunger > eating food > satisfaction
Missing someone > seeing them > warm
relationships
7. Cautions
Some desires are unrealistic.
Some desires are immature.
Some desires are excessive.
Some desires are wrong.
Therefore, focusing only on desires leads
to unhappiness.
8. Religions Recognize This.
Christianity – “Wretched man that I am!” (St.
Paul)
Judaism – “The heart is corrupt.” (Jeremiah)
Buddhism - All suffering is caused by craving
and focusing on extinguishing cravings.
Paradox: The fulfillment of desire can lead to
both happiness and suffering.
Therefore, desires need to be channeled and
controlled so their fulfillment brings happiness
and not suffering.
9. Core Desires
To eat, sleep, and have a home
To experience love
To achieve social position or authority
To gain knowledge and skills
To worship
10. Supportive Structures to
Satisfy Desires
SUPPORTIVE SOCIAL
DESIRE
SYSTEM
To experience love Family
For material things Economy
For position and authority Civil society, politics
For knowledge and skills Education
To worship Religion
11. Core Purposes of Government
Defense
To protect a country from invasion which
would destroy people’s way of life and
prevent them from being happy
Justice
To maintain the laws necessary to create a
realm of freedom in which people can live a
moral and meaningful life and thus be happy
and fulfilled
13. Family as the Locus of
Meaning
Dwelling place of God:
“The family that prays
together stays
together.”
Cultivating the spiritual
life creates hope for
the future.
Enduring relationships
give meaning.
Family offers reasons Shabbat prayer
to live and multiply.
14. Family as the School of Love
Place for love between
husband and wife
Reproduction and love
between parents and
children
Socialization and
education into the
manners, customs, and
traditions of one’s
community
Transmission of culture
and the good way of life
15. Family as the Cradle of
Culture
“By far the most important
channel of transmission of culture
remains the family; and when
family life fails to play its part, we
must expect our culture to
deteriorate.”
T.S. Elliot: Notes towards the Definition of Culture, 1948
16. Family as a Key Economic
Unit
Members work together
to create wealth to
support the family and
community.
Develops a sense of
responsible ownership.
Encourages creativity.
Teaches a culture of
giving and sharing.
18. Crimes against the Family
Adultery: the chief cause of divorce and family
break up
Unmarried mothers: every child has the right to
a mother and a father
Child neglect and abuse
(especially common among step-families)
Neglect of parents and grandparents
Caution: Government should not supplant the role
of the family in education, health, welfare, and
finances.
19. Helpful Government Policies
Laws that protect family and marriage
Tax system that favors marriage and children
Inheritance laws that favor the build up of
generational wealth and responsibility
Cautions:
Social security system should not subsidize
unmarried mothers.
Social services are best provided by the
voluntary sector.
20. The Family and Society
Familial collapse leads to social collapse.
Society is more than families; it includes social structures
and institutions
Distinctions between family and society:
The family is based on affection and forgiveness.
Society based on justice.
Cautions:
Narrow affection in social relations > corruption
(nepotism)
Legalism in family relations > can hurt people’s hearts
21. The Family and Society
Society is an expansion of the family.
However, affection declines as distance increases.
Cautions: what happens when resources are scarce?
People are less generous, especially to those who
are not part of their family.
Scarcity of desirable goods leads to destructive
conflict.
Therefore, a framework of commonly accepted rules
is needed.
23. Respect for Ownership
Relationship between people and
possessions:
Ownership of property as a social
convention
Resolves disputes
Ensures stability of possession
24. Transfer of Ownership
Rights over goods can be transferred by consent.
Can give things to someone.
Can sell things to someone.
Markets: Where ownership is transferred by exchange
Origin of money: Convenient unit of exchange
Division of labor and specialization
Cautions:
Freedom should be accompanied by
responsibility.
Freedom should be exercised within the bounds
of the law.
25. Performance of Promises
“My word is my bond.”
Society as moral
Self-limitation - don’t be greedy
Natural, rational expectations
Trust people including strangers
Enables free trade between strangers
26. Economic Crimes
Theft, robbery, stealing, fraud
Denial of private property - nationalization
without compensation
Unreasonable and punitive taxation
Reneging on agreements - not paying
salaries or invoices
Breaking promises
27. Helpful Government Policies
Establish and maintain a simple legal
framework for the free market.
Set up laws regarding contracts and
guarding against theft and fraud.
Maintain an independent judiciary.
Keep central banks independent.
Limit taxation.
Minimize bureaucracy and corruption.
28. 2 Incompatible Syndromes
Commercial moral syndrome Guardian moral syndrome
Shun force Shun trading
Voluntary agreements Exert prowess
Be honest Be obedient and disciplined
Collaborate with strangers Be exclusive
Compete Respect hierarchy
Respect contracts Be loyal
Use initiative and enterprise Adhere to tradition
Be open to novelty Treasure honor
Be efficient Be ostentatious
Promote convenience Enjoy leisure
Dissent for the task Deceive to achieve tasks
Invest for productivity Take vengeance
Be industrious Show fortitude
Be thrifty Dispense largesse
Be optimistic Be fatalistic
30. Civil Society
Offers opportunities for people to make a difference and
offer a unique contribution.
Includes many types of institutions:
Politics, businesses, charities, local government, religion, schools,
hospitals, etc.
Abides by laws.
Allows for freedom of speech, movement, living, career,
Honors people based on merit.
31. Crimes against Civil Society
Achieving position illegitimately
Murder, coups
Nepotism
Cronyism
Corruption, bribery
Discrimination in the public sector
Totalitarianism
32. Helpful Government Policies
Maintain an independent judiciary.
Maintain roads, electricity, water supply,
sewers.
Provide for national defense.
Offer a safety net.
Caution: Government should protect people’s
way of life but not engage in social
engineering.
34. What Is Education?
Transaction between the generations
that initiates children into the world
which they are to inhabit
Transfer of knowledge and skills
Most fundamentally, learning to live
humanly
35. Two Types of Education
Education at home:
How to behave
How to live a spiritual life
How to think, but not what to think or believe
Skills such as swimming, gardening, house
maintenance, money management
Education at school:
History, literature, language, religion
Specialized knowledge and skills
More complex thinking
36. Educational Crimes
Failing to pass on the wisdom of the ages
Dumbing down information
Indoctrinating students
Graduating students who lack
qualifications and skills
Giving information without values,
purpose, or meaning
37. Helpful Government Policies
Independent and self-governing, not
controlled by the state
Financed by fees, scholarships, vouchers
Free to specialize and set curricula
Not for indoctrination - religious or political
Prepare students for exams set by
universities and other professional bodies
39. Realm of Religion
Acknowledgement of dependence on a
superhuman being expressed through rituals
and worship
Concern with questions of meaning of life,
right and wrong behavior, salvation
Rituals to give meaning and sanctification to
rites of passage such as marriage
40. Religious Crimes
Idolatry
Mistaking the relative for the absolute
Sectarianism
Bigotry
Militant fundamentalism
41. Helpful Government Policies
Allow religious freedom.
Enable religious communities to be
involved in law making, education, and
values.
42. Summary
Human desire Supportive Crimes in this
social system realm
Experience love Family Adultery
Material things Economy Stealing
Social position and Civil society Murder
authority
Knowledge and skills Education Falsehood,
indoctrination
Worship Religion Idolatry
43. Principles of Good Governance
Related to Spiritual Principles
Society of owners
Blessing of dominion over creation
Do not steal/misuse public money
Society of market relationships
Blessing of ethical relationships
Do not have immoral sexual relations
Society as a moral realm
Blessing of mind/body unity
Do not hurt a person’s heart
44. Adapted by Joy Pople from a
presentation by William Haines
Universal Peace Federation
www.upf.org
Editor's Notes
We are living in a time when politics intrudes on our lives from everywhere. As soon as we turn on the radio or the TV, we immediately hear politicians complaining about the state of affairs and promising to solve all problems if they could get the power. Periodically adult citizens have an opportunity to vote in an election to decide which candidates will get into power. Therefore, it is very important to consider the role and the function of the government, to evaluate, judge and to respond intelligently to what is going on in the world of politics.
Government of people .therefore need to understand what it is to be human. Good understanding of human nature the basis of all good theories of government. Theories which have led to disaster based on faulty theories.
Aristotle said this 2500 years ago. Still repeated and still quoted because he was right. Rings true. Makes sense. He didn’t discover it just articulated it because he had an accurate understanding of human nature. Wisdom. So many cruddy theories been discredited. Raises questions What is it that brings happiness. Turn again to the master Important to have an accurate unerstaning of human nature. Realistic. Not idealistic. Tailor instituions to suit people, not people to suit instituions.
The first question we should ask ourselves is this: What is the purpose of government ? To answer this question we have to look back at history so as to understand the origin of society. Was there ever a time when the society did not exist and people lived separately from each other? Hardly, as Aristotle noted a long time ago:
This is based on Rev Ahn's lecture
Why the tribes of Israel wanted a king like other people War is the mother of government
The family is a natural institution based on the conjugal love and sexual attraction between a man and woman and their desire for children who are the fruit of that love. Because they are so emotional, the bonds within the family are very strong and we naturally feel that there are ties of duty and obligation that link us together. These ties we feel not only for our immediate family but also for uncles, aunts, cousins, and other relatives even if we have never met them. Naturally, the more distant a relative is, the weaker the attachment becomes; yet it is not for nothing that we say 釘 blood is thicker than water. The most fundamental social relations we have are familial. In fact there has never been a society which has not had the family as its smallest and most basic unit. Love between a man and woman. Marriage. Conjugal love. Children as fruit and expression of their love. Parental love. Siblings. Family. Lineage. Grandkids. Balance between public and private individual/whole Drinking famly money ‘ Manners make the man’
1948 Britain was still in pretty good shape! What would Elliot have said today?
There is only a certain amount that an individual can achieve by himself. It is possible to survive by oneself, grow one's own food, build one's own house, make one's own clothes etc. But much more can be accomplished by cooperating with others. Naturally people prefer to work with their relatives because usually they can trust them more. So one of the earliest and most important functions of the family was economic which is why in most traditional societies parents, children and other relatives worked together to secure all they needed to survive.
The most fundamental social relations we have are familial. In fact there has never been a society which has not had the family as its smallest and most basic unit. Love between a man and woman. Marriage. Conjugal love. Children as fruit and expression of their love. Parental love. Siblings. Family. Lineage. Grandkids.
As time goes on families expand gradually becoming small societies. As they do so the strength of affection between people declines as the distance between them increases. In favourable circumstances through intermarriage and friendship these small societies merge into a larger society. Usually they helped each other one way or another, they feasted together and celebrated important occasions and shared products of their work as far as they thought it just. In a closely related society traditions and customs developed which explained who should do and what they should do, and which role is assigned to everyone.
The first of these is stability of possession. People naturally share what they have within the family, with those for whom they have a natural affection. Scarcity though leads to envy and conflict. People want things for themselves and their family. But at the same time everyone wants to be left undisturbed in the enjoyment of his proper possessions. People want to own , not merely possess, goods. So the rule that "every man no matter how we happen to feel towards him, be left undisturbed in the enjoyment of his proper possessions" develops, and is followed because people believe it to be useful. They know their own desires, and through feeling sympathy for others, extrapolate that everyone feels the same way. Through this ownership relationship exists, not just between the person and the thing, but also between people, because that ownership is acknowledged. So ownership is defined relationally. It is an artificial social convention. But once everything is owned by someone, the contention is stopped as long as everyone abides by this convention. The de facto qualifications for ownership (Hume is not interested in abstract de jure ones), are present possession, occupation, prescription, accession and succession. These are the correct rules, because they are the ones most natural and in harmony with human nature and inclinations. Thus they are least likely to be questioned. The benefit of the institution of property is that the short term outlook of most people is replaced by a long term view. For example, if people can pass things on to their descendants, as is their natural inclination, they are more likely to be industrious and frugal. David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (Oxford: Oxford University Press: Press, 1978), 501f. Hume's three Principles of Justice are comparable to the three Great Blessings in Divine Principle. This one, stability of possession is like the third blessing, to have dominion over the creation, to be Lord of Creation, co-creator with God and perfect one's creativity through this.
However it is not enough for people to have stability of possession. Since people have different goods there has to be a way for people to be able to exchange their property. The second principle is therefore, the convention that rights over goods may be transferred by consent, and only by consent. This means that trade the consequent division of labour becomes possible so that goods can be produced which are available to all. Hume, 514f. This principle compares to the second Blessing, the establishment of a family which is based on the give and take relationship.
Again, it is very inconvenient to have to barter and have simultaneous direct exchange of goods. One person's crops may be ripe in the spring and another's in the autumn. So the third principle is required, performance of promises. If people make promises which are directed towards some future performance, they should keep them. Otherwise there can be no trust, no trade and no society. Ibid., 516f. This compares to the first Blessing, that a person should unite mind and body centred upon God. The words and deeds of such a person would be the same. They would be trustworthy and keep their promises.