Triumph of Reason: Government
  by Groff Schroeder

History suggests that people eventually get sick of anarchy and overcome their natural competitive instincts, cooperating to address epidemic disease and open sewers, especially once experience or science demonstrates their connection. Even so, some people would still prefer anarchy. Others would prefer a monarchy, especially if they get to be king. Still others would choose theocracy, as long as their god rules. A powerful few do not care, as long as the government's corruption provides easy wealth.

Any form of government can be beneficial or pernicious and no matter what the form, only the application of reason can maintain it. If a government is good, reason plays critical roles in the identification of threats to citizens and the creation of public works like sewage systems that have historically eliminated them. If a government is bad, reason can create propaganda to convince the People that open sewers do not stink and that deadly societal problems like epidemics on streets with open sewers are unavoidable natural events, or punishments wrought by vengeful omnipotent beings.

While good governments benefit from the People's use of reason, bad governments must prevent it. On one end of the spectrum, democratic republics give the People the power to control their government through their votes. On the other end is totalitarianism, enforced dictatorship so nefarious that it must pretend to be some other form of government. It is extremely difficult to find beneficial examples of totalitarianism, no matter what façade of government it hides behind.

Socialist governments have been both good and bad. Modern Sweden's "democratic socialism," meets virtually every need of citizens who happily pay extremely high taxes in return. In contrast, 1930's German "National Socialism" concealed an infamous genocidal totalitarian state. While many believe that German National Socialism was actually fascism, fascism's inventor, Benito Mussolini said, "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism since it is the merger of state and corporate power." Communism is a subset of socialism and often the façade for totalitarian regimes banning all religious practices, perhaps because there can be no power higher than the government in a totalitarian state.

Theocracies occur when government and religion merge - politicians becoming the makers and enforcers of the will of god. While theocracies often appear to start with good intentions, Lord Acton put it most succinctly. "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Unrestricted power, access to enormous sums of taxpayer money and the opportunity for bribery can corrupt even the purest heart.

In Greece 2360 years ago, Plato wrote of the republic, cooperative self-government based on the election of representatives who obey the rule of law. The Greek republic fell to the Roman republic, which lasted some three hundred years before the collapse of the rule of law led to the assassination of Roman Consul Julius Caesar, and a 1000-year military dictatorship.


The founding of the democratic republic of the United States occurred at the height of the enlightenment, a worldwide awakening to art, engineering, literature and science. Its founders made bribery impeachable and created three intertwined branches of government, limiting the power of each through checks and balances and the rule of law. Institutionalized bribery and infamous violations of those checks and balances now trump the rule of law in America. Only time will tell what form of government we will experience next.

 

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