A "state based on the eternal love of God": Part II!
Just to respond to Jan’s post and continue my look at the Metaphysical love state… First, concerning her assertion that “we are a race doomed to war and the pursuit of our own egos”…. I don’t think that this is very accurate at all. We are not necessarily doomed, after all, that which is called Leviathan is sure to save us. And, what could be harder than fighting against, as you put it, our position as “a race doomed to war the pursuit of out own egos”? As Hobbesians, we do not want war and chaos. On the contrary, Leviathan and the commonwealth exist to combat our “egos” and bring order and peace to us all.
And, second, concerning your examples of peoples, who have managed to live on your basis of love, the Khoisan of Africa, I would like to point out, lived (note the past tense) according to your ideas of a state. However, their degradation into poverty really shows that unless everyone in the world lives in a “state based on the eternal love of God, a natural order (such as the one described by Boethius), or the inherent goodness of mankind”, no such state will ever be able to survive. It would only take one person who does not abide by or believe in your “spirit of love” to throw waves into your proposed system. And, if that person or group of people cannot live in your state, what then? Will they be cast out as Satan was?
In addition, your other example of Hopi culture may not be suitable in the state of love. Though they practice 'Sumi’nangwa' and 'Nami’nangwa', they nonetheless have a leader in the form of a Chairman. It also has legislative, judicial and executive branches which work just like the Canadian Government. So, if the only difference is its scale and the presence of 'Sumi’nangwa' and 'Nami’nangwa', then how does it reflect the Metaphysical form of the love state? Just as one can give names such as tyranny or oligarchy to unsatisfactory governments, the Hopi form of government seems to be doing the opposite and giving the name of “consensus decision making” to (what the Metaphysicals consider) the Hobbesian state. That is to say that what the Hopi have is nothing but a democracy, with “consensus decision making” as a form of the vote and the Chairman as a type of Prime Minister.
So, if the Hopi government is just like Canada’s democratic government and we all live in a Hobbesian world, then is the Hopi government Hobbesian as well? If not, then how is the Hopi government different from Canada’s government? If so, then exactly what does a state based on the “spirit of love” look like and how does it function without reverting into a Hobbesian mode?
And, second, concerning your examples of peoples, who have managed to live on your basis of love, the Khoisan of Africa, I would like to point out, lived (note the past tense) according to your ideas of a state. However, their degradation into poverty really shows that unless everyone in the world lives in a “state based on the eternal love of God, a natural order (such as the one described by Boethius), or the inherent goodness of mankind”, no such state will ever be able to survive. It would only take one person who does not abide by or believe in your “spirit of love” to throw waves into your proposed system. And, if that person or group of people cannot live in your state, what then? Will they be cast out as Satan was?
In addition, your other example of Hopi culture may not be suitable in the state of love. Though they practice 'Sumi’nangwa' and 'Nami’nangwa', they nonetheless have a leader in the form of a Chairman. It also has legislative, judicial and executive branches which work just like the Canadian Government. So, if the only difference is its scale and the presence of 'Sumi’nangwa' and 'Nami’nangwa', then how does it reflect the Metaphysical form of the love state? Just as one can give names such as tyranny or oligarchy to unsatisfactory governments, the Hopi form of government seems to be doing the opposite and giving the name of “consensus decision making” to (what the Metaphysicals consider) the Hobbesian state. That is to say that what the Hopi have is nothing but a democracy, with “consensus decision making” as a form of the vote and the Chairman as a type of Prime Minister.
So, if the Hopi government is just like Canada’s democratic government and we all live in a Hobbesian world, then is the Hopi government Hobbesian as well? If not, then how is the Hopi government different from Canada’s government? If so, then exactly what does a state based on the “spirit of love” look like and how does it function without reverting into a Hobbesian mode?
posted by Brenna @ 1:31 AM
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