the great experiment

 

 

Winston Churchill once said that democracy was the worst form of government – except for all other types of government that have been tried from time to time.

247 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, most of us still do not appreciate what a remarkable document it was.

 I was reminded of that fact this week when I monitored a high school English class,

 The class compared the differing philosophies of two English philosophers, both of whom died long before 1776.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) published Leviathan in 1651.

Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, commonly referred to as Leviathan, is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and published in 1651 (revised Latin edition 1668). Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), it argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature ("the war of all against all") could be avoided only by a strong, undivided government.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_(Hobbes_book)

In essence, Hobbes was arguing in favor of totalitarian rule. In times past, that included rulers like Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler. Today, the list would include Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Viktor Orban – and Donald Trump.

For some reason, Hungary’s Victor Orban is looked upon favorably by today’s right-wing extremists. Tucker Carlson did some of this shows there, and the country has been the host of the Conservative Political Action Conference at least once, and Victor Orban attended the 2022 meeting in Orlando

John Locke (1632-1704) had a much different philosophy than Thomas Hobbes, and he had a significant influence on our Founding Fathers.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke

 John Locke FRS (/lɒk/; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, Locke is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American Revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence. Internationally, Locke's political-legal principles continue to have a profound influence on the theory and practice of limited representative government and the protection of basic rights and freedoms under the rule of law.

 Locke’s most influential publication was “Two Treatises”, which was published in 1689.

Two Treatises is divided into the First Treatise and the Second Treatise. The original title of the Second Treatise appears to have been simply "Book II," corresponding to the title of the First Treatise, "Book I." Before publication, however, Locke gave it greater prominence by (hastily) inserting a separate title page: "An Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent and End of Civil Government." The First Treatise is focused on the refutation of Sir Robert Filmer, in particular his Patriarcha, which argued that civil society was founded on a divinely sanctioned patriarchalism. Locke proceeds through Filmer's arguments, contesting his proofs from Scripture and ridiculing them as senseless, until concluding that no government can be justified by an appeal to the divine right of kings.

The Second Treatise outlines a theory of civil society. Locke begins by describing the state of nature, a picture much more stable than Thomas Hobbes' state of "war of every man against every man," and argues that all men are created equal in the state of nature by God. From this, he goes on to explain the hypothetical rise of property and civilization, in the process explaining that the only legitimate governments are those that have the consent of the people. Therefore, any government that rules without the consent of the people can, in theory, be overthrown

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Treatises_of_Government

There is no question that a democracy is always going to be messy, which we are reminded of just about every time we turn on the news.

 What Locke proposed is a delicate balancing act between individual rights and limited government and the need for laws to protect society as a whole. The list of conflicting priorities is extensive, and ranges from the need for taxes versus low taxes, the need for SOME censorship, religiously liberty versus respect for religion, free speech versus prohibition against hate speech, reproductive freedom versus forced morality, and many others.

The topic that is the hardest to resolve though, is guns.

We now have more guns than people in this country – and that makes no sense at all. In 2021, the number of guns produced for the U.S. market was 474 million, and the vast majority of those were not reported to the ATF – even though it is required by law.

https://www.thetrace.org/2023/03/guns-america-data-atf-total/

According to the most recent census, the population of America is 326 million people.

The need to have more and better controls can best be explained by looking at some statistics.

The map below shows firearm mortality by state:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm

The worst state is Mississippi, which has a rate of 33,9 per 100,000 of population. By clicking on the middle column, you can list the death rates in either ascending or descending order. You’ll notice that the worst states are all “red states”. They also happen to be the most religious, which is why you will see billboards that read “God, Guns, and Trump” in those states.

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2022/06/

The article below contrasts gun law strength score against the gun death rate.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/20/us/everytown-weak-gun-laws-high-gun-deaths-study/index.html

California has the strongest gun laws in the nation, and Mississippi has the weakest. (You may remember that Mississippi has the highest death rate from guns – and that is no coincidence.)

California does not have the lowest death rate from guns, but is on the low end of the scale. The lowest death rates in the country are in Massachusetts – which also happens to be the best educated state in the country.

Governor Newsome of California has proposed a 28^th amendment to the constitution.

The Democratic governor’s proposal would raise the federal minimum age to buy a firearm to 21 from 18; mandate universal background checks; institute a “reasonable” waiting period for all gun purchases and ban assault rifles nationally.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/08/newsom-gun-control-amendment-00100954

 Given today’s political climate, it is unlikely to pass, but it is a step in the right direction - and that is precisely why it’s important to vote in every election that you can.

 John Locke would understand.