Chapter 14 Chapter 1 On Society and Civilization

The order that predominates among human beings is largely not the result of government.This order springs from social principles and human nature.It existed before there was government, and it will continue to exist even if the government is abolished.The interdependence and mutual benefit between people and the interdependence of all parts of a civilized society constitute the great chain that links the whole society together.Landlords, farmers, manufacturers, merchants, artisans, and people of all walks of life prosper by helping each other and getting help from all.Common interests regulate their relations, and constitute their laws; and these customary laws have more influence than the laws of the government.In short, society can do almost everything that is entrusted to the government.

In order to understand the nature and weight of government peculiar to man, attention must be paid to the nature of man.Since nature created man for social life, she puts man in a position she values.She always pushes his natural needs beyond his personal abilities.No one can satisfy his needs without the help of society; those needs which are at work for each compel all to participate in society, as naturally as gravity draws all things to one center. However, Good Fortune has deeper intentions.She does not blame man for compelling him into society by means of which needs are met only by mutual help, and for endowing him with a system of social affections which, if not necessary for his existence, are indispensable to his happiness. .This love of society is at work all the time in a person's life.It is born, and it will not rest until death.

If we study carefully the nature and qualities of man, the faculties of different individuals to adjust their needs to one another, his inclination to society and the preservation of the benefits derived from it, we shall readily find that what is called government is for the most part nothing but imposition. for people. The necessity of government lies at most in solving a small number of affairs that society and civilization are inconvenient to solve. Numerous examples show that whatever the government can do effectively, the society has done it unanimously without the participation of the government.

For more than two years after the start of the American Revolutionary War, and for a longer period in some states, there was no fixed form of government at all.The old government was overthrown, and the country, devoted to defense against foreign enemies, was unable to separate itself from its origins to establish a new government; yet all this time there was order and harmony, as in any country in Europe.People have a natural adaptability, especially in society, because society has greater and more abilities and resources to adapt to any situation.As soon as formal government is abolished, society acts at once: a general association is formed, and common interests generate common security.

It has been seriously absurd to say that the abolition of any formal government would lead to the dissolution of society, and that government acts by a single impulse to hold society more closely together, which is absurd.That part of society which its organization has entrusted to government is in turn brought under its own responsibility and functions through it.Men, accustomed by natural instincts and reciprocal interest to social and civilized life, have always enough practical principles to carry them through any reform of their government which they may think necessary or expedient. .In short, man is by nature a social being, and it is almost impossible to exclude him from it.

Formal government is but a small part of civilized life?Even if the best government conceived by human wisdom were instituted, such government would be a thing in name and conception, not a thing in fact.The security and happiness of the individual and the community depend upon the great fundamental principles of society and civilization, upon customary laws universally agreed upon and mutually upheld, upon the exchange of interests encouraged through millions of channels for all civilized Far better than anything that can be achieved with even the best-established government. The more advanced a civilization is, the less it needs government, because it manages its own affairs, and governs itself; but the old governments acted so contrary to this, that their outlays, which should have been reduced, increased.Civilized life requires but a few general laws, which are universally applicable, and which have nearly the same effect whether the government enforces them or not.If we inquire into what principles originally brought men into society, and from what motives later regulate their intercourse, all the way down to what is called government, we shall find that almost everything is done by the natural co-operation of all parties. into.

In all these things man is stronger and stronger than he realizes or the government would like him to believe.All the important laws of human society are natural laws.Those laws of trade and commerce, whether in intercourse between individuals or between nations, are laws of mutual benefit.These laws are obeyed because it is in the interests of all parties to do so, not because their governments have imposed or inserted any formal laws. But how often has this natural inclination towards society been disturbed and destroyed by government! If government, instead of being attached to the principles of society, was independent, and acted on the basis of unfair advantage and oppression, it would be the cause of evil which it should have prevented.

If we look back at the events of riots and commotions which have occurred in England at various times, we shall find that they did not arise from the want of a government, but from the government itself: instead of uniting society, government divided it; It robs society of its natural cohesion and creates discontent and confusion where it would not otherwise exist.In those associations where people come together for business or anything that has nothing to do with government, and act on social principles alone, we see how natural solidarity of all parties compares to this. It shows that the government is by no means always the cause and means of maintaining social order, but is often the chief culprit of destroying social order. The riots of 1780 were caused by nothing more than residual prejudices fostered by the government itself.But in the case of the UK, there are other reasons.

Excessive and unequal taxation, however it may be disguised, always reveals itself in its consequences.Since a large portion of society is thus impoverished and disaffected, they are constantly on the verge of upheaval; and, as they are unfortunately deprived of the means of knowing, they are prone to hot-headed violence.Whatever may be the apparent cause of any riot, its real cause is always lack of happiness.This shows that something is wrong with the system of government, undermining the very welfare upon which society depends. However, facts speak louder than words, and the example of the United States has confirmed these conclusions.If there is one country in the world that is least likely to be united by general estimates, it is the United States.It seems impossible to unite a nation composed of peoples from different countries, accustomed to different modes and characteristics of government, speaking different languages, and still more different in religion. but by simply establishing government upon social principles and the rights of the people, all difficulties are overcome, and all sides are in harmony.There the poor are not oppressed and the rich have no privileges.The growth of industry was not restrained by meeting the extravagant expenses of the court.They paid less in taxes, because that part of America, commonly called New England, consisted of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and was inhabited mainly by descendants of the English.In New York State, the Dutch make up about half, and the rest are British, Scots and Irish.In New Jersey, it was English mixed with Dutch, and some Scots and Irish.In Pennsylvania, about one-third are British, one-third are German, the rest are Scots and Irish, and some Swedes.In the southern states the proportion of Englishmen is greater than in the central states, but in all these states there is a mixture of nationalities, and, besides those enumerated above, a considerable number of French, and a few of the countries of coastal Europe.The sect with the largest number of members is the Presbyterian Church; but no sect is superior to another, and all are equal citizens. --author

. Their government is just; and as there is nothing there to make them suffer, there is nothing there to stir up riots and riots. A man of so much pomp and contentment as Mr. Burke would have racked his brains to study the means by which such a people should be governed.He may think that deceit must be used against some, violence against others, and intrigue against the whole people;After falling into the vast ocean of investigation and research, he will come to this conclusion and go back to that conclusion, but in the end he still misses the easy path before him. One of the most outstanding achievements of the American Revolution is that it led to the discovery of principles and exposed the deceptions of governments.Up to that time, all revolutions in history were carried out within the court, not based on the vast land.The parties to the revolution are always the courtiers; however eager they may be for reform, they are always careful to preserve the deceit of their trade.

In every case they have deliberately presented the government as a mystery known only to themselves; and concealed from the people the only thing worth knowing, namely, that the government operates only according to the original wealth of society. A national association that works. After having endeavored to show that the social and civilized condition of mankind is capable of performing within it almost all the necessary duties of its own protection and regulation, it may be useful to look again at the old existing governments, and to see whether their principles and practices are consistent with the above.