Justice – The Burden of the Modern State

admin — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 09:30:50 +0000

“What is just?” is obviously one of the most-asked questions in the political history of the world. Its answer is, in principle, impossible. Many of us have often wondered how it is possible for a certain politician or ruler to be so ignorant and incapable of the position he holds. And to embody in such an amazing and incontrovertible way the definition of “remarkably stupid.” People often say that it is not fair for “remarkably stupid” politicians to be elected and to exercise delegated representative power of that sort that characterizes the government in modern states. I don’t agree with this.

The personal qualities and abilities of modern rulers have only an indirect influence in defining and achieving a certain state of political justice. The world is full of examples of intellectually significant but corrupt political minds who have brought a great deal of misery to the societies over which they have had the opportunity to exercise power. Political justice is a group perception, a group decision, and a group condition. All three of these are a function of the attitudes, views, and expectations in a society.

Justice in the modern state is not a static moral category, but a dynamic state, a function of public agreement. Public agreement itself is not static, either. It changes according to the current situation. Nowadays, political justice is determined dynamically by three factors: the constitution, the laws in effect, and the current state of public consensus on a given issue. Because constitutions are change-resistant documents, and laws, at least in theory, do not change often, the only variable in determining the state of political justice is passively or actively expressed public agreement.

Buy and learn more:

The New American Polity eBook on Amazon

[Paperback]

Justice in the Premodern State

admin — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 09:20:57 +0000

Shifting the focus from “Who makes the decision?” to “How is a given decision made?” subjects the process of governing to the power of procedures and, in this way, limits the rulers. This process is carried out through written regulations, without the ruler’s right to decide being called into question. The creation of statutes governing how rulers make decisions has been known since antiquity and has gone through different variations, according to the specificities of the countries and the cultural characteristics of the societies in which they have functioned.

When, in today’s complex world, we are gripped by political fear of the future and we fall into extremes or pessimism, it is important to remind ourselves that we can easily control the power and governments of the countries in which we live. Public discontent on social networks and mass protests for several weeks alone are sufficient for us to change our government. Only a few generations in the history of human civilization have had this comfortable relationship with the government. In the historical perspective, people have improved the condition of their states and political organizations primarily, if not entirely, as a result of crises, wars, or catastrophic decisions by inadequate rulers. Today we have the chance to improve our countries without the help of crises and cataclysms.

In our day, power is fragile, and our rulers are paper tigers who disintegrate into tiny pieces with each more serious flurry of public discontent. That is, the presence in elected political positions of people who are visibly inadequate, or even completely devoid of intellect, should not worry us. We must, however, be horrified by a situation in which people stop putting pressure on those in power. Or when they let the rulers govern without any control.

Buy and learn more:

The New American Polity eBook on Amazon

[Paperback]

justice – The New American State

Justice – The Burden of the Modern State

Justice in the Premodern State