Slavery! When I think of government, the first type that comes to mind is ademocratic government.
I am most used to it because I live in, theoretically, ademocratic society. So with that, my views are based on a democratic ideal. First, the reason I think people establish governments is so that they can worktogether as a whole to attain a better life. One where they would not need toworry about chaos and destruction. I would assume that if these individualsestablished a government, in order to have a civil state, they would want no oneperson, or few persons, to have complete control over them. The peoplewouldnt voluntarily give their lives to a rulers ideals.
Hopefully, theywould all know that the best ideals are the ideals of all the people broughttogether, in an organized fashion, to form a consensus. In a representativegovernment, this would be done by voting for a representative that holds beliefsclose to those of the people he or she is representing. In reading Rousseausselection, I have to agree with his idea that no single person would voluntarilyallow his or her life to be the property of an another. That person just mightas well save themselves from years of suffering and just commit suicide. Interms of government, citizens of a state would not give up all of their freedomsat the single command of the governments wishes.
Whats the point ofsearching for a better life if the government is taking complete control of howyou do it? It defeats the ideals of human nature. Those that make us strive forthat better life. People still feel the need to be an individual, even when theyare a part of a huge government. Of course, in todays society, we give upsome freedoms to have a voice in the consensus, such as killing someone at purewill.
For example, here in the United States, when the Constitution was written,we agreed to abide by its laws, even as they change through the course of time. We, as citizens of this country, agree that, as so long as we vote the laws intoaction, we will follow them. Theoretically, the people make the laws that theylive by. This is done through their representative in government. This conceptis great, but it does not always work. For instance the prohibition of alcoholin the early 1920s.
Thankfully, we allow this process to be flexible. Theprohibition of alcohol was later repealed. When slavery is practiced, themasters are going against the ideal of human nature that we are all responsiblefor our own lives. In condoning slavery, the masters are agreeing that eventheir own life can be the property of another. I am sure that they would notenjoy being a slave.
We live in this world as the only beings that canrationalize logically. I believe that freedom is one of those human natureelements. I think that being a slave would only make you realize how importantit is to have freedom. Too bad that we, who are free, take it for granted.
And Ithink that had the masters of slaves appreciated their own freedom, they wouldhave understood what they were doing. I hope.World History
