Why do we insist on a state of nature?
We've become - Democrats, Tea partiers, Republicans, Independents and others - so incredibly self-centered and self-interested in our political interactions that we're blind to it and how it is affecting us as a whole people. The common good has become invisible in a flood of individual interest - "Don't tax me more than that guy!" "Don't take away my benefits!" "Fund this program that I like!" "Don't fund that program that doesn't benefit me!"
In the process, responsibility is lost. This is something I've been thinking about for some time; we've lost the ability to accept responsibility for what we do and how we do it. We're removed from the food we eat, the power we use, and the places we frequent - we don't participate in their creation or their cleanup, we've found ways to outsource those unpleasantries. We're only interested in their consumption. Because of that, we're willing to pass those costs onto the parts of society that are invisible to us - those in poverty, minorities, immigrants, future generations - and live in blissful consumerist ignorance.
Without making the mistake of a belief in a "golden era" where everything used to be perfect, it is clear that the last two generations, and potentially many more to come, are progressively more removed from responsibility and more addicted to self-interested consumption without consequence.
The cycle perpetuates - when everyone is only looking out for his or her self, we're in a state of nature. Hobbes wrote prolifically on how society frees us from such an awful place and allows us to accomplish great things when we're not constantly preoccupied with self-interest. He wrote about the inherent value of such an arrangement, and the quality of life that it bestows upon those willing to cooperate for mutual benefit. As it is, we're trying very hard to reinstate such a state of nature.
I am cognizant of the barrage of "I know what's wrong in politics and here's THE way to fix EVERYTHING!" and I read them with a sense of skepticism and pessimism. However, this is not a 'fix' for politics; I see it as a fundamental problem on ALL sides of the isle. If we're going to find a solution, we need to start with a healthy foundation. Politics can no longer be a route to power, but a service of humble representation. Funding for programs cannot be inexhaustibly elastic but must be considered in terms of the cost to other areas. We must drastically shorten the chains for our food, our power and our luxuries.
In short, we must be unwilling to live in ignorance of the consequences of our decisions.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/10/where-is-honor-in-america/65014/
In the process, responsibility is lost. This is something I've been thinking about for some time; we've lost the ability to accept responsibility for what we do and how we do it. We're removed from the food we eat, the power we use, and the places we frequent - we don't participate in their creation or their cleanup, we've found ways to outsource those unpleasantries. We're only interested in their consumption. Because of that, we're willing to pass those costs onto the parts of society that are invisible to us - those in poverty, minorities, immigrants, future generations - and live in blissful consumerist ignorance.
Without making the mistake of a belief in a "golden era" where everything used to be perfect, it is clear that the last two generations, and potentially many more to come, are progressively more removed from responsibility and more addicted to self-interested consumption without consequence.
The cycle perpetuates - when everyone is only looking out for his or her self, we're in a state of nature. Hobbes wrote prolifically on how society frees us from such an awful place and allows us to accomplish great things when we're not constantly preoccupied with self-interest. He wrote about the inherent value of such an arrangement, and the quality of life that it bestows upon those willing to cooperate for mutual benefit. As it is, we're trying very hard to reinstate such a state of nature.
I am cognizant of the barrage of "I know what's wrong in politics and here's THE way to fix EVERYTHING!" and I read them with a sense of skepticism and pessimism. However, this is not a 'fix' for politics; I see it as a fundamental problem on ALL sides of the isle. If we're going to find a solution, we need to start with a healthy foundation. Politics can no longer be a route to power, but a service of humble representation. Funding for programs cannot be inexhaustibly elastic but must be considered in terms of the cost to other areas. We must drastically shorten the chains for our food, our power and our luxuries.
In short, we must be unwilling to live in ignorance of the consequences of our decisions.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/10/where-is-honor-in-america/65014/