The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

A Just Government and a Just Society

The question of the role of government and society, and what constitutes a just government and society, has bedeviled mankind for millennia. Many different forms of government and societies have risen and fallen in human civilization. Most of these governments and societies were oppressive and unjust. Some have tried, and failed, to be less oppressive and more just with limited success. This was mainly due to their not being guided by what constitutes a just government and society, then how to institute and maintain a just government and society. Entire works of literature and entreaties have been written that examines this issue. Yet, the simplest explanation that I have found for what constitutes a just government comes from one of Americas founding documents:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
- Declaration of Independence, July 4^th, 1776

The comment “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” defines what is a just government and society. Any government or society that protects these rights is a just government and society, and any government or society that does not is unjust. The next comment “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” defines the purpose of government or society – to secure these rights, and with the approval of its citizens. Without this surety and approval, a government or society is unjust.

Both items must be recognized and enforced to have a just government and just society. It is with this recognition that we may judge “A Just Government and a Just Society”.

In America, we instituted a just government through the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, which institutes limited responsibilities and enumerate powers of the Federal government, as well as the recognition of Human Rights as stated in my article “The Underlying Meaning of the Bill of Rights”. If any branch of the federal government exceeds the powers enumerated in the Constitution it can be construed as an unjust action as I have expressed in my observation “Limited and Enumerated Powers”.

Human Rights are not given by society nor government, they are restrictions on society and government to not infringe on your Human Rights. You do not have a Human Right to be given anything, either by society or government, but you do have the Human Right to obtain things through your own skills, abilities, and efforts. Therefore, anyone who wishes to give you something like a Human Right does not understand the true meaning of Human Rights. You must also remember that if someone gives you something they may ultimately take if from you. To listen to such a person often leads to the slippery slope of infringements of your Human Rights. It also makes you dependent on the giver which will restrict your Freedoms and Liberties. You must also remember that government has no monies of its own, that all monies that it has have been obtained through taxes of its citizens.  And that when the government gives somebody something, they ultimately must take it from someone to give it to another.

A fear amongst the Founding Fathers was that by specifying the Human Rights in the Bill of Rights that the government would interpret the Constitution to constrict Human Rights to only those items mentioned in the Constitution. They were aware that it was not possible to specify all the Human Rights in the Constitution, so they incorporated this language to recognize this fact, and to constrict the government from impinging on other Human Rights. They also wished to constrict the Federal governments' scope of responsibly to only those items outlined in the Constitution. 

A just government and society are ones that recognize and respect the human rights of its members. Not only in governmental actions but also in the non-governmental actions of its citizens. For if you conduct yourself in an unjust manner you cannot have a just society. One of the tenants of a just society is that no one may be deprived of their Human Right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness without the “Justice and the Rule of Law in America” for governmental actions, and “Justice and the Rule of Law in Non-Judicial Proceedings” for societal actions.

It should be remembered that taxes are levied to support the necessary functions of the government for the good of all, not for the good of some. To do so otherwise is tantamount to depriving someone of their monies earned by their work and labor for the benefit of another. For who has the right to take money out of the pocket of one person to give it to another person without their consent (also called Spending Other People’s Money). Or as President Lincoln as stated:

"You work and toil and earn bread, and I'll eat it." No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.
- Abraham Lincoln

And taking monies from a taxpayer to give to another is the same principle. This taking of taxes to benefit some people, rather than all the people, infringes on the Human Rights of those that have been taken from. Some of the governmental actions that violate these tenants are direct Government Entitlements to individuals (further elaborated in my article “Entitlements”) and the funding of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s). NGO’s are often special interest groups with a common objective of their members. Sometimes these objectives are economic, political, or social. But in all these cases it is for the benefit of their members' objectives i.e. the good of some, and it is not for everyone’s benefit i.e. the good of all.

But it is not only the government that must recognize and protect Human Rights, but also a society that must recognize and protect Human Rights. What are your Human Rights worth if the government allows for them, but a society sanctions you by exercising your Human Rights? These sanctions can be both forthright and/or insidious. Forthright as discussed in my Article "Natural, Constitutional, and Civil Rights". Insidious in that the action of groups or companies that appear to be benevolent but in effect are a violation of Human Rights (another Article will be forthcoming on this subject). This requires that society and its members conduct themselves in a civil manner (further elaborated in my article “A Civil Society”). It also requires that society recognizes “Justice and the Rule of Law in Non-Judicial Proceedings”. We must also stop the “Fear and Intimidation in the USA” as examined in my Chirp of the same name as follows:

The 21^st century has shown a dramatic increase in fear and intimidation in America. The political polarization and division in America, along with the actions of many people in support of their politics and policies, has led to this sad situation. And much of this has been done by leftist and progressives in America. They believe they have this right because of their “Creed of Progressives and Leftists” as explained in another Chirp.

People are afraid to express their true thoughts, feelings, and opinions. The possibility of death threats, physical violence, doxing, loss of employment, loss of employment opportunity or employment advancement, loss of business revenue, loss of friendships and relations, etc. has led people to suppress their true thoughts, feelings, and opinions. This has led to many polling inaccuracies, and election prognostications and predictions that have been wrong, as people are simply afraid of telling anybody what they really believe. This also leads to annoyance, frustration, infuriation, then hostility (as in my Observation “I'm As Mad As Hell, And I'm Not Going To Take This Anymore!”. This could lead to potential civil unrest by those who believe that their Human Rights have been violated.

Our basic Human Rights are suffering as a result. People can no longer exercise these Human Rights without fear of intimidation. In some places in America, they cannot even depend on police protection, as the police are constrained by politically correct politicians. These Human Rights (as stated in my article “The Underlying Meaning of the Bill of Rights”) are in danger, not by government actions, but by mob actions. And this must be stopped, or we cannot be a people dedicated to Human Rights.