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To Alter Or To AbolishPrefaceWritten by Darrell Anderson. There are changes blowing in the wind. In some areas of the planet the wind is a gentle breeze. In other areas the wind is gusty and turbulent. The more important point is the driving forces behind this wind is the same everywhere. The current principles guiding today’s social and legal systems fail to provide equitable and peaceful social order. Human conflict is continually increasing and will continue to increase. Human conflicts and problems always have existed, but the population dynamics of the past few decades, rapidly changing technology, and failed social and political experiments, finally have exposed the glaring defects of these systems. The presumptions and equations driving current social and legal systems are flawed. Always have been. Unlike the past, with a true global exchange system now in full operation, those flawed presumptions and equations no longer can be hidden or ignored. Conflict continues to increase. The problem, however, is that while many people recognize the symptoms of turbulent times, most are unaware of the flaws. Thus, no meaningful solutions arise because so few can identify the root causes. This is a book about ideas. My goal is to examine some fundamental characteristics about human action and relationships, to promote a discussion that might reduce human conflict, and to suggest some guiding principles from which humans are more easily able to avoid and resolve potential conflict. By principles, I mean a set of knowable boundaries that guide human action. I am not proposing a comprehensive theory about human nature. My focus is on human nature within the context of social and legal systems, why the structure of the modern systems are inherently flawed, and why the existing foundations necessarily provoke conflict. My conclusion is that conflict is not hopelessly inevitable in human relations, but the basic design of these modern systems necessarily creates tension and conflict. I also believe many of the problems are solvable. Humans continue to transition from an Industrial Age into an Information Age. Individual autonomy continues to grow in perceived importance. Virtual communities now supplement or replace physical communities. Within physical communities, diversity and ethnicity create numerous diverse and differing subcultures. The principles that guided humans from the Agrarian Age into the Industrial Age — and provided tremendous prosperity to many people — are nonetheless failing. The old principles no longer satisfy. I want to discuss principles that can create a foundation for peacefully guiding any group of people. Using those concepts, people then can explain why current social and legal systems fail and can show that despite the “formality” of existing principles, when uninvited coercive processes are used as a means to guide human behavior there is effectively only one principle — ”might makes right.” When the one principle of “might makes right” is the foundation driving all other “principles,” then essentially there are no principles at all and only the illusion of principles. That analysis and conclusion will explain why the current models are failing in a dramatic manner. Whereas coercive human action focuses on the principle of “might makes right,” I want people discussing what kind of process determines what might be right. Human social and legal systems arise partially out of a desire to quash “might makes right.” However, understanding why the “might makes right” philosophy nonetheless prevails is important, otherwise no long-lasting peaceful solutions are possible. Change is necessary to continue peaceable coexistence, but the concept of maintaining the status quo resists such thinking. Human conflict will continue and likely increase unless a substantial number of people embrace certain fundamental attributes about human action. Using explicitly defined terms, and by reading and studying this book, readers will be able to discuss human interaction and the numerous causes of conflict within various human social environments. I structured this book with an emphasis on not patching symptoms but recognizing root causes. Through this book I hope to encourage people to start recognizing root causes. To repair the damage, however, a better understanding is required of why the current principles are inadequate. Therefore, I start with several basic observations about human interaction. Thereafter I add some general remarks about social systems, and follow that discussion with thoughts about legal systems. With those foundations I then discuss why modern social and legal systems fail — the idea of sustaining energy flows by attempting to create virtual perpetual motion through the captured labor of other people — slavery and indentured servitude. Be prepared to be astonished how deeply this concept invades human existence. I then provide a short examination of American history to show how those principles apply and why the American social and legal systems are failing rapidly. Lastly, I conclude my observations and offer some thoughts about solutions and transitions. Unlike university professors who write books based upon daily lectures and continual academic interaction, this book began strictly as a personal intellectual journey. I saw around me a world in turmoil and increasing conflict. Standard textbook answers were unsatisfying. I asked questions and I received only silence. I began researching this book about 15 years ago, although I had no idea then that one day I would write a book. Words began to appear on paper about seven years ago in a collection of essays. When I began my journey I thought I had a few things figured out. I did, but nowhere near as much as I originally believed. I had to make many adjustments and revise much of what I thought I knew. The most important lesson learned is the enormity of trying to understand human interaction and the social and legal systems people create. I learned much in the past many years only because I required myself to remain open-minded to whatever I discovered. My discoveries required me to change. There were numerous adjustments to my own perspectives and worldview. I suspect that few people are willing to go through such an experience. Intellectual curiosity drove me, but peeling the layers away from my beliefs and examining them objectively as possible is not something for the mild-mannered. Change is always challenging. Although I make no claim to have all the answers, I have discovered many answers that are contrary to status quo teaching — answers I suspect many people will not want to hear. I offer no apologies for what I share, but if you are an individual who intuitively knows that something is fundamentally wrong with the current social and legal systems, then I ask you to read this book with an open mind. I have no problem with you challenging my ideas, but are you ready to challenge your own? That is the process I have been facing for the past dozen years or so. Perhaps I have found a few pieces of the puzzle called life. Perhaps not. Actually, I do not think I have discovered anything new. I only saw new ways to assemble the jigsaw puzzle and the pieces now seem to fit better. You be the judge but you can’t judge if you refuse to read, think, and entertain the ideas of other people. More importantly, the world never will change unless we all are ready to step out of the box. Are you ready? My ideas are just that — abstract thoughts. This book proclaims no great, undiscovered universal or physical truths, is not a one-solution polemic promising peace and good will among all, but merely provides one perspective of the puzzle called conflict. There are many intangibles involved with studying humans, such as the uniquely human attributes of prestige, pride, recognition, honor, jealousy, envy, revenge, dignity, fads, and trends. I do not examine those numerous topics but concentrate from a more focused perspective. This book is not the result of a desire to stand on a soapbox, but an effort on my part to understand the world around me. I once learned that if somebody wants to master a topic then that individual might consider teaching or writing about the subject. That is how this book started — a self-imposed journey to understand several ideas and topics. Notes and individual essays kept evolving and eventually I saw some patterns emerge. I long ago lost count how often I have revised this project, or how often I intentionally or subconsciously changed course and outcome based upon new insights, perspectives, and knowledge. I urge readers to receive this book in the same spirit — as a piece of the puzzle in the journey called life. You will not find me labeling myself a follower of any particular school of philosophy, economics, or law. I have some general preferences, but overall I believe nobody has mastered all the facts and all there is to know. I also believe that nobody ever will master all knowledge and everybody has something to contribute, and that is why I refrain from jumping on bandwagons advocating a particular belief system or worldview. You will notice in my bibliography that I tried to read a variety of authors and perspectives. I tried not to pigeon-hole my efforts. Humans live in a mighty big universe, and nobody has yet proven to me that anybody has everything figured out. Including me — I am just a front porch philosopher. If I have discovered anything in my journey I have recognized that the more I learn the more I realize how little I know. Even a blind hog occasionally finds the acorn. However, if you the reader come from a traditional perspective of political science, economics, social systems, worldviews, and beliefs, be advised that the ideas presented here might challenge you. You might even be tempted to throw this book across the room, but you have been forewarned! This book is, after all, an effort to examine root causes and foundations. By nature therefore, the information contained herein should challenge many people. The vision of my own full-length book nagged me for a long time, until I formally began organizing the ideas presented here. This book is a result of many years of exploration. Although reading is largely a linear process and I have tried to write the book in such a manner, nonetheless some topics overlap or run in parallel. Thus, please be patient and continue reading before deciding I might have missed the boat on a particular topic. As expected, I accept full responsibility for all errors, omissions, misinterpretations, and mistakes you might find. Possibly the most satisfying aspect of my years of curiosity was learning that many other people are asking questions too. I’m trying to be modest, but I hope some of you will read what I have discovered. You might find a few answers that have alluded you. Thanks for joining my journey. Finis. Next: Acknowledgments |
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