Price Of Their Natural Liberties example essay topic

As the Human Race enters the new millenium we have created a somewhat organized and affective society. This society consists of many states that govern their people by allowing them to go about their daily activities and providing them services without a large amount of chaos interfering in their lives "Human beings usually do not venture out of their caves (or the modern counterpart) unless there is a reasonable probability that they can return safely". (Low & Ginsberg, 12) Whether a particular government is very constricting or very helpful to the citizens, humans flock into political societies in order to concentrate on their allowed freedoms instead of anarchy in which legality and a right of ownership are non-existent. Humans therefore are obligated to create an environment where the "golden" bounce between freedom of the people and regulation by the government exists in the right amounts to produce harmony. The "Aim in founding the State was not the disproportionate happiness of any one class, but the greatest happiness of the whole". (Socrates, 25) Humans are drawn toward a government to regulate so everyone can go about their lives without large amounts of outside worry to their existence.

The fundamental common cause of a Human Government is for the overall welfare of the citizens by providing security and a ruling hand to prevent irrational chaos. The main point of what a Human Government strives to achieve is to act as a provider of liberty. Liberty is defined as, "The absence of external impediments: which impediments, may oft take away part of a man's power to do what he would; but cannot hinder him from using the power left him, according as his judgement and reason shall dictate to him". (Thomas Hobbes, 145) However, to agree to those restricting liberties the fact remains that consenting one's self to be part of a society must produce some kind of benefit. "Ma loses by the social contract his natural liberty, and an unlimited right to all which tempts him, and which he can obtain; in return he acquires civil liberty, and proprietorship of all he possesses".

(Jean Jacques Rousseau, 218) This has been the answer that all humans have looked upon since small tribes began to convene at the beginning of society. People join the political societies to concentrate on "The mutual preservation of their lives, liberties and estates" (John Locke, 184) by paying the price of their natural liberties. Humanity thrives on stability to make living easier to cope with to actually further the society as a whole instead of just worrying about survival. This makes simpler many essential aspects of life that would not be able to be improved without a stabilizing body. "The first and fundamental law of [human] nature is to seek peace and follow it". (Thomas Hobbes, 146) People are drawn towards governments because of the relative safety that they provide.

The human tendency to, "Seek peace and follow it" (Thomas Hobbes, 146) sets the precedent of how humanity wants political societies fairly governed. This is clearly shown by John Locke's law of nature: "The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges everyone; and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, liberty, or possessions. (John Locke, 170) Humanity is drawn into political societies because if ran properly are designed to punish the bad citizen and help the law abiding citizen maintain his / her personal prosperity. Man can, "Restrain, or, where it is necessary, destroy things noxious to them, and so may bring such evil on anyone who hath transgressed that law". (John Locke 171) Due to the fact that there is a human tendency to avoid destructive confrontation, a governed people provides the perfect forum to punish the wrong and allow the righteous to prosper. Although that statement may sound like a fairy tale it is no coincidence that it is undeniably morally correct for the good to continue to be good and the bad to stop being bad.

Throughout all of humanity that main idea is one of our most highly coveted values and is within the principle foundations of all governments. Humanity originally joined together to form governments because they wanted greater security against all that was oppressing in the world so they could look inward and improve their existence. If, "The chief represents the father of the family, the children the people; and all being born equal, and all free, they in either case only alienate their [natural] liberty in order to obtain what is more useful". (Jean Jacques Rousseau, 206) If people wanted to they could have stayed separated and remained in solitary groups. However, they naturally joined together to form larger societies all the way up to today's huge conglomeration of governed territory across all the land surface of the entire Earth. Humans were drawn into political societies in order to live in relative comfort by paying the price of their natural liberties.

People today obviously do not know first-hand what it is like to live in a large non-governed society. However, it can be deduced that the price of losing natural liberties was well worth it or the entire human race would not be governed. Time and time again, when an active government collapses, a new one springs up moments later to take the old ones place. Although all the great philosophers have similar ideas about why humanity forms political societies, they all decompose into the fact that governments are formed to fill the human need for security and necessary services so citizens can achieve a happy continued way of life.

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