Monday, November 13, 2006

Utopia1: Intro+Forms of Government

Utopia is the one thing human governments have been striving for since before Thomas More. Utopia is, in essence, the ideal state. That is why I shall, over the course of several articles, expound upon a theory I have held for some time pertaining to the seeming truth that a Utopia can only be achieved if the world is united into a global state, because otherwise we can neither attain world peace nor reduce economic competition to a productive level.
After we develop this global state, we get to the important part: setting up the government, which I believe should be decided upon before we try to unite the world. Various forms of government have been tested and tried over the years, and four in particular have come forward as important ones: Communism, Capitalism, Democracy, and a Parliamentary system. Note that these are neither mutually exclusive nor inclusive. Each one has its pros and cons. The duty of a Utopian government is to attempt to achieve as many of the pros and as few of the cons as possible. So, let's discuss the pros and cons of each governmental system. Communism is a way for a government to gain control over the basic trade structure and potentially ensure that the basic needs of all the citizens are provided for. However, many problems have been found in the basic setup of Communism. The lack of culture and the lack of motivation to do well or not do evil are the major complaints. In other words, Communism leads to fascism. Capitalism, on the other hand, is a way for the free market to take control, and the consumer grabs the reins. There is considerably more room innovation and entrepreneurial growth. However, there is never a guarantee of anything. This means that we want some government involvement in the market, but not too much. This is called Socialism.
However, Socialism isn't necessarily good, either. There isn't a bright line standard for what is enough or what is too much government involvement. This means that policies can change. When this happens, the private companies cannot always cope. They are forced to adjust, and they may not be capable of it. And there still isn't a guarantee that those with less money or purchasing power will be able to get the things they need. The ideal system, therefore, would be one where the citizens hold direct control over the distribution process, with some interference by the state.
Democracy is a way for the people to voice their opinions and influence major (and/or all) political decisions. This seems like a good thing right off the bat, but we have to realize that it leads to majority rule and potentially to the disenfranchisement of the minority. A Parliamentary system is a way for a few people to hold a large amount of power and use that power to serve their country. On the other hand, there isn't necessarily a guarantee that those in power will do the right thing. Thus, it is fairly easy to see that we need, in addition to a Democracy, some sort of constitution to assure that the minority will get enough representation and/or will not be disenfranchised.

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