Slavery! When I think of government, the first type that comes to mind is a
democratic government. I am most used to it because I live in, theoretically, a
democratic society. So with that, my views are based on a democratic ideal.
First, the reason I think people establish governments is so that they can work
together as a whole to attain a better life. One where they would not need to
worry about chaos and destruction. I would assume that if these individuals
established a government, in order to have a civil state, they would want no one
person, or few persons, to have complete control over them. The people
wouldn’t voluntarily give their lives to a rulers’ ideals. Hopefully, they
would all know that the best ideals are the ideals of all the people brought
together, in an organized fashion, to form a consensus. In a representative
government, this would be done by voting for a representative that holds beliefs
close to those of the people he or she is representing. In reading Rousseau’s
selection, I have to agree with his idea that no single person would voluntarily
allow his or her life to be the property of an another. That person just might
as well save themselves from years of suffering and just commit suicide. In
terms of government, citizens of a state would not give up all of their freedoms
at the single command of the government’s wishes. What’s the point of
searching for a better life if the government is taking complete control of how
you do it? It defeats the ideals of human nature. Those that make us strive for
that better life. People still feel the need to be an individual, even when they
are a part of a huge government. Of course, in today’s society, we give up
some freedoms to have a voice in the consensus, such as killing someone at pure
will. For example, here in the United States, when the Constitution was written,
we agreed to abide by its laws, even as they change through the course of time.
We, as citizens of this country, agree that, as so long as we vote the laws into
action, we will follow them. Theoretically, the people make the laws that they
live by. This is done through their representative in government. This concept
is great, but it does not always work. For instance the prohibition of alcohol
in the early 1920’s. Thankfully, we allow this process to be flexible. The
prohibition of alcohol was later repealed. When slavery is practiced, the
masters are going against the ideal of human nature that we are all responsible
for our own lives. In condoning slavery, the masters are agreeing that even
their own life can be the property of another. I am sure that they would not
enjoy being a slave. We live in this world as the only beings that can
rationalize logically. I believe that freedom is one of those human nature
elements. I think that being a slave would only make you realize how important
it is to have freedom. Too bad that we, who are free, take it for granted. And I
think that had the masters of slaves appreciated their own freedom, they would
have understood what they were doing. I hope.