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V.J. Chalupa On Post-Modern Politics
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CHAPTER 19 PRINCIPLES OF
POLITICS -- ACHIEVABILITY OF ENDS Political
purposes whose contents are contrary to the above tendencies (laws) written into
reality (by its Creator), are condemned to failure: endeavors to stop change, to
inhibit the variability of spiritual activity, to prevent selection among its
products and to disrupt their integration result in chaos and breakdown of
cultures, civilizations and societies. The achievability of purposes and
usefulness of means depends on observing certain principles: their must be in
harmony with the unfolding of the cosmos; they must allow for change; they must
include variability and selection; they must safeguard differentiation and
integration. The evaluation of the basic elements of politics -- its purposes
and objects of care -- are subjected to these criteria in this chapter. (The
next chapter is devoted to the evaluation of means both under the principles
governing achievability of ends as well as suitability of means to achieve
them.) Purpose Politics
is actions whose purpose is the betterment of the situation of a certain group
of people through participation in the directing of public affairs. The term
"betterment" indicates that utilization of a means brings reality
closer to the contents of an objective or a norm; it fails to indicate what the
contents of the objective or norm are, the situation in reality which the
subject of volition intends to achieve. The term "betterment"
therefore applies to any such contents and the only objective criterion by which
the choice of the political purpose can be judged is its achievability. The
analysis of achievability (cf. Chapter 17) shows that the success of a political
objective depends on its
compatibility with the "laws of nature". This analysis led to the
conclusion that a basic "law of nature" is that of evolution (as
defined in Chapter 17, section on nature) and that this unfolding of the
universe led to spirituality
(mind) as its carrier. Therefore, the highest degree of achievability (and
permanence) belongs to politics which is in harmony with this evolution, which
identifies itself with its trend. (If cosmos is understood as an act of a being
endowed by reason and will, then the highest degree of achievability belongs to
politics which represents synergy with this being.) It follows that the
objective of politics should be the actualization of spiritual potentialities of
a given human collective and that "betterment" of any human collective
is identical with the unfolding of its members' spiritual qualities. A subject
of politics should therefore construct his or its purposive system, i.e., select
and evaluate the suitability and usefulness of means and harmfulness of things
and activities, according to whether they contribute or impede the spiritual
development of its object of care. Spiritual development as an aim also
corresponds to life's tendency to grow reflected in man's objective of happiness
which is maximum or optimal -- spiritual growth has no limits: it not only
encompasses the universe, it aspires to transcend it. Spiritual
development as an objective of politics is a term so wide (so abstract) that it
does not permit any deduction which concrete shape spiritual evolution will
take; the examination of reality does not disclose any clear-cut, definite form
it will assume. Various speculations on this question can exist, but none is
able to determine with certainty by
which spiritual qualities will be endowed the kind of man towards whom the
unfolding of the universe progresses. Due to this uncertainty politics can only
aspire to clear obstacles from the working of factors which drive evolution and
which are known: variability, selection, differentiation and integration. The
factor of variability among humans
is the individual; this is a consequence of the immense richness of the genetic
endowment of the human race. The factor of selection is contest on three levels:
between individuals, between the individual and his collective, and between
human collectives. The outcome is differentiation which must never reach the
level of disintegration; the element of integration is the creation of society:
human collectives are always articulate: an outcome of evolution, a sum of
individuals which developed specialized organs for the performance of common and
community functions. The
freeing and ordering of the factors of evolution for the purpose of inducing the
maximum spiritual growth, depends on the choice of the means of politics, and
will be treated in this connection. Object of care To
the subject of volition, the object of care is usually given: parents take care
of their children, a farmer takes care of his fields, and so on. If the object
of care is not given and has to be selected, the purpose willed by the subject
of volition is the only possible criterion for his (its) choice. If the subject
of volition selects from a number of possible objects the one on which he
intends to concentrate his care, then he will select the one in which his
purpose will be achieved most completely, most easily and most speedily. The
selection of the object of care becomes, for the subject of volition, a means
towards the achievement of his purpose. A child is a given object of care for
its parents; if a couple does not have their own child and seeks a baby for
adoption, they will select one whose properties correspond to their ideal of a
child concerning sex, race, color of eyes and hair, age, health and any other
qualities of the purpose they have in mind. The selection of an adoptive baby is
a means towards achieving their goal. As
explained, the objective of politics should be the unfolding of the
spiritual qualities (= "betterment") of members of a group of
humans. Spirituality is a quality of individual human beings, the objective of
politics is not an individual, but a group of men. Therefore, when selecting a
group (collective) as an object of care, the decisive criterion is the viability
of collectives whose source of cohesion is the same or similar combination of
spiritual qualities, that articulates, stabilizes and deepens the attained level
of differentiation of the human race, and is thus an agent of the spiritual
development of the whole of humanity whose integral part
it is. Insofar
as the purpose of politics is to bring about the maximum spiritual development,
then the choice of its object of care is the choice of a human collective which
possesses the greatest potential for the actualization of this purpose.
Such selection is not based on hope, faith or sentiment; it is based on the
rational conclusion that political purposes are achievable only as long and to
the extent that they are in harmony with natural laws governing reality (cf. the
preceding section). Among human collectives which are in reality objects of care
of politics, the ones that best fulfills these requirements are nations because
of their biological foundation and the spiritual (mental, cultural) environment
they produce. The
individuality of national culture is expressed in all areas: religion, morals,
law, art, science; in state, economic, social and political institutions, in its
civilization (material manifestations -- buildings, habitat, roads, airfields,
ports; fields, forests, parks, gardens). It represents the variability of
spiritual evolution. Selection takes place by competition among nations.
Spiritual movements arising in mankind pass through the prism of national
cultures, undergo alteration, are integrated (or rejected - but rejection also
leaves its traces) by national cultures and in their assimilated forms
transposed into reality. The viability of these various forms (of philosophy,
art, institutions and civilizations) is tested in their direct or indirect
contests, and their most viable variation is then accepted by or imposed on all
of humanity or its large parts. The rise of nations transformed the former
diffuse and disjointed state of culture into distinct integrated wholes whose
variability and competition provides the basis for further spiritual development
and integration of humanity on a wider level. The
function of nations as agents of evolution of mankind's mental faculties is
rooted in causality and therefore a
given. The richness of European culture arose from the interaction and
competition of nations; a strong unfolding of human creativity follows usually
the era in which a nation becomes aware of and articulates its individuality,
its uniqueness and its potential to contribute to mankind's common culture.
Areas where evolution into nations has not taken place (Africa, Australia) have
contributed much less. Nations as products of unfolding of nature's
potentialities have a vitality exceeding that of other human collectives. Summary Conclusions
following from the preceding two chapters represent the basis for the evaluation
of means which form the "sharing in the direction of public affairs."
This is their summary: a)
What is the purpose of politics, i.e., what is
"betterment of the situation" of a group of people? Betterment of the situation of a group of people is a situation
which permits, supports and induces its maximum spiritual development. b) Which group of people should be the "object of care" of
politics? The object of care of politics should be that group which is
the natural agent of spiritual development and which has in spiritual
development the same function as species have in the development of life, i.e.,
the nation. c)
What are the constant means of politics, i.e., under what conditions will the
object of care attain its maximum spiritual development? The conditions of the object of care are to be in harmony with the general conditions of evolution, i.e., its elements -- differentiation and selection are to be present to the largest extent and integration is to exceed differentiation.
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