Justice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms but great robberies? For what are robberies themselves, but little kingdoms? The band itself is made up of men; it is ruled by the authority of a prince, it is knit together by the pact of the confederacy; the booty is divided by the law agreed on. If, by the admittance of abandoned men, this evil increases to such a degree that it holds places, fixes abodes, takes possession of cities, and subdues peoples, it assumes the more plainly the name of a kingdom, because the reality is now manifestly conferred on it, not by the removal of covetousness, but by the addition of impunity.
- St Augustine City of God Book 4 Chapter 4
Yesterday, we looked at whether one is a citizen or merely a slave (whose vote doesn’t matter) in this large empire of the U.S.S.A. of Usury, Sodomy, Sex, and Abortion.
While pondering the post, we turn again to whether the government is a legitimate one at all.
That is - does it serve the common good?
You see, Aristotle, Plato, St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas….
None of the Ancients or Middle Age thinkers, really, thought that any one government structure was, in it’s nature, evil.
They had their preferences, yes.
But, if it served the common good, all is well.
St Augustine though, he puts it all on the line rather bluntly.
If the government doesn’t serve the people, they’re thieves. Stealing from the common good.
And, contrary to all the crazy, wide-eyed Libertarians - he’s not talking about money.
He’s talking about abuse of Justice systems, social wealth, political power…
You know, all the things that make human society real.
Alive.
And perfect man in our nature.
They’re stealing that from us, and making us like beasts.
So, the first steps, as reader
requested…Is to find every way,
every single way,
that you and your family support the current system.
And ruthlessly cut it out to the best of your ability.
Stop making excuses.
Look at outcomes.
And stop riding the donkey.
And if this is true it is evident that the sameness of the state consists chiefly in the sameness of the constitution, and it may be called or not called by the same name, whether the inhabitants are the same or entirely different. It is quite another question, whether a state ought or out not to fulfil engagements when the form of government changes.
- Aristotle Politics Book 3 Chapter 4