A Dialog on Societal Change

I propose that the only way to mold our society into one that truly serves the people and provides freedom and justice for all is to change how we raise our children and provide them the right training that relates to their talents as discovered at an early age. If children have have qualities to be leaders, then they need to be taught to be benevolent and that serving the population is their highest goal and the most worthy. These children need to be taught philosophy as their main subject along with science and math etc.
The most important part is that when an individual becomes a leader they are not allowed to own property or attain wealth but they are provided for by the people they serve. I believe this would create a codependent relationship that would satisfy both the leader and the people. The people are free and can pursue their earthly desires and better themselves and the leader must serve the people well since their existence depends upon the people.
We would be selected and shaped based on our observed skills into into roles that best serve our talents. If you are an artist you do art, a scientist, you do science, etc. You do what you are best at and like doing.
Keep in mind this is just a theory so I haven’t covered all possibilities or flaws that may be present in this proposed system. I think the leaders need to have the position of what we now would call benevolent dictators, but not have the absolute power that corrupts.

I’ve read platos republic (all books) and this is the position I have come to, as a result of looking at the various types of society. I believe none of the modern forms of government we have seen work. Neither aristocracy, communism, nor democracy have worked well and the major failing in these is that to much power can cause even a just man to be unjust and an unjust man will be unjust by default, so we need to change our basic understanding and try to instill benevolence in all people and move toward a benevolent society. This kind of change won’t happen overnight an may take hundreds if not thousands of years.

Our current democratic systems in North America and other parts if the world have become plutocracies in the guise of democracy. They aren’t working and we are headed for a fall from my observations of how political parties have started to swing far left and far right that used to be more moderate. If we don’t temper these divides through mutual respect and a love for each other that transcends our difference we are doomed to extinction.

One other system that comes to mind is tyrannical. We’ve had those too in the world. History records the likes of Calligula (Rome) , Ivan IV (Russia), Gengis Kahn (Mongolia), Leopold (Belgium) or perhaps Vlad III ( Romania) aka Vlad the Impaler.

The best example I can discuss would be fictional and in Frank Herbert’s: God Emperor of Dune. There is a lot of wisdom and truth in Herbert’s writings about polical systems

“Scratch a conservative and you find someone who prefers the past over any future. Scratch a liberal and find a closet aristocrat. It’s true! Liberal governments always develop into aristocracies. The bureaucracies betray the true intent of people who form such governments. Right from the first, the little people who formed the governments which promised to equalize the social burdens found themselves suddenly in the hands of bureaucratic aristocracies. Of course, all bureaucracies follow this pattern, but what a hypocrisy to find this even under a communized banner. Ahhh, well, if patterns teach me anything it’s that patterns are repeated. My oppressions, by and large, are no worse than any of the others and, at least, I teach a new lesson. ” – Leto II from God Emporer of Dune by Frank Herbert

Even with all this I think that the significance of Leto’s Golden Peace is that the human race may be in fact fundamentally irredeemable- incapable of saving itself. It requires the intervention of a higher power and in this novel a human transforms himself into the representation of that higher power, not with love, but with Tyrany.
Leto II sets out and sees to completion a 3000 year reign that ensures that people will never again trust the reign of any government and will not blindly follow, but question government and authority.

I truly hope that we are redeemable but alas I know I will be long gone before we see the Golden age of humanity come to fruition. A time when the light in humanity , that spark of the divine so few find reaches all and we exemplify the best in ourselves and respect each other on a global scale.