My Political Views. pt 1

I spend a lot of time in my head.  When I'm not required to actively interact with people I usually have earbuds in, listening to podcasts.  Some favorites are listed on the sidebar of this blog.  My attention broadly falls into two categories, political science/politics and history.  And since I've been stewing in this accumulation of information for so long, I finally feel a need to sort of aggregate and organize some things I believe.  I also think a person should know what they believe and be able to articulate and defend it. 
So here goes the first of what hopefully will be a long series of posts as I work on doing just that.

First Principles.
My favorite classes in college were Political Philosophy, which impressed on me that before we can discuss politics, there needs to be a philosophical/theological foundation.  Something that recognizes "principles of life," for lack of a better term.  At some level a person is forced to make assumptions about how the world around us came to be and about how it functions.  Hopefully these assumptions are at least based on direct observation, but can also be shaped by tradition, popular opinion, and individual circumstances.  Because of all this there is a limit to how deep we should go when discussing first principles.  I think of it like a fractal zoom, but of ideas and logic. 

 
At some point we go over into the realm of philosophy and theology.  This needs to be thought out at some point, but for the sake of my current purpose, I want to recognize that door but not go through it.
So what are some first principles about individuals, society, and power?
1. We exist in history.  We occupy a particular moment in time as a consequence of past action by our ancestors.  The world was here before us and we have every reason to believe that it will be here after.  A worldview which does not consider history is incomplete.  And we have an obligation to the generations to come.
2. We are social animals.  A fundamental human need is to love and be loved.  We need to know that our lives matter to other people.  We constantly strive to belong to a group.  Our individual happiness and fulfillment depends more on our connections with other people than on personal wealth or achievements. 
3.  The iron law of oligarchy.  In any group leaders and hierarchy will always emerge.  What form that takes and by what criteria depends on the situation.  In a chaotic situation, the ability to use force will be most valuable and a leader will be the strongest physically or militarily.  Think of all the Caesars of Rome who seized power after winning in battle.  In more stable situations the ability to attract people to your ideas will be valuable and a leader will be the most compelling or entertaining.  Think of modern Protestantism with its market research, demographically targeted programs, brand image, and entertaining worship.  All of it designed to attract people to a particular church.
4. To use the word State is to use the word Force.  Our common vernacular doesn't distinguish between the State and the government.  But the State is the legal and traditional framework for organizing a society.  The government is simply the collection of individuals who do the tasks required by the State.  The fundamental (but not only) purpose of the State is to establish and maintain order.  Which means the State must safeguard the person, property, and welfare of its people. 
5. Violence can be justified.  Just as a person is justified in self-defense, so the state can protect itself.  In fact the State is obligated to do so, whether that threat be from other citizens or from outside the state.  This also applies to indirect threats.  I think it also applies to offensive action toward other states and actors who threaten the stability and welfare of the globe.  However, violence tends to cause more violence and is never to be used lightly. 
6. There must be a balance between realpolitik and ideology.  Even a hyperpower such as the US is limited in what it can control.  We will need to work with regimes that are opposed to our values of liberty, equality, and opportunity.  But we don't want to be morally ambiguous.  We want to support other societies who support these values and influence others to our way of thinking.
7.   There must be a balance between humility and pride.  The US is an amazing society.  We have many things to be proud of.  I've had the wonderful opportunity to spend time in Mexico (~9 months over a couple trips) and Thailand (3+ years in country) and through that experience I see that we are not nearly so bad as our critics say.  But neither are we the greatest country on earth.  We're just another people figuring it out as we go along.  We have things to learn and things to share.

I'm starting to drift into moral imperatives and my kids just woke up so I'll call it quits on this post here.  I'm sure I can keep adding to this list, but next time I'll take a stab at looking at the system as it now stands.