Three Ways to Govern

There are Three Ways to Govern.

There are four words which are used in the definition of governing. They can be switched out with other words, depending on the philosophical leaning of the philosopher.

In this article, I will focus on the pairing of these 4 words and the effect of the pairing. In the pairing, the syntax of the words is changed, but not the general meaning. In this exercise, we will see a pattern which is repeated through out our lives, in the moment, over time and in place.

The four words are Government, Central, Control, and Self. I have found these words are the focus words of the actions we choose to take in our lives. I would suggest that every choice we make is shaped in some way by our relationship to these words. Choice is shaped by our moral character.  These words shape our moral character which is our personality.

Each of these four words describes a priority in our lives. The priorities they represent each opposes the others. The conflict between these priorities is what shapes the individual. I would like to suggest that how we relate to the meaning of each of these words in our own lives shapes our choices. I also suggest that our moral character, which is very fluid because it is always developing, shapes our personality. I discuss this development of our moral character and the creation of our personalities in more detail in other posts.

I will list the first pairing as Central Government / Self Control. The best example for this context is the family. Two responsible adults are given the Central Government of the organization and all members of the organization are given the law from Central Government by which they must control themselves by in order to be able to function within the organization. Consequences of failing in Self Control are immediate and clear. Failure to operate the Central Government properly is immediately clear.

The second pairing might be Central Control / Self Governing. Perhaps the Best Example of this is Religion. The ideas of government are clearly defined by the religion, it is taught to its followers and the followers govern themselves.

The third pairing can best be seen in the example of Political Government. This would be the pairing of Government Control / Self Center. Here is where the government of supply and demand takes place. It is necessary to recognize the current supply, control the use of the supply as well as the obtaining of more supply and then the distribution of the supply. We can see in this equation that commerce, as in the flow between supply and demand, is regulated by governments of nations.  We shape those governments by the political voice of the people.

I will carry this discussion on in the future. Its vast consequences are instructive to us all.