The Nature of the State: A Generalised Form of Free Will

Jackson Capper | 19 June 2019

A defence of the state as governing force and a critique of libertarianism.

The state is the means by which man can transcend his animalistic nature and overcome the evils of passion during the course of his life.

We indeed live in a state of anarchy. Anarchy is a permanent condition of any human existence except for what is divinely enforced by God. Any law that can be enforced must be enforced by the state itself, the state being an institution of which has conquered land by the sword. Therefore, by anarchist principles, the state and all its subsequent laws are rightful.

The state is a natural order for man. It is inevitable that either by force, or by election, a system of governing will arise. That is, government is a constant in man’s nature and therefore we must regard the role governing should play in regard to politics. By understanding the nature of governing, we can understand the principles that should determine policy, and subsequently the policies themselves to implement those principles.

The Function of the State: Enforced Reflection

Humans suffer from acute passions. There are times a man will have an acute passion that would otherwise drive them to destructive behaviour. While men are capable of reflective reasoning, it is not often feasible to rely on a deductive process of decision making. Intuition allows humans to navigate not by reflection, but by impulse. While this enables us to properly navigate the terrain of the natural world with precision, it leaves us vulnerable to having such passions invoked by foreign forces that intend to take advantage of our passions. Thus, passions are a gateway for foreign forces to control our actions externally. To protect ourselves from this vulnerability, humans have developed the natural ambition of statehood.

Statehood is a third-party whom we designate to enforce previously rationalised actions during times of passionate impulse. Statehood is an enforced contemplation.

Such reflection need not be endorsed by the individual himself, but can be enforced upon those who have rationalised for those whom are incapable of rationalising. This may include youth, and disabled people. It also includes people of whom are unable to acquire experience. Thus, statehood can exist across individuals and generations of individuals so that reflections of that past can be passed to descendants. The perfect state is one which perfectly enables rational pursuits, but perfectly disables the passionate pursuits where they do not adhere to the former. This is the only purpose of statehood, and the only ethical way to apply statehood.

The State as a Ubiquitous Phenomenon

The state is hardly just a national institution of government. Statehood exists at all degrees of human life. It exists continuously from the individual, to the family, and to the community. Only at the national and international level does the conventional idea of a state exist. The nature of the state is therefore a question not just regarding the mundane political course of a parliament house, but of a pervasive, ubiquitous faculty of imposed rules upon ourselves and others. What persists at all scopes is the application of a simple ethic: that the passions are subdued in favour of reflective deduction.

At the individual level, statehood is a self-imposed reflection of what is good for the person himself. A person might reflectively regard smoking, and gambling as being self-destructive behaviour and therefore “pass laws” that will govern his behaviour during moments of passion to smoke, or gamble. Such measures may include mere will power, to recruiting third-parties whom can regulate his access to these addictions. Given that intentions are not solely instinctive, nor solely reflective, but arise from a battle of desires within the mind of an individual, it cannot be said that an individual represents a single ideology. In fact, the decision making process of an individual is more akin to the chaos of conventional politics. The eventual actuation of limbs are parallel to the passing of bills from a legislative arm, to an execute arm. This similarity between the politics of the mind and the politics of a parliament further illustrates the sheer omnipresence of the state, penetrating the governing of an individual himself.

At the family level, statehood is an imposed reflection upon the household. Parents knowing what is for the best for their children, will not only provide for their immediate needs, but will control their diet, and teach them valuable lessons for their long-term wellness.

At the community level, statehood is an imposed reflection for what is good for the community. A community might regard that smoking, and gambling are largely self-destructive and therefore pass laws accordingly. Such measures can include publicly funded mental support services, and levies or laws that inhibit their accessibility.

Statehood exists at all levels on a continuous spectrum. It exists between all relationships down the most subtle expectations. It is truly ubiquitous and governs the entirety of human existence where any form of reflection is present.

The State as a Generalised Will

Given that statehood pervades all aspects of reflection, it can be redefined as a general vehicle by which general human conduct is carried out. However, it is in a way that pervades time and space. Time, in that it allows a longer term free will based on reflection to enforce upon otherwise willing agents. Space, in that it allows decision making to be conducted outside of the physical body, and upon other individuals.

Given that no logical distinction can be made between the state of a national government and the inner-states that compel an individual to self-govern, statehood is therefore a generalised form of free will that composes the actions of an individuals, yet is also composed of the actions of individuals. So, it represents the entire conduct of human society as if he were a single agent of choice.

As free will corresponds with the intent and the action, so does the state correspond with the legislative and the executive arms. The executive arm is the actuation of the intent and its ethical conduct is to degree to which it carries out the intent.