Any political ideology which promises to fix the problems of our society (not necessarily the problems within government) is either one that is intellectually dishonest or simply does not properly account for human nature. This is the simple truth that any political scientist, armchair or otherwise, must take into account.
This is because the natural state of a human being is sin. As a sinner, we are either constantly struggling against our own evil nature or fully embracing it. Not one of us living on this planet today can argue that we are good people without either lying or being delusional.
Now of course people will argue that some ideologies will save mankind from themselves or from others. All across the political spectrum we see this, from the Leftist who thinks that mankind’s ills come from poverty to the free-market anarchist who believes that all evils come from the government.
These may be oversimplifications. I know that communism is more complex than that and that anarcho-capitalism does account for some effects of human nature. The latter usually does so because it is based on Austrian economics, which considers economic study to be a subset of praxeology, the study of human nature.
Unfortunately, I’ve found that most political ideologies follow the same template: If A is done, then human beings will be better off. Here are some examples:
- If we increase military spending, then we will be more safe from foreign invasion.
- If we increase welfare spending, then the poor won’t be poor anymore.
- If we eliminate government, then humanity will act more rationally in their everyday interactions.
- If industry is all controlled by the central government, then there will be no fraud or corporate slavery.
- If we adhere to the Constitution, then this country will be prosperous.
In all of the above examples, the logic is faulty at best. But this is the template that many people adhere to. It does not matter if the logic is unsound, only the loyalty to the ideal.
I know, most of the political clueless will say that they are not held down by a particular ideology or idea. That they don’t follow that logic exactly. To those, I say firstly that those examples are fairly weak and generic to illustrate the pattern of thinking behind it. Secondly, I’ve observed how many of these kind of people operate and I believe that many of them adhere to a kind of political fanaticism in some way, shape, or form.
My point in all of this is to show why I’m not a hugely political guy anymore. I will talk about the role of government from time to time, but my ideological leanings are closer to nihilism than anything else. I am anti-Utopian.
The fact of the matter is that there is no system, no idea, no process, no law, no mandate, and no item on this planet that will fix humanity. Instead the only way to fix anything is to make things work in your own life, despite whatever circumstances you find yourself in.
And that is the best that can be done for now. Pay attention to the aristocracy, though, as they tend to be genocidal from time to time.