Politics and the Human Spirit – 14 

Here in the States we tend to judge world affairs with a measuring stick of freedom and human rights. We thumb our noses at governments that repress their people.

Some other countries see the US as having excessive freedoms. The American public seems obsessed with consumption, and the rich are free to reap vast profits while fixing elections, bribing politicians, exploiting the poor, and spoiling the environment.

It’s an age-old human dilemma… how to find that healthy balance between people’s right to be free and society’s right to be stable and orderly.

Here, in my view, is the best possible formula for freedom and regulation in human society:

Free the noble, regulate the savage

Very simple, very neat… and very much in line with our spiritual heritage as human beings on Earth:

Distinguish between noble and savage human behavior.  Closely regulate the latter, while setting noble human behavior free to work its magic in society and throughout the world.

Other articles on this site describe the difference between noble and savage human behavior. (Read more here…  and  here….)

In short, the noble side of our nature fosters love, order, good will, trust, knowledge, and wisdom in human affairs. Our savage side stirs mistrust, hatred, selfishness, chaos, misinformation, and ignorance.

The Chinese government has been too restrictive (again, in my view) of the noble elements of society, while appropriately regulating the savage elements, since the Great Leap Forward half a century ago.

The American government has been too accommodating of society’s savage elements (especially profiteering and political manipulation by the rich), while appropriately celebrating freedoms of its noble virtues.

Within those two extremes on opposite sides of the world, every country struggles in its efforts to find a healthy balance between human rights and social order.

The struggle will be over once we fully understand and accept our noble-savage nature as human beings, and once we get in a habit, at all levels of human life (from individuals and families to nations and the UN), to restrain our savage side while setting our noble side free to work its miracles.

Rebuilding our political systems in that way will help to guarantee a future of peace and prosperity for all.