On Ruling The World -Devils Advocate Style.

First, I just wanted to thank all those who left notes and shared personal stories on my two previous entries. It means a lot…it really threw me for a loop, but that is life I suppose. 

Second, I’m extremely high right now. My doctor put me on pain killers that I think may be too strong. I’ve never taken any type of narcotic for pain before, but I have given in. Enough with the pain, I say!

Third, OD 6.0? Not much change, don’t get the difference between "friends" and "bookmarks". And what happened to OD 1.0 through 5.0? Maybe I wasn’t paying attention.

Fourth, it has been pointed out to me that when it comes to leaving notes I should be labeled "epic fail". This is true. I don’t leave nearly as many as I used to, mostly because right now I’m short on time. My favs bookmarks are all awesome and I read ’em all regularly…I’m just the guy in the back of the room that doesn’t say much I guess. 

Fifth, and why I’m writing today, I’ve read a few entries via the very sexy (just look at her profile picture) and talented AprilSays’ diary outlining what these writers would do if they were "Dictator of the World". They were all interesting and have inspired me to attempt to create my own version of a perfect world. I’ve written an entry like this before (which you can find here), but it was based on the premise that I were a god.

I think it’s evident that human nature dictates that society should have some sort of structure. Anarchy does not work. Self-interest runs rampant without a central power and nothing ever gets done.  So what kind of government would be best? If I take over, as the world is today, as a world ruler, my first goal would be to prevent the slide the planet seems to be on toward destruction. For this reason, and temporarily, I’d rule with an iron fist. What I say goes and if you disobey you’ll be punished by death…or by something equally unsettling. I assume that this would be acceptable, seeing as how I’ve been entrusted to rule the world and have been given the power to do so. 

First Step: Reduce Population

I think that, unfortunately, the world has become over populated. Overpopulation leads to food shortages, pollution, and resource depletion. So my first order of business would be to eliminate at least half of the population, indiscriminately. I know, a drastic first step but a necessary one. This would temper industrial growth that kills so much of our environment, reduce globalization, and dissolve many borders.

This last effect would be crucial in steps toward global peace and harmony. Borders are nothing more than divisive lines on a map. If they did not exist, wars over territory and resources would also cease to exist. While I recognize that it is human nature to organize into groups that share common interest, having half of the population we have now would create less difference and less conflict as we would be spread out over a larger terrain.

It would also make it less likely that global trade would be as important as it is now. Instead, trade and commerce would need to be done at a more local level; it would force us to pay more attention to what is happening in our societies. We would need to start producing goods that we once produced but stopped because it was cheaper to exploit people in other nations. 

So yes, exterminate 3 billion people. These people would need to understand that it is in the best interest of society and that their sacrifice would benefit all.

Second Step: Ban Religion, Reinstitute the Arts

The three big religions would need to go. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, in all their forms have been a scourge on our world for far too long. Without these three religions, think of what Mesopotamia, the Fertile Crescent, would be like. Think of the progress that science could be making without the impediments Christian zealots have tried to place on it. What would happen if Israel and Palestine were ruled by secular progressives? There would be no arguments about which holy cities belong to whom, no bombs over whose god is right and which territory was given to which chosen people. 

Look, people should have the right to believe and do as these please, and I’ll get to rights in a bit, but I want my society to be run based on how we interact with it. I want us to cherish logic and reason. If we are anything, we are rational beings who react in our best interest. Yet, we seem to throw this out the window when we turn to the notion that there’s some invisible sky god who knows our every thought and action. Suddenly we create rules and guidelines to live by that we get from books supposedly written by the sky god. These rules are unbending, unchanging, and absolute no matter what changes take place within the world. This goes against our very nature as we are constantly revising, amending, and changing our views and laws and ideals according to the times. It makes no sense to disregard this behavior when it comes to understanding how we came to be.

Once religion becomes extinct, there is a vacuum that would need to be filled. And it should be filled by the study of history and philosophy and psychology. It are things like these that really teach us who we are, why we are the way we are, and where we should go. For too long they have been relegated to quiet classrooms, dusty shelves in old libraries, and, generally, to academic snobs. They should be brought back into the public square, and it should be mandatory to study them. If we do not know where we came from, we cannot know where we are. This will be possible because of the population decrease and the return to more local societies. While we will still need trade workers, that will not be the focus of my society.

I have to agree with Marx, as capitalism has no soul. It does not care about the individual, or the poor minority. No all it cares for is profit. So it is important to switch this focus. If society was geared toward understanding, recognition of the worth of individual thought, how much more soulful, ethical, and moral will the noble human race become? Religion cannot do this, it is divisive. Philosophy, the humanities, history…these teach us about ourselves and help us strive to be better people.

Third Step: Science, Science, Science

Now that we’ve done away with religion and restored the arts to the rightful, lofty perch, science can now flourish freely. I will abolish the need for pharmaceutical companies and the influence they have over our medical professionals. The researchers and doctors can stop trying to find ways to live with your debilitating disease or disability and find real cures. We have suffered enough under the dominance of PharmaInc. I demand them to sit down with those who suffer from AIDS in third world countries

and teach them how to tell time so they can take the medicine, that will be given to them free of charge, on time. 

 Healthcare will no longer be a for-profit industry. Rather, it will be a completely non-profit industry that values human life rather than the dollar. Having smaller, spread-out societies will make it easier to monitor members of these societies. It is in the best interest of these communities to have a healthy population to make the goods they’ll need to survive. Goods will no longer be coming from far-off distant lands. 

Fourth Step: Assigning Rights

People should have the right to pursue whichever interests they want, to marry whom the choose, to travel, to own property, and so on. However I do not believe that these are natural rights. If it is admitted that it is better to live within a society then it goes without saying that these rights should benefit that society just as much, if not more than, the individual. Like Hobbes says, If society ceases to exist then man reverts to a chaotic state where they have no rights anyway. So, rights should be regarded as a privilege. If you act ethically and responsibly toward other citizens there is no reason for government to involve itself in your life. However, if you choose to be a detriment to your society, then government reserves the right to correct your behavior, to punish it. You have an obligation to your community to help it run smoothly and peacefully, it is in your best interest. You benefit if society is not chaotic, you then are able to pursue whatever your will desires. And this rightly benefits everyone else. To go against this is to deprive your self of your rights. No longer will those who break this commitment to society be free, they will be made examples of in public. Successful community leads to personal rights

Okay…those are the first things I’d do if I were to rule the world. This is probably riddled with typos, but as I’m feeling loopy I’m not going to edit it. You’ll will just have to make your way through it.