Arthmodeus' Records

Golden Rule

Ethic of Reciprocity – “Nothing which breathes, which exists, which lives, or which has essence or potential of life, should be destroyed or ruled over, or subjugated, or harmed, or denied of its essence or potential.”  – Acaranga Sutra

This is the Golden Rule: the foundation of all ethics and the ultimate expression of kindness, and of our State of Nature. In a world based on the Golden Rule, there can be no true hierarchy, no coercive superpowers, and no concept of a separate government. No government, so far, has achieved this Golden Rule. With the development of agriculture 10,000 years ago, early civilizations needed a way to distribute limited resources among the tribal populations and thus the Government was born.  It then evolved throughout the centuries having growth spurts here and there until it became what it is today: a conflict between two very confused ideologies.

Golden Rule => Tribal State => City State => Imperialism => Capitalism/Communism => Golden Rule

Golden Rule can be re-achieved in a number of ways: it could happen through the cleansing flames of natural disaster; it can be brought forth via nuclear warheads; or we can preserve our well-being and simply bring change via policy. Since I assume most people would not like a nuclear or climatic holocaust, I will explain the steps to a better world:

1.      The downsizing of Europe, North America, China, Russia, and other large, powerful countries into their component cultural hearths, states, or provinces to form confederations of states; effectively eliminating superpowers.

2.      The dismantling of nuclear and other mass-destructive armaments.

3.      The emancipation of subjugated or unrecognized ethnic groups.

4.      The establishment of Regional Trade Blocs to prevent the formation of global corporate empires and to encourage intra-regional trade.

5.      A reimagined design philosophy for urban planning that incorporates the teachings of urban planners such as Ebenezer Howard to form “social garden cities”.

6.      A complete overhaul of how we manage our resources.

Geometry of Government

            Now, one might be tempted to ask: “Why do we need this? Isn’t Capitalism/Socialism the best system?” The answer is ‘no’ and I will tell you why. Imagine for a moment that all forms of government are a series of distinct, three-dimensional shapes. Capitalism is a pyramid: a small elite ruling over a hierarchy of increasingly worse off populations. Although production under this system is accelerated to godly proportions, it is inherently immoral, exploitive, and utterly imperialistic if it is left unchecked. This system is often misconstrued as a ‘democracy’, but is in actuality an aristocracy with the illusion of equality of opportunity. Che Guevara speaks of Capitalism:

“In capitalist society individuals are controlled by a pitiless law usually beyond their comprehension. The alienated human specimen is tied to society as a whole by an invisible umbilical cord: the law of value. This law acts upon all aspects of one's life, shaping its course and destiny. The laws of capitalism, which are blind and are invisible to ordinary people, act upon the individual without he or she being aware of it. One sees only the vastness of a seemingly infinite horizon ahead. That is how it is painted by capitalist propagandists who purport to draw a lesson from the example of Rockefeller — whether or not it is true — about the possibilities of individual success. The amount of poverty and suffering required for a Rockefeller to emerge, and the amount of depravity entailed in the accumulation of a fortune of such magnitude, are left out of the picture, and it is not always possible for the popular forces to expose this clearly.” –From Socialism and Man in Cuba, by Ernesto “Che” Guevara

Communism would be a disc with a raised plateau; representing the State. Like capitalism, communism has an illusion of its own: equality of outcome. A group of individuals typically seize power and, similar to contemporary Christianity with Jesus, glorify Karl Marx, but do not follow his teachings. Usually, it ends up as an oligarchy: the People’s Republic of China is the prime example of this. Numerous other examples include the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Republic of Cuba.

            The irony is that the de facto founders of these two systems (Adam Smith and Karl Marx, respectively) warned that corruption and abuse could possibly come out of these opposing ideologies. To rectify this, a perfect form of government must be achieved; seeking a balance between capitalism’s production and communism’s distribution (the Middle Way, as Siddhartha Gautama called it). My ultimate goal is to invent a system that sheds ideas of hierarchy altogether. There are seven billion humans on this planet: if each one had the same opportunities as the other, more stuff would get done and we would ultimately live in a better world. That is why both the pyramid and the disk must be shed in favor of a third shape: a collection of spheres linked by a string; a pearl necklace. This model has no beginning and no end, has no tangible center, and each component is essential to the whole.

Ethical Urban Planning

As it stands right now, civilization as we know it isn’t declining; it’s over. The degree in which superpowers consume resources has rendered human society to be unsustainable. If the entire world used as much resources as the United States alone, it would take eight earths to sustain them. In order to rectify this, our urban and societal design must be reimagined. The best way to do this is to build in, not out. Our current policy of urban sprawl and post-WWII suburban design is not only detrimental to the environment; it also rips apart the human community by isolating individuals and creates socioeconomic castes as a result. Residential sectors must be moved into the center of the city and take the form of multi-residential cooperatives with an outer ring of manufacturing districts to provide a wall of sorts - preventing further growth. Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City of To-Morrow is a brilliant example of an ethical urban district:

fthats.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/20071018-garden_city_detail.jpg

Notice that the city is divided into six “Wards” with a central community garden. The garden is surrounded by a civic ring including a Town Hall (where public democratic elections are held), a museum (which is linked to other museums worldwide in terms of research ventures), an opera house, a hospital (obviously with free universal healthcare), and police and fire stations (consisting of volunteers). Surrounding this is a rather large central park; representing the most important aspect of the city: it’s interaction with the environment. The central park will be intentionally left completely alone in pure Zen Buddhist tradition – a nod to Siddhartha. Encircling the Central Park is the Crystal Palace, a glass structure containing the business district. Locally manufactured products are sold in this area, which is conveniently located across the street from the Residential Districts (which consist cooperative housing, but also with enough privacy to be satisfactory for those who enjoy their own space). The Grand Avenue is the city’s greenbelt and consists of schools and multi-religious centers. It is enclosed by two rings of residential districts. The outermost ring is dedicated to manufacturing; which is dependent on resources both local and imported from the Regional Trade Bloc.

Interstate highways running on the outskirts of cities have caused the death of cities such as Detroit, New York, and Seattle and have allowed unchecked monopolies to flourish. Therefore, interstates are largely eliminated; being replaced by six boulevards running through the city and intersecting hexagonal counties of 66000 acres each. Intercity highways and defined districts for businesses, on the other hand, will keep the core of the city alive and minimize human trespass into the environment. An inter-municipal railway serves as the main transportation between cities; as well as cargo transport. Surrounding the city (which only takes up around 1000 acres for a population of thirty-two to fifty-eight thousand) are sustainable farms and pastures that are built as required. Derelict farms are demolished and replaced with forests and factory farming is nonexistent. This area is also occupied by sources of alternative energy: wind, solar, and hydro; depending on the surrounding physical geography.

While these ideas may come off as ‘utopian’ or ‘unscientific’ to detractors of the Renaissance Socialist movement (including individuals such as Karl Marx); this is actually the most scientific planning principle, as it directly applies the Scientific Method to sociology and humanism. I’ll close with a quote from Serj Tankian:

“As a kid, you see something that you know in your heart is true. It’s such a huge hypocrisy that it makes you think, ‘Well, if this is a truth that I know about that’s not officially accepted, at least in this country, then how many other truths are there that are under the surface that need to come out?’”