Culture Matters
by David Eaton
As we approached the new millennium in 2000, there were discussions if the new century would be less violent and less war-torn than the 1900s. There was optimism in some quarters that a new era of greater peace, justice and prosperity would emerge.
British-Austrian philosopher and commentator, Karl Popper (1902-1994) offered the following assertion:
“Democracy and freedom do not guarantee the millennium. No, we do not choose political freedom because it promises us this or that. We choose it because it makes possible the only dignified form of human coexistence, the only form in which we can be fully responsible for ourselves. Whether we realize its possibilities depends on all kinds of things—and above all on ourselves.”
Thus according to Popper, Democracy does not guarantee peace, prosperity, unity or universal social justice, nor does it provide solutions and remedies needed for socio-cultural betterment. It is a process by which we can debate, discuss and argue about solutions and remedies without resorting to political violence.
The word “democracy” does not appear in either the U.S. Constitution nor Bill of Rights. We should note that the phrase in the Preamble of Constitution regarding the creation of “a more perfect union,” is semantically incorrect. Something is either “perfect” or it is not. What the founders were implying was that the United States as a new nation was a work in progress. Progress toward the ideal, becoming “perfect,” requires citizens and political leaders live by the laws we find in the Constitution. Our freedom to choose is not to be hindered or blocked by government.
Popper’s observation about how we (“ourselves”) behave in the quest for peace, prosperity and justice is vital for pursing these goals. Saint Augustine opined that people fail because they choose to love the wrong things. This might apply to nations as well.
Hopefully our choices can get us to a better place — individually and collectively.