The Ideal Government through the View of Political Essays

The Ideal Government through the View of Political Essays The Ideal Government through the View of Political Philosophers Taylor McCauslin Jonathon Kreger November 25, 2015 Columbus State Community College Abstract The objective herein is to examine the ideal government through the view of three political philosophers, namely James Harrington, John Stuart Mill, and Thomas Aquinas. In their analysis of the most important elements for an ideal government, all three philosophers agree that issues related to the economy, tax, demographic representatives, the use of formalized rules, bureaucracy, and hierarchical authority are crucial in attaining their goal. While there are some similarities between the descriptions of an ideal government by the three philosophers, there are also glaring differences. While James Harrington argues that an ideal government is a small democracy, for example, Thomas Aquinas champions for a just monarchy. John Stuart Mill however, asserts that an ideal government is that which successfully attains two major goals: the enhancement of mental qualities and qualities of the personality within a nation's citizens. Key Words: Economy, Tax, Demographic Representatives, Formalized Rules, Bureaucracy, Hierarchical Authority James Harrington (1611-1677) James Harrington, in Oceana, a republican utopia, described what he thought was the ideal government (Harrington, 1656). In his descriptions, Harrington suggested that an ideal government is a small scale democracy which undertakes property owning. Harrington (1656) argued that such a government would not only be stable but also just. In such a government no person would be allowed to own or possess information worth more than 2,000 (Hopfl, 2004). Moreover, in regards to economy, referring to all processes of trade and consumption of products by the inhabitants of a distinct locality, Harrington's ideal government ascertained that only individuals who own property would be allowed to participate in government issues. In a similar manner to Aristotle, Harrington was convinced that the ideal government must be characterized by agricultural democracy (Hopfl, 2004). Harrington's views on tax and taxation were that the Agrarian law should be used to ensure that no person or group becomes too wealthy such that it interferes with the political balance of a state (Hopfl, 2004). Tax refers to the levies or tolls that are imposed by government on its citizens. Harrington was of the view that political issues such as tyranny and the oppression of one group by another arise when a single group possess all property. Wealth in such a state is determined by land ownership (Hopfl, 2004). In regards to demographic representation and bureaucracy, Harrington argued that an ideal government should be typified with religious tolerance, rotation of office and the use of secret ballot to select representatives (Harrington, 1656). While demographic representation is the tendency by selected individuals to stand for the interests and wishes of a larger group in a government, bureaucracy is a form of government where almost all decisions are made by government officers rather than elected representatives. This would eliminate too much variation in decision as we so often see today. However, there may not be as much interest in relation to the people in this form of government. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) Mill describes an ideal government as that which successfully attains two major goals: enhancing the virtue and intelligence of citizens and the promotion of good qualities for the attainment of common interests in the long run (Lipkes, 1999). Mill was of the view that government is not only aimed at enhancing and producing the highest level of pleasure for its citizens but also to ensure that citizens are continuously educated in order for them to pursue higher level mental pleasures rather than lower ones. In order to achieve this objective, Mill argued that government should be guided by formalized rules. Formalized rules are legal regulations or decrees that govern the behavior of all individuals under their authority. Mill also argued that a good government is that which encourages and supports active participation by all voters. Mill described the worst type of government as that which compels its electorates to remain passively obedient and conform to the wishes of the ruling elite. Though this was probably because he was affiliated with Utilitarianism, Mill argued that an ideal government is that which could bring about maximal aggregate utility (Letwin, 1965). This clearly represents his wishes to attain contentedness within the people. Mill however agreed that the process of development by humans occurs in different phases and that different forms of government are suitable for different peoples and diverse stages of advancement which ultimately meant that he felt as though people should be put into different environments based on which their personality and skills would thrive the best in. While savages are