Elements of Civil Government Part 21

An aristocracy never exists by itself; it is always combined with some other form of government, usually with a const.i.tutional monarchy. The government of England is partly aristocratic; the House of Lords, one of the bodies of Parliament, being composed of n.o.bles.

DEMOCRACY.--A _democracy_ is a "government of the people, by the people, for the people." It is a government by many, instead of by one or by a few. Hereditary t.i.tles are inconsistent with democratic government, and therefore never exist in a democracy.

A _pure democracy_ is a government conducted by the people in person.

It is practicable only in a political community so small that all the people may a.s.semble at the seat of government. The New England "town meeting" is almost the only example of a pure democracy in the world at the present time; certainly the only example in the United States.

A _republic_, or _representative democracy_, is a government conducted by representatives elected by the people.

The United States, Mexico, France, Switzerland, and all South American nations are republics, and the republican principle of government is growing in popularity throughout the civilized world.

No form of government is equally good for all peoples. A certain form may be good for one country and bad for another country. A republic, which is the best government for a well-educated and virtuous people, is the worst for an ignorant and depraved people.

The excellence of a republican government depends upon the knowledge and virtue of its citizens. The people are the rulers, and, if they are wise and virtuous, they will rule well; if they are ignorant and depraved, they will rule ill. Therefore the hope of a republic like ours is, that its people will continue to grow wiser and better.

[1]Fiske's _Civil Government of the United States_.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. Why is military government more severe than civil government?

2. Could society exist without law? Why?

3. Why is a republic a bad form of government for an ignorant people?

4. Are the people of the United States growing wiser and better?

5. Is this State improving in civilization?

CHAPTER XVI.

JUSTICE.

The object of government is to protect the people, and to render justice to them. _Justice_ is the security of rights. A _right_ is a well-founded claim; that is, a just claim of one person upon other persons.

_Rights_ are the most important things that a person can possess, because his happiness depends upon them. They are real things, for whose protection governments are inst.i.tuted. The kind and extent of the rights recognized and protected in any country determine the form of its government. As a rule, there is more freedom among citizens of a republic than among those of other governments, because a republic guarantees more rights.

RIGHTS AND DUTIES.

People have many rights, and they have as many duties. Each right given to a person is a trust placed in his hands for him to discharge.

A right implies a duty, and a duty implies a right. Rights and duties go hand in hand. For example, children have a right to the protection of their parents, and this implies that it is the duty of children to obey their parents.

CIVIL RIGHTS AND DUTIES.--Rights and duties are civil and political.

_Civil rights_ are sometimes called _inalienable rights_, because they can not be justly taken away except as a punishment for crime. They are chiefly those rights with which we are endowed by nature. They are not conferred by any earthly power, but are given to every human being at his birth. They are called civil rights, because they belong to the citizen in his ordinary daily life. Among civil rights are:

1. _The right to personal security_; that is, the right to be free from attack and annoyance;

2. _The right of personal liberty_; that is, to go when and where he pleases, provided he does not trespa.s.s upon the rights of others; and

3. _The right of private property_; that is, the right to use, enjoy, and dispose of what he has acquired by labor, purchase, gift, or inheritance.

The greater part of these rights belong to men whether living in society, that is, under government, or living without government.

Their natural rights are more extensive without society than with it, but are far less secure. Without government natural rights are unlimited; each person may lay claim to all land and to all it produces, provided he is strong enough to maintain his claim by force.

When men join the social compact, they agree to abandon some of their natural rights, in order to be protected by the government in those which they retain; that is, each person agrees that in making his own claims he will have due regard for the similar claims of others.

In entering the social compact, men also agree to submit their personal claims to settlement by the law, instead of going to war to maintain them. They agree to refer their disputes to courts established for that purpose. As a rule, under government, right prevails; without government, might prevails.

_Civil rights_ are divided into _industrial rights_, _social rights_, and _moral_ or _religious rights_.

INDUSTRIAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES.--It is the right and duty of each person to provide in his own way, providing it is legal and honest, for himself and those dependent upon him. All business transactions; the search for homes, comforts, and wealth; agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and commerce; the conduct of all professions, occupations, and industries; the interests of farm laborers, operatives in factories, miners, clerks, and all persons engaged in mental or physical labor, are based upon industrial rights and duties.

The wages of people, the hours of labor, railway and telegraph lines, ca.n.a.ls, express companies, other common carriers, the various kinds of employment, and the organization of men in different branches of industry to advance their interests, are questions affecting industrial rights. These rights underlie all efforts of people to improve their financial condition.

SOCIAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES.--Each member of society has rights as such, and these are called _social rights_. They include the rights of personal security and protection. They underlie all efforts for the improvement of the social condition of the people. Society is interested in better schools, in public health, in the reformation of criminals, in good highways and streets, in safe buildings, in well-lighted cities and villages, in the maintenance of charitable inst.i.tutions, in the establishment of sources of harmless amus.e.m.e.nt, and in the preservation of peace and order.

The comfort and convenience of the public are even more important than the comfort and convenience of any person. Therefore, individual rights must yield to public rights when the two conflict. For example, the land of a private citizen may be condemned by the proper authorities, and be used for public highways or other public purposes.

The government pays the owner of the property condemned, but usually less than his estimate of the value.

This right of society, existing above the right, of any of its members, is called the RIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN. By it individual rights must yield to the rights of society, of the government, or of a corporation.

A corporation is an a.s.sociation of individuals authorized by law to transact business as a single natural person. Railway companies, banks, chartered cities and villages, and the counties of some States are corporations.

MORAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES.--Man is a moral being; that is, he is conscious of good and evil. Therefore he has moral rights and duties.

He has rights of conscience, with which it is not the province of government to interfere. He naturally wors.h.i.+ps a Being superior to himself, and feels the obligation to deal justly with his fellow-men.

He has a right to do and say all things which are not unlawful or wrong within themselves. It is his right to wors.h.i.+p when he pleases, whom he pleases, and as he pleases.

The moral rights and duties of the people are concerned in the maintenance of religion, the support of churches, in reverence for things sacred, in acts of charity and benevolence, in living an upright life, and in teaching lessons of morality, honesty, industry, and usefulness. Whatever is implied in the word _ought_, correctly used, is a moral duty.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES.--By the social compact, men also agree to abandon a part of their natural rights in order to partic.i.p.ate in the government. They agree in part to be governed by others, in order that in part they may govern others. The rights of partic.i.p.ation in the government, such as voting and holding office, are called political rights, because they affect the public policy of society.

Political rights do not belong to men by nature, but are conferred by government. Within reasonable bounds, they may be enlarged or restricted without injustice. Since they are conferred by the government, the power to vote and to hold office is a privilege to be enjoyed rather than a right to be a.s.serted.

In the United States the political rights of the people are carefully set forth in the Const.i.tution. The smallest functions of government, such as the size and color of a postage stamp, or the employment of a page in the State legislature, touch the political rights of the citizen. Appointment and elections to public office, the enactment of laws, and the performance of public duties are questions of political concern.

Good laws, good administrations, and the perpetuity of the government itself, depend upon the manner in which the people discharge their public duties. A man who habitually fails to vote and to take interest in the political affairs of his country may be a good man, but he is certainly a bad citizen.

To be a good citizen is to aid intelligently in giving the people good government. For a man to hold himself aloof from politics, unless his action is based upon conscientious scruples, shows his interest in himself, and his lack of interest in his country.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. Why does happiness depend upon the maintenance of rights?