New York Times, on Sunday, November 8, had an article on sentences addressed by
a Federal judge to three members of the antigovernment Montana Freemen for conspiracy
and fraud; the article stirred my memory and concern about this paper, as well as brought
into play many of the dilemmas discussed in the Nature of Politics class. However, I do
not wish to analyze this particular article or cult, but the emergence of anarchy.
There have been theories and diagnosis of human nature: the Aristotelian, teleo-
logical view of the political animal, the Platonic, metaphorical view of the chained
caveman, the Hobbian, phobic view of savage life as inevitably 'short', and many
notable others. Regardless of the differences found in these, there is a common
denominator found in all. That is, human beings move from the animalistic, passive
stage to the civilized stage in order to materialize their potential in full.
In this domain, governments serve as expedients or facilitators of an anthropological
movement. The mechanism may differ from one type of government to another, but its
principal, common function is to lay and protect the foundations for a prosperous
humanity. In aiming this, a totalitarian regime, an oligarchy, or even a democracy,
resorts to some pattern of hierarchy. It is worth noticing, that no matter what degree of
legitimacy one government enjoys, or another lacks, they both eventually assume an
hierarchical order which in turn inevitably assures a pragmatic i n e q u a l i t y. History
repeatedly proves that beyond theory. Even in Communist Soviet Union where all
classes were abolished, as they were accused of being the source of all social misery,
even then and there, hierarchy rose with the communist-party-class at its top. In the
interstate system as well, although member-states are said to...