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First chapter «The legislation of society»

The legislation of society is another problem closely connected to the problem of the instruments of government which has not been resolved. Although solutions were found for this problem at certain periods of history, the problem still exists today. It is invalid and undemocratic for a committee or an assembly to be empowered to pass legislation for society, or for an individual, a committee or an assembly to amend or abrogate legislation. What then is the legislation of society? Who passes this legislation? What is its relevance to democracy? Natural legislation in any society is grounded in either religion or customs, and any attempt to derive legislation for a given society derived from sources other than these two is invalid and illogical. Constitutions cannot be considered as the legislation of society. A constitution is a man-made law, which needs to be ascribed to particular sources for its vindication - it does not have a natural source. The problem of freedom in modern times is that constitutions have become the legislation of society, and are based solely on the views of the dictatorial instruments of government existing in the world today - autocracies, party dictatorships and others. This is evident in the diversity of the various constitutions that exist: yet man’s freedom is one and the same throughout the world. The reason for this diversity is the variation in views held by the diverse instruments of government. This is how freedom becomes vulnerable under the contemporary political system existing in the world. The methods chosen by instruments of government to control their people are obliged into constitutions which people are constrained to obey by the force of laws derived from the same constitutions which, in turn, are derived from the views and dispositions of the instruments of government. The norms of the dictatorial instruments of government have replaced the norms of nature: man-made law has replaced natural law and, as a result, criteria have been lost. Man is essentially one and the same everywhere physically and in terms of sensibility, and that is the reason why natural law is the logical law for mankind. Constitutions as man-kind laws do not consider man as one. This view has no justification, except for the fact that it represents the will of the instrument of government (an individual, a parliament, a social class or a political party) to control and manipulate the people. The fact that constitutions change with the instruments of government corroborates that they reflect the disposition of the instruments of government, and are drafted for their benefit, and are not inspired by natural law. The imminent danger which threatens freedom lies in the absence of the real legislation of society which has been substituted with man-made laws. Such legislation is instituted in order to vindicate the ruling method adopted by the instruments of government, instead of being adapted to suit the fundamental legislation of society. The importance of this legislation, which is not man-made, lies in its being the criterion used to distinguish between right and wrong, between what is true and what is false, between the rights of individuals and their responsibilities. Freedom is threatened when society lacks a sacred legislation of established statutes, not liable to change or substitution by any instrument of government. It is rather the responsibility of the instruments of government to conform to the legislation of society. Unfortunately throughout the world people today are governed by man-made legislation which is vulnerable to change or abrogation depending on the power struggle among the competing instruments of government. Holding a referendum for the people to vote on the constitution is not sufficient. Referendums are in themselves a falsification of democracy; they allow a response of only ne word, either a “yes” or a “no”. People are compelled by man-made laws to vote thus in a referendum. However a referendum on the constitution does not necessarily make a constitution the legislation of society - it means just a constitution, the subject of a referendum, and nothing more. The legislation of society is an everlasting human legacy, and as such, it is not the property of the living alone. Hence, to draft a constitution and request the people’s vote of approval is a mockery. Codes of man-made law derived from man-made constitutions are abundant with physical punitive measures against man, whereas customs contain few such measures. Customs call for spiritual non-physical but deserving punitive measures. These customs are inherent in religion, in which most physical punishments are postponed punishments, and most judgements are passed as exhortations, guiding instructions and answers to questions, making them the most appropriate legislation which is respectful of human beings. In religion, immediate punitive measures are taken only in extreme cases for the benefit of society. Religion embraces customs and customs are an expression of the natural life of the people. Therefore, religion is an affirmation of natural legislation. Non-religious legislation and legislation which is not derived from customs, are inventions of man against man. These are therefore invalid since they are not derived from the natural sources of customs and religion.

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