Plato ’ s Cave to Unite Americans
administration to the electorate . The source of authority is the electorate drawn from the eligible populace .
Democratic structures are organic in nature , as are other forms of political order . They evolve from the interactions of agents in the system . Those agents include the people as individuals with varied views of justice . Organizations are also agents in the system . Views of justice evolve both for the organizations as well as for the individuals .
The Enlightenment that spawned the transition to modernity provides a great case study of the organic process in which the nature of justice changed . In order to envision the potential of the next major shift in Western Civilization it is helpful to understand how Western Civilization underwent that change prompted by Radical Enlighteners who used the power of ideas . Research on the learning process of the minds of individuals , and the minds of groups of individuals , will help in understanding what is grasped by the learners . Additional research on the dissemination of the understanding of the concepts will help in the empowerment of the populace to improve the quality of their decisions as responsible participants in the electorate of a democratic society .
As a start , the focus is on concepts of justice , morality , and the invisible hand . An understanding of those concepts , as well as a selection of others , based on a realistic conception of reality , rather than being based upon shadows on the wall transmitted in 140 characters , will improve the quality of decisions . Fostering the process through research development and dissemination sets the stage for an evolution to what we propose calling , a New Age of Enlightenment . The start may be viewed as the case of justice for an agent of change that had the then outrageous idea that an individual had the right to think for himself and express those thoughts . That agent of change was Spinoza .
Justice in the Enlightenment Era
The case of justice under discussion took place early in the evolution of the Age of Enlightenment , also known as the Age of Reason . It was the excommunication of Spinoza from the Portuguese-Jewish community in Amsterdam in the middle of the seventeenth century . Other than the state religion , Judaism was the only acceptable religious practice in Amsterdam . The exception was made because of the faith being strictly pursued . Spinoza had the idea that within certain limits one had the right to think for himself and express those thoughts . That was not conforming to the state and religious law as practiced at that time . With due process , Spinoza was excommunicated .
Late in the next century , his ideas on the individual ’ s right to think and speak became the foundation of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America . That constitution took more than a decade to evolve as the document declaring the previous thirteen colonies having been united as a confederation were now a federation . The Declaration of Independence was a revolt against the injustices of the British monarch . The authority for the revolt was unalienable rights . The transition to the federation was an emergent process .
The American independence was a middle ground in political restructuring in the eighteenth century . Scotland had a modest change in getting some legislative representation under a limited monarchy and added protections of individual rights . The French Revolution was at the other end of the spectrum .
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