In the midst of all this economic crisis and politic corruption I can’t stop wondering, what and how would the perfect government be?
A few months ago I read a book by Thomas More called Utopia – he imported this word from the Greek – and the book was all about describing a perfect society where the people needed no government and could rule the society by themselves. As much as I love the book and the ideas in it, I also think it gets to similar to the communist ideals (keep in mind that it was written in 1516, communism wasn’t even an ideal) and there must be something more to this perfect government, this Utopia.
So, curious as I am, I set myself to discover it and explore the infinite possibilities of what and who would compose a great government. Keep in mind that this is just a fictional idea and, as everything, is subject to several points of view (which I would be more than happy to read and discuss in the comments section).
“That government is best which governs least.” – Henry David Thoreau
As much as true democracy seems too corrupt to be used, I believe that the best way to start a government is and will always be for the people to choose who they believe is the best person to rule, first and foremost. This is capital because the people should have the right to choose who is going to rule them. Everyone, above the legal age and of any gender, has the right to vote.
After that, it’s important to define which positions should have place in this government in order to better understand how this would work.
The crucial positions would be:
- President – This person would be both the leader of the country and the head of the government. This person has the authority to interpose and cancel any decision whenever he thinks it’s needed but, because it’s not right for someone to have such power, he can’t create laws or make decisions by himself, else this would be an authoritarianism rather than a democracy, and must always propose his ideas to the other members of the government.
- Foreign Affairs Chief – This is the person in charge of maintaining relationships with other countries and making sure the country is making good friends out there.
- Financial Chief – This is the person in charge of budget management for everything inside a country. No excuses, plain budgeting.
- Chief of Security – This is the person that regulates the armed forces and makes sure our national security isn’t compromised.
- Chief of Education and Culture – This is the person that revolutions generations. Making sure the new generations are getting well educated and culture is given a chance in the country is his responsibility.
- Chief of Public Health – This one is easy. This is the person that makes sure the health of the population is well.
- Social and Civil Rights Chief – This is a position I think is essential in our society. The person that makes sure, our civil and social rights are being met. No bullshit and real common-sense. Real and genuine preoccupation about the fulfillment of civil and social rights.
- Chief of Economics – This is the person that actually studies our economy because as Steven D. Levitt says in his book Freakonomics: “Morality, it could be argued, represents the way that people would like the world to work, whereas economics represents how it actually does work.” This is the person responsible for implementing studies about everything in our society and showing what’s working and what’s not.
- The Green Planet Chief – Not particularly one aspect I deeply care about but we’ve to make sure the planet is here for future generations so this person takes care of those affairs.
- Chief of Justice – This person here is responsible for organizing the judicial system, maintaining the order in the legal system and keeping tight connections with the Chief of Security in order to maintain public order.
- Chief of Science – This is the person responsible for making science move forward.
Keep in mind that this people work as a team, and collaborations between Chiefs are frequent. As an example, the Chief of Justice, the Chief of Security and the Chief of Economics might gather several times in order to analyses the overall security of the nation.
Now that we have established what positions must be filled it’s time for me to give examples of the people I believe would be a great, if not the best, fit to those positions.
President
Winston Churchill. He was loyal to his country, he lived with integrity, had perseverance, stand for his beliefs, he was adventurous and courageous, was erudite and cultured, had an artist mindset, was very very confident of himself without being cocky, believed in the greater good, was a great orator and never gave up. These are the small qualities that make a great leader – that’s why I picked him.
Foreign Affairs Chief
Margaret Thatcher – once again I resort to Great Britain. When she served this position she made sure she created and kept the right connections. She was a strong woman and could not be bent or broken. She was called “Iron Lady” for a reason and since this would be the second-most important position of the government, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher would be the perfect fit.
Financial Chief
For this position I don’t have any special recommendation as I believe any great manager with an exceptional character would do the job.
Chief of Security
I would nominate the ancient Chinese military general Sun Tzu. I think Sun Tzu is one of the best strategists ever and would be great to have when at war. Other than that he was a philosopher and put a lot of thought in his every action, a thing that would make him think before doing stupid moves regarding our nation’s security.
Chief of Education and Culture
Sir Ken Robinson would be my choice for this position because of his revolutionary approach to education and his thoughts regarding how schools kill creativity. He focuses education on the arts and culture but if he ever needed a helping hand I think the best secretary he could have would be Leonardo Da Vinci – I don’t even need to explain why.
Chief of Public Health
This position can easily be filled with someone with great management skills – I don’t have a great fit here because every great manager would be a fit. But just to promote my country, Egas Moniz might do the job.
Social and Civil Rights Chief
This is a position I simply can’t give to one person alone. I decided this would be better filled by cooperation between Mahatma Gandhi, Susan B. Anthony, W.E.B. Du Bois and Henry David Thoreau. If you don’t know who these are, you should seriously head to the nearest library.
Chief of Economics
Although Steven Levitt hasn’t published any major theory and didn’t win a Nobel Prize, the fact that he applies he’s knowledge and motivation to practical social problems makes him a better fit for this position than most candidates. The goal here is to understand what is really going on with society and Steven Levitt does that in a fashion way, just read some of his studies.
The Green Planet Chief
Since I saw this target=”_blank”>movie I was hooked by Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Such a young age and yet so much ambition and determination. She’s an environmentalist until now and speaks not only about environmental issues but also about individual development.
Chief of Justice
I found Byron White on a post in The Art of Manliness and I believe he’s a great fit for this position. He’s a hustler, he lived with integrity and could not be corrupted, couldn’t care less about what other people thought and did things well for himself and because he enjoyed it. Also, he was a prominent scholar and worked on the Supreme Court of the United States for 30 years.
Chief of Science
He is the third most prolific inventor in history and holds 1093 U.S. patents in his name so I believe Mr. Thomas Alva Edison is more than fit to represent science here. Yes, I thought about Einstein but I think the phonograph, the motion picture camera, a practical electric light bulb and the first electric power electricity make Edison a better fit for this position.
Don’t get too caught up about the names and the organizational system I suggested. The key factor here is to understand that people should be chosen by their moral values and their character.
For every position there would be an infinite number of candidates, I don’t discuss that but I would be more than pleased to know your opinions.
This post was written by Hugo Martins. Hugo blogs about free thinking and making his life better, fortunately he’ll help you too.
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