Zombies and Government, part 1

Not even the White House snipers could stay the Zombie hordes.
Photo credit to a brave photojournalist who sacrificed himself while documenting the final horrific hours of the American Apocalypse.

It's 2020.  All world civilization has been destroyed by zombies.  America is gone.  Australia is gone.  Antarctica in all its penguin-glory is gone.  The zombies are also gone– apparently they're not impervious to hydrogen bombs.  Unfortunately, most of the people are dead too.

There were some survivors, of course, but any semblance of organized society has been blown away.  Literally.  See, in the second-to-last battle – before the dropping of the H-bombs – the Zombies employed a massive EMP blackout, effectively killing all electronic records and systems of communication and administration.   And any/all paper copies were burned in after-fires of the bombings.  So basically, the world is back to a state of nature.

The burning question on everyone's lips, I'm sure, is how should the roving bands of survivors conduct themselves?  What is justice after a zombie apocalypse?  What is government?  Is it even needed?  Should it be left in the ashes of the apocalypse?  Would people ultimately be better off without a government?  Dun-dun-duhhhhh ... 

So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about government lately.  Not because it’s campaign season, but because it’s what we’ve been discussing in Sunday school lately.  (Irony for the win!)  But let’s be clear:  I am not into politics.  I care more about culture - the implicit transmission of ideas and values into society – than government – the explicit application of ideas and values onto society.

Natheless, I am a member of a political system; I am a citizen.  And as long as I choose to participate in this system (aka retain citizenship), I have a duty to understand and contribute to the system.  Furthermore, I am a human being (big surprise, right?), living in a world composed of several realms of operation, each established by God.  And that world is set up to function properly through the interplay of these institutions.  One such institution is the State government.  

Typically, my posts consist of me rambling on about my feelings on a certain issue, but today I’d rather just straight-up outline my concept of the State, old-school philosopher style.  And then I’ll break down the thesis, and … er, ramble about each section.  (Dang habits!)  Ok, here we go: 

Government is the administration of a community, necessary only for interdependent functioning.  As an effect of the collective, government’s authority is derived from the individuals who comprise the community.  Specifically, government exists for the defense of persons and their property, and the liberty necessary for creativity (the creation of property).  In other words, government’s proper roles are the defense of every citizen’s life, every citizen’s property, and every citizen’s freedom to create property.  

Now, let me defend that thesis.  And let me define the perimeters of my defense.  I will not reference political theory experts (such as Locke, Blackstone, or Montesquieu), as if they were primary sources on the ‘invention of law.’  Obviously, I’ve been influenced by their ideas.  But I refuse to accept their definitions of government, simply because they (the Super Smart Guys) said it.  If government is a God-ordained institution, then its principles should be self-evident and universally true, not something cooked up by some intellectuals from the 1800’s.  So instead, my defense will reference the Bible and utilize fundamental principles of reality.  Hopefully these principles will be self-evident (undeniable, once understood).  Whether or not they resemble the real or fictitious ideas of the Super Smart Guys will be merely coincidence.  Oh, and just a note on the structure of this thesis:  The first half addresses the validity of government as an institution, the second half address the nature of government as an institution.  

Ok, let’s break down the first half, the case for the legitimacy of government: 

Government is the administration of a community, necessary only for interdependent functioning.  Government is not always necessary.  Like in the case of a Zombie Apocalypse, where only one person survives.  Or say two people survive, but then one guy accidently chokes on a can of peaches.  At that point, you can’t really have any sort of system of government, ‘cause it’s basically just you, yourself, and you.  Government is only necessary to the functioning of a collective.  And in that case, it is necessary; living with another free-willed being automatically compromises one’s autonomy.   Plus, it requires negotiation and a standardization of procedure and authority.   I’m sorry, that’s just a fact of life, if you intend to live in any sort of society.  If you don’t like society, that’s fine, go live in a cave by yourself.  But make sure it’s a cave that no one owns, or you’ll have landlords to pay (and business transactions do count as community).  Also make sure it’s a cave that no one else will ever find.  Otherwise, you’ll occasionally have to deal with wayward hikers.  And shooting trespassers is not allowed, even if you’re not interested in communing with them.  (There’s this thing called “basic human rights,” which applies even outside of government-defined society.) 

As an effect of the collective, government’s authority is derived from the individuals who comprise the community.  In other words, the State has no God-given rights.  At least, not the way human beings have God-given rights.  Rather that State has a God-given role/responsibility, namely to serve the community and uphold the moral code (but more on that later).  The important thing is that the State has no special rights/privileges/influence over its citizens.  Instead, the citizens are the ones who grant authority to the government.  

That said, individuals cannot delegate any authority they haven’t already been granted by God.  Which has interesting implications for the justice system.  Government, as an extension of individuals, is still tied to a moral code.  Note, this is not an argument against capital punishment.  Genesis 9:6 makes it clear that justice demands a life for a life.  “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”  And Romans 13:1-7 makes it clear that justice, including capital punishment, is a long-held government responsibility.  

Counterargument:  But doesn't Romans 13:1-7 imply that government is appointed by God, and is therefore above and independent of its citizens?  Well, the institution (the structure and the concept) has been appointed by God.  And the authority is ultimately a derivative of the general authority God has delegated to mankind (Gen 9:1-17).  But government is only a by-product of the community, not the foundation of the community.  You can see evidences of this, even in the way Israel’s monarchy was run.  The spiritual systems (aka the Ten Commandments, the Levitical system, the Mosaic covenant, etc.) and ethnic relationships (genetic nationality) were in place long before any sort of federal government was established.  And if you recall the origin story of the first king of Israel (aka Dude Saul), he was appointed by the prophet Samuel – a guy trained as a priest who became Israel’s top Judge (a highly spiritual community leader).   

Spirituality forms the basis of community, which gives birth to government.  Government is downstream of Society, and at the headwaters of Society is Spirituality.