Atharv Dua Q3 Blog #13 - The Egg Came First
Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Well, chickens hatch from eggs but chickens also lay said eggs. My sister wasted my time on this question today instead of asking the much more important question (how dare she not be contemplating the nuances of political philosophy on a Sunday afternoon): do we have the power or does the government? With the recent “no kings” protests, that’s the first thing that I thought of regarding power.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau didn’t have much to say about the chicken, but he wrote a full book “on the social contract” (look at him making integrated quotes easier). According to him (and the theory of the social contract that he created) “man is born free,” but to protect our natural rights, we give some rights away to a government so that said government can protect our other natural rights. For example, in a so-called “state of nature,” there’s no one to stop you from murdering someone else, which is why we give up our right to kill people in exchange for protection against being killed ourselves (in the form of a local police force, laws etc.)
Even still, as he says himself, even though man is born free, “everywhere he is in chains.” Even after 300 years, this quote applies in many regimes like North Korea, where people don’t even have the freedom to go between states freely, let alone countries, or China, with heavy censorship and limited internet freedom.
It seems like they almost forgot about a subclause in the proverbial social contract. The government can only take the rights that are agreed to be given to it by the people. This is called the consent of the governed. Rousseau wanted this to be painted in big bold letters but some of the aforementioned governments hide it in the fine print. This means that the government exists to serve the people and thus can only take away the natural rights that the people allow it to. This means that it is not the huge militaries of today’s nations, not the untouchable leaders of many governments, and not the endless bureaucracy in these countries; no, it is YOU who holds the power (don’t let it get to your head).
Just like scientists proved the egg did in fact come before the chicken, you came before any government. You gave the government the power and consent to govern you, and consent can be revoked. You, therefore, dictate where the government goes next, what the country does, and yes, at the end of it, you have all the power. The government hatched from your ideas, just like the chicken hatched from the egg.
Hi Atharv! I really like how you included this question with the concept of power. I honestly questioned “how does the chicken or the egg somehow symbolize the theme of power?” but you nailed it.
ReplyDeleteEspecially during these times where the government seems to act for its own purposes other than its people, it’s hard to trust and rely on such a powerful branch to enforce rules for everyone’s safety. It’s safe to say that we sometimes forget our strength in numbers, because we see the government from an individual perspective as an almighty power to not be reckoned with, but who made it in the first place? The government was created for the people, and if it works against them, then it should be our right to abolish it, as you mentioned. The problem is evaluating the difference between the governor and the governed. Some presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt emphasized that governments (whether local or national) should work for the welfare of the people, but of course we find that such power in a large body can quickly become a power grab for greedy individuals (as we’ve seen in the past). With the recent ICE activity, it’s more important than ever to understand our power as a society rather than as individuals, or else the rights we fought for would be taken by our own creations because of our ignorance and failure to recognize our power as a community.
Wonderful blog, Atharv!
Hey Atharv. I love the allegory of the chicken and the egg to describe the power dynamic between the government and the people. Especially the line at the end where you said “ the government hatched from your ideas.” It creates a really important message of the power of the people, which most people are not taught. This unawareness is one of the “chains” Jean-Jacques Rousseau was explaining, and as you put, applies to many “regimes like North Korea.” With this being such a heavy topic I love that you decided to include humor into your post through your own thoughts in parentheses and the small callbacks to the chicken or the egg analogy. I thought these callbacks were an excellent way of reminding the reader of the discussion which started it all and framed your entire post really well. I'm so glad we are in a cohort together and I can’t wait to read your next work!
ReplyDeleteHi Atharv, I like your consistent analogy between the chicken and the egg compared to the people and the government. It makes it really easy to digest as you explain the “nuances of political philosophy.” Quoting “Jean-Jacques Rousseau” improves your credibility as well because it shows that your views are similar to one of the founders of the idea of government. Hearing the social contract was really interesting, especially the idea about how we give up some of our rights to protect our natural rights. This reminds me of the American rights that nobody should be stopped from which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In today’s current events, this blog makes me both happy and upset. The conclusion of how “the government hatched from your ideas” makes me wonder exactly how we came to this situation? It is good that we theoretically have full control. But if this is true and “consent can be revoked” then what is going on right now? Is it just that we have too many outside worries and cannot focus on politics? Or is it the fact that our roles are swapped and now the government has too much power which makes it so we cannot fight back unless a very, very large majority of the population is in favor.
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