The
Green Book: Part One
Chapter
Seven
THE LAW OF SOCIETY
Law is the other problem parallel to
the
problem of the instrument of gov-
erning.
It has not yet been solved in the
modern
age although it has been
solved
at certain periods of history.
It is invalid and undemocratic for a
committee
or a parliament to be enti-
tled
to draft the law for the society. It is
also
invalid and undemocratic for an
individual,
a committee or a parlia-
ment
to amend or abrogate the law of
the
society.
What, then, is the law of the society?
Who
drafts it and what is its import-
ance
to democracy?
The natural law of any society is
either
tradition (custom) or religion.
Any
other attempt to draft law for any
society,
outside these two sources, is
invalid
and illogical. Constitutions are
not
the law of the society. A constitu-
tion
is a basic man-made law. That
basic
man-made law should have a
source
for its justification. The prob-
[32]
lem
of freedom in the modern age is
that
constitutions have become the law
of
society, and constitutions are based
on
nothing other than the views of the
instruments
of the dictatorial rule pre-
vailing
in the world, ranging from the
individual
to the party. The proof of
this
is that there is a difference be-
tween
constitutions although man's
freedom
is the same. The reason for
the
difference is the disparity in the
conceptions
of the instruments of gov-
erning.
This is the point where freedom
is
vulnerable in the systems of the
contemporary
world. The method by
which
the instruments of governing
seek
to dominate the peoples is estab-
lished
in the constitution and the peo-
ple
are compelled to accept it under
the
force of laws derived from that
constitution,
which is itself the product
of
the temperament and outlook of the
instrument
of governing.
The law of the dictatorial instru-
ments
of governing has replaced natu-
ral
law. Because man-made law has
replaced
natural law, standards are
lost.
Man is the same everywhere. His
physical
constitution is the same and
[33]
so
is his instinct. For this reason natu-
ral
law became a logical law for man
as
one and the same. Then the constitu-
tions,
which are man-made laws, be-
gan
to look at man as not one and the
same.
They have no justification for
that
conception other than the will of
instruments
of governing -- the indi-
vidual,
the parliament, the tribe or the
party
-- to dominate the peoples. So we
see
that constitutions are usually
changed
when the instruments of gov-
erning
change. This proves that the
constitution
is the product of the tem-
perament
of the instruments of gov-
erning
and exists to serve their in-
terests.
It is not natural law. This is the
impending
danger to freedom latent
wherever
the genuine law of human
society
is absent and is replaced by
man-made
laws designed by the instru-
ment
of governing to rule the masses.
Properly
the method of government
should
be in accordance with the laws
of
society, not vice versa.
Therefore, the law of the society is
not
subject to drafting and codifica-
tion.
The significance of law lies in the
fact
that it is the decisive factor which
[34]
distinguishes
between the true and
false,
the right and the wrong, and the
individuals'
rights and duties. Free-
dom
is threatened unless society has a
sacred
law based on stable rules which
are
not subject to change or substitu-
tion
by any instrument of governing.
On
the contrary, it is incumbent upon
the
instrument of governing to abide
by
the law of society. Nevertheless,
peoples
throughout the world are now
being
ruled by man-made laws that are
liable
to change and abrogation be-
cause
of the struggle for power be-
tween
instruments of governing. Ple-
biscites
on constitutions are not enough
because
plebiscites in themselves are
a
sham democracy, permitting only
yes
or no. Under man-made laws, peo-
ples
are compelled to accept plebis-
cites.
A plebiscite on a constitution
does
not mean that it is the law of
society, it means that it is only a
constitution,
or that 'thing' subject to
plebiscite,
nothing else.
The law of the society is an eternal
human
heritage that is not the posses-
sion
of the living only. Hence, the
drafting
of a constitution and holding a
[35]
plebiscite
by present voters are far-
cical.
Encyclopedias of man-made laws
derived
from man-made constitutions
are
full of material penalties against
man
while traditional law seldom has
these
penalties. Traditional law im-
poses
moral, not material penalties,
that
are appropriate for man. Religion
embraces
and absorbs tradition. Most
material
penalties in religion are post-
poned
until the Day of Judgement. The
major
part of its rules are exhorta-
tions,
instructions and answers to
questions.
This law shows proper re-
spect
to man. Religion does not ack-
nowledge
temporal penalties, except in
extreme
cases where these are neces-
sary
to protect society.
Religion embraces tradition, which
is
an expression of the natural life of
the
peoples. Thus, religion, embracing
tradition,
is an affirmation of natural
law.
Non-religious, non-traditional
laws
are invented by one man for use
against
another. Therefore they are
invalid
because they are not built upon
the
natural source of tradition and
religion.
25/3/2012
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