Ashley - 2nd Post - June 28 2020

The Optimistic Philosopher

Ashley Bonnette-Kim 

Since the beginning of recorded time, philosophers have sat around postulating about society and citizens roles in it. If you subscribe to Machavelli’s thoughts you believe that society was built in order to continue the lineage of property owning and everyone is out for their own self interest. Yikes. Harsh, eh?

If we jump several hundred years, we can explore Hobbes’ understanding of society. Much like Machavelli - Hobbes has more of a negative view of society. What I would like to focus on within Hobbes thought is his idea of; if you do not agree with society and do not wish to participate then your other option is to die. If you cannot live within society then you must die. There is no other option. 

This is interesting because while it seems harsh at first, it is understandable. Living outside of society even today is considered taboo and impossible in today’s overlapping network of surveillance and the internet. Despite being such a strong notion, this sentiment is still seen in popular media. 

However, it is the first part of this thought that I take issue with. This understanding that society has been built and you better suck it up - even if it is a nonfunctional system. This makes little sense with reality. We, as citizens, have the great ability to shift the focus of our government and to create a system which works for us. 

There are no cosmic forces working against us. There only is us and our trust in God. 

So - here is a revision to consider: if it has come to the point that people no longer wish to live in society, then it is obvious that the system is broken, and it is our duty as citizens to create a system which works for everyone. 

All my best,

Ash