Rights in Civil Society - Section Two
Part Three
Appendix To The Philosophy Of Right —
The Better Construction Of Civil Society
Chapter 11
Recapitulation of social balances
2611. We can sum up by stating the following which, we think, can be considered a cosmic law, that is, a law of both the physical and the moral world: `Every movement or action, regular or irregular, arises from the effort made by two forces endeavouring to attain the balance they lack.'
2612. By applying this law of the universe to the particular characteristics of mankind as we investigate the causes of continual social disturbances amongst the human race, we first recognised an innate human tendency to justice, and discovered the necessity for a fundamental balance:
The first-order balance
necessary for the perfect constitution of civil society:
FACT MUST BE BALANCED WITH RIGHT
2613. We first imagined a state of civil society in which this balance was fully achieved, and then asked if other causes of disturbance could be present after justice had been established. We saw that it was not sufficient for society to be in a state of justice, that is, for all its goods to be possessed under a just title, if society was to remain tranquil. Even without the presence of injustice, society could still be subject to disturbance as a result of certain kinds of mutually attractive goods. These goods have to be balanced if they are not to cause turmoil. If divided, they cause disturbance through the vehement urge with which they attract one another. Hence:
The second-order balance
necessary for the perfect constitution of civil society:
THE KINDS OF GOOD THAT ARE MUTUALLY ATTRACTIVE MUST BE
BALANCED WITH ONE ANOTHER
2614. We went on to ask what kinds of good possessed such a great tendency to unite, and found that they were reduced to six, that is, population or family force, wealth, civil power or the right to govern, material force, knowledge and virtue. Five balances are, therefore, equally necessary, for the best constitution of humanity.
2615. The first balance is between family force and wealth. This renders the state of families regular and secure, and is expressed as follows:
The first part of second-order balance:
BALANCE SHOULD EXIST BETWEEN THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE
HUMAN SPECIES IN INDIVIDUAL FAMILIES,
AND THE WEALTH OF THESE FAMILIES
This balance, although proper to domestic society, is necessary to civil society, which is an aggregate of domestic societies.
2616. The second balance is a balance between wealth and civil power; the third requires equilibrium between civil power and material force. These are the two balances which, by removing two special causes of turmoil, properly speaking place external civil society in a regular state. They are formulated as follows:
The second part of second-order balance:
BALANCE SHOULD EXIST BETWEEN WEALTH AND CIVIL POWER
The third part of second-order balance:
BALANCE SHOULD EXIST BETWEEN CIVIL POWER AND
MATERIAL FORCE
2617. Material force has two objects: internal tranquillity and defence against external enemies. Relative to the first object, material force is simply a part of civil power. In can also be considered as such relative to the second object, except that this second object is not necessary to full civil power. If there were no external aggression, government would still be fully constituted with internal administration as its aim. If we consider material force as a defence against external enemies, it can be called the national force, and in the nation corresponds to family force in the family. These two balances can therefore be considered as one if military power is taken as a part of civil power.
2618. Two balances remain: that between military-civil power and knowledge, and that between knowledge and virtue. The latter brings regularity to the universal society of mankind, of which civil societies are only parts. By noting here these two last balances, readers will have some idea of the principal threads of our politico-jural system.
The fourth part of second-order balance:
BALANCE SHOULD EXIST BETWEEN MATERIAL-CIVIL POWER AND KNOWLEDGE
The fifth part of second-order balance:
BALANCE SHOULD EXIST BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND VIRTUE
All five balances are part of the general balance between different kinds of mutually attractive goods which, as we have seen, is necessary for social tranquillity.