How to Create a Nation By Richard Kieninger A population occupying a given piece of land, however large, does not become a nation until it is organized economically. A collection of farmers and tradesmen will stagnate in a primitive state of poverty for generations and live little better than the animals they tend unless a government promotes trade in a positive manner. The looting of the people by warlords and an entrenched aristocracy is the usual fate of primitive economies, and there are thousands of examples of that in the world even today. Those in power grab whatever is of value, leaving nothing for the general populace to invest in productive facilities for their own benefit and ultimately for the benefit of all, including the rulers. Benign government is essential to organizing the efforts and imagination of a group of people in order to make a nation of them. Historically, government is imposed on a population by force of arms; and in a few rare instances, an enlightened despot has granted his people freedom, education, low taxes and protection which encouraged them to produce and accumulate prosperity. In colonial America the people chose to govern themselves and were fortunate enough to be able to do so. The Christian humanist, Cardinal Nicolaus of Cusa, in 1434 established the idea that all legitimate authority to govern arises from the elective concordance of men and thus their free submission to that authority. He pointed out that there is in the people a divine seed by virtue of their equal birth and the equal natural rights common to all men. So all authority comes from God, as does man himself, and government is recognized as divine when it arises from the common consent of the governed. One who is elected to authority as representative of the will of all must govern and serve without haughtiness in a legitimately established government. The governor must be mindful that he is a creature of the populace in a divine state of spiritual union with them based on a lasting harmony by which the commonwealth is best guided. The freedom of each individual to pursue his own best interests is the very basis of national wealth. In the Nation of God it is decreed there shall never be a tax on the individual citizen. Yet everyone realizes that the many beneficial services a government affords to each citizen have a price. This expense is to be met by the Biblical tithe voluntarily given to the government as calculated on one’s annual increase. It is the governments duty to invest in public works and infrastructure to increase the efficiency of commerce such as large projects like roads, dams, sewage treatment, docks and airports. The government can create value by undertaking public projects without funds in its treasury by issuing credits to the workers and suppliers of materials within its own national boundaries that can then circulate as money and will eventually be paid back to the government in the form of tolls by those who use the facilities. It is essential that the government establish standard weights and measures on efficient postal service, as well as a sound and stable currency. The central treasury should serve as a bank and storehouse of wealth that can loan money without interest to individuals who have worthwhile projects and to manufactures. The treasury should also serve as the clearinghouse for all paper drafts of funds between individuals and commercial establishments. All these things give a sense of national identity to the populace. Trade between nations sometimes needs to be controlled nationally by protective tariffs or domestic subsidies to encourage beneficial industries at home. At the heart of any national internal success, regardless of its interactions or stature vis-à-vis other nations, is education and development and distribution of scientific and technical advances. Inventiveness and pure science unleash creativity and efficiency of human effort and enrich everyone in the nation in the long run. It is also essential that cultural refinement go hand in hand with spiritual uplift as afforded by an enlightened governmental policy of education toward private and public institutions. A minimum of laws and a thorough understanding of karmic principles will keep a nation running smoothly indefinitely. A constitution that holds public servants to the task of meeting the needs of all the people and prevents governmental abuse must be maintained. Continuing success in this depends largely on moral training of the youth in preparation for their idealism in adult behavior in all aspects of citizenship and personal interaction. If all public institutions and governmental employees display high moral standards, they will be examplars for all the populace. Morality or immorality in high places trickles down to the citizens’ behavior and the children. That has always been the case. A justice system that avoids taint of unfairness or corruption is essential for the maintenance of public trust and morale, and that system must diligently enforce commercial contracts in order for a credit system to exist. A great deal of human interaction and experience involve the exchange of personal services that depend upon expenditures of time and energy. Business is a divine exchange with karmic and moral implications. A nation whose populace does not operate honestly must inevitably fall. Self-regulation of morality among all concerned allows a minimum of laws with little need of police, courts and lawyers; all of which are expensive to maintain. Military preparedness is important for a sense of security and survival, and this encourages long-term efforts and investment in the nation when future plans of its people seem assured. There are always predatory rulers of other nations who must be defended against and discouraged from attacking. A standing military force with advanced armaments and a well-trained militia help guarantee peace for the nation. A moral people tend to be courageous in defending their rights and in protecting their loved ones against external or internal enemies. The overall effort to uplift every citizen and to promote and defend the fundamental rights of every human being to develop his mental and spiritual powers in the image of God must inevitably produce a civilized culture that is tremendously beneficial. Harmony with Natural Law guarantees an environment where men and women can best perfect themselves in their humanness. All this depends upon a government whose policies naturally marshal the inherent talents of its citizenry toward Egoic advancement.
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