This article critiques the social knowledge accepted today, as authorities have imposed it throughout history. Such knowledge primarily serves the interests of the authorities, leading to social problems, including human destructiveness. This article argues that the solution to social issues lies in a much more developed set of human rights than those currently considered. It suggests how to solve social problems and create a bright future for humankind.
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People attempt to compensate for their powerlessness in the face of nature by exerting power over others. Power over people confers privileges that alienate them from objective reality and render them alienated authorities. Alienated authorities impose their will on people, who are forced to obey them. This creates a destructive society. Social science lectures suggest that privileged authorities can develop narcissism, a leading cause of human and social destructiveness (Fromm, 1973).
History shows that an escape from social problems lies in the development of human rights. The United Nations has acknowledged it through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, people still do not fully understand the full scope of human rights necessary for building a good society, and as a result, various forms of destructiveness persist. This article argues that equal human rights can help eliminate human and social destructiveness, ultimately creating a brighter future for humankind.
Throughout history, social scientists have tried to eliminate the problem of social destruction. For example, Erich Fromm wrote the book "The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness" (Fromm, 1973), one of the most recent elaborations on this topic in the social sciences. However, the social sciences have yet to explain the cause of human destructiveness. On page 296 of the book, Erich Fromm wrote: "The problem of what factors are conducive to the development of sadism (human destructiveness) is too complicated to find an adequate answer in this book. One point, however, must be clear from the beginning: there is no simple relation between environment and character."
In these sentences, Erich Fromm has demonstrated that the social sciences have not discovered the origin of human destructiveness, highlighting their ineffectiveness in preventing and curing it. This article suggests that human destructiveness is directly linked to an authoritarian social system. Enforcing the will of authorities against the will of people is the origin of sadism and masochism. Sadism arises from the anxiety of authorities when they fail to overcome the power of nature, which is ultimately beyond their control. Masochism develops when individuals voluntarily submit to severe pressure from authorities. It alienates them from their nature, resulting in anxiety that grows into masochism. The lack of equal human rights in society leads to social destruction. I have elaborated further on the origin and cure of personal and social destructiveness in the article Equal Human Rights Will Eliminate Sadomasochism.
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Social scientists could not discover the origin and cure for human destructiveness because they are the cause rather than a solution. First, social scientists are subjective and cannot establish enough objective knowledge to solve social problems. In addition, the work of social scientists very often must correspond with the authorities' interests. Socrates, Thomas More, and Giordano Bruno had to die in defence of the truths they believed in. Authorities still block teaching that may undermine their power. The prime authorities today are the capitalist elite, but they also include politicians, employers, teachers, and parents. They have established the belief that there is no option to the accepted way of thinking, so nobody really works on social improvement.
Second, social scientists are educational authorities who impose alienated knowledge on people. Schools are created by authorities, primarily to protect their interests, not to improve society. Today's schools are violence against students. The primary subject in all schools is teaching obedience to authorities, which is essentially a form of sadomasochism. The problem is that people do not see it this way. Just forcing students full of energy and joy of life to sit in the classroom for half a day means harming their nature. We want the best for our children, but instead, we inadvertently contribute to their destructiveness without realizing it.
The work of social scientists is a catch-22 because the more they focus on their research, the less they can contribute to improving society. Throughout history, authorities have imposed a substantial amount of alienated knowledge on students, and society has accepted it. Nothing is worse than accepting false knowledge, as it controls people's lives and devastates human capabilities. However, people do not recognize it. Once students acquire a wrong social understanding, it becomes an obstacle to solving social problems and developing society.
Furthermore, once false social knowledge is established, debugging it requires more energy than it was necessary to acquire it. However, if people succeed in taking one step towards improving society, the authorities bring them two steps back. For example, people invented democracy to achieve a better life, but corrupt authorities and political parties hinder its effectiveness. As a result, the democracy we have today does not sufficiently represent the people's interests. Social scientists recognize it, yet authorities have created enormous social alienation, leading social scientists to doubt whether social progress is possible. Consequently, one cannot find scientific papers that effectively elaborate on the development of democracy. The same applies to economic development and any other aspect that diverts power from authorities.
But there is more. The authorities have imposed rules on the social sciences that maintain accepted, false social knowledge and block social progress. For example, social science papers must include references to previous work to be accepted. So, new scientific ideas that might improve society lack prior scientific recognition and cannot be accepted by journals. On the contrary, authorities gladly support the work of social scientists who cannot improve social knowledge. For example, the work of Karl Marx and his successors is considered scientific even though it has been proven inefficient at advancing humankind. In addition, social scientists may choose to work on whatever interests them, regardless of how beneficial their work is to society. Nowhere else is useless work supported by authorities as in the social sciences, because such work does not contribute to social improvement. Scientist Allan Savoury has explained the problem in under 2 minutes: "
Authorities have established the belief that people need to learn hard to reach a better future. This is entirely false. First, learning comes effortlessly when students are genuinely interested in the subject. Second, the nature of society is very simple, but when we do not understand it, we tend to create false knowledge about it. The more we alienate ourselves from objective knowledge, the harder it is to see the truth. Additionally, the development of such knowledge cannot improve society because it accelerates the spread of incorrect understanding. The escape lies in questioning social knowledge from the foundation. This article argues that equal human rights are the most effective means of creating objective social knowledge, capable of eliminating social issues and fostering a prosperous society. Therefore, the best thing social scientists can do is to let people's equal rights reset social knowledge and create a new one that can improve society.
"Some people get an education without going to college. The rest get it after they get out.” — Mark Twain
Schools are not necessary for acquiring knowledge, as it can be learned independently. Students who are interested in learning do so much more effectively on their own than by listening to lectures imposed by authorities. People can truly learn only through interests that arise from their own lives. Even if authoritative teaching is correct, it should not be imposed on students. Knowledge is significantly better understood and lasts longer when students discover it for themselves. "Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is." — Isaac Asimov.
It does not mean schools should be eliminated, because they can be good places for students to socialize and discuss topics of interest, thereby enabling a positive learning experience. Schools should help students learn only what interests them, which is rarely divisible from what society generally needs. Such studies can no longer be alienated from real life. Students will consult teachers who will provide their best expertise without imposing anything on students or evaluating them. There is no need to evaluate students, because people's equal rights will assess them throughout their lives. Productive people will appreciate it, and those who are not will be encouraged to become productive. Socially acceptable knowledge will be much better developed in real life on an equal human rights basis.
This article argues that replacing authority with a well-developed system of human rights will solve social issues, prevent human destructiveness, and completely transform the world into a wonderful place to live. It presents essential new ideas for creating a good society through equal political and economic rights.
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Equal political rights will be achieved by giving people equal legislative, judiciary and executive powers. It will be accomplished by giving people equal rights to evaluate others' actions. Each positive evaluation should be accompanied by a small award to the assessed person, and each negative assessment should result in a minor penalty. Such a policy would encourage people to respect and please others while avoiding harm to them. It is crucial for creating a social culture to build a good society.
The equal power of evaluation among people presents a new form of democracy, and the freedom of assessment offers a new state of anarchy. Therefore, such a policy should be called democratic anarchy. Democratic anarchy would allow people to better protect their interests than their representatives could. It will remove social privileges, the nest of social problems, and enable the building of a bright future for humankind.
People together are more objective than subjective authorities can be. For example, people determine the market prices of goods by following their purchasing needs and financial abilities more objectively than authorities can. Democratic anarchy will do even better because it involves negative evaluations, which means everyone should consider the consequences of their actions on others. If they do not learn enough, the negative assessments they receive from others will teach them to enhance their objectivity.
A practical example of democratic anarchy: Let everyone have the right to give three positive or negative evaluations to other people monthly. Let every positive evaluation bring one dollar, and a negative assessment take one dollar from the evaluated person. In such a system, the US President might receive 100,000,000 negative evaluations from the American people for their poor policies, lies, and aggressive behaviour toward other countries. This would cost the President 100,000,000 dollars in only one month. Presidents who fail to meet people's needs will have to resign quickly. Only the most skilful and brave individuals would dare lead countries. They will no longer be authorities, but sincere servants of the people.
Democratic anarchy can quickly reduce social problems, but unfortunately, it cannot be established soon because authorities have prevented people from trusting others' good intentions. Leaders have always oppressed people through authoritarian social policy. As a result, people have harassed those weaker than them, creating a social culture of a repressive society. Today, oppression is institutionalized through the education system and has expanded through the division of work everywhere. Media, science, and politics are influenced or controlled by authorities that alienate people from the causes of social problems, so they cannot see an escape to a better social solution.
Social improvement will begin when people understand the importance and benefits of equal human rights. Once people accept democratic anarchy, it will change the foundation of society and open the door to building social prosperity. Democratic anarchy will teach people that, regardless of their successes, they must never forget that they are equal community members. It is a precondition for eliminating social destructiveness and building a bright future. Democratic anarchy is further explored in the article "Democratic Anarchy Is the Future of Democracy."
Social prosperity also requires the introduction of equal human rights in production processes. First, society needs to establish workers' right to work. Full employment will be enforced through shorter work hours. Then, people need to accept a permanent, open competition of workers for every public work post at any time. Every public job will be filled by the worker who offers higher productivity, takes on more responsibility, and demands a lower price for their current work. It is nothing but a developed work market that is open at all times. The new labour division will significantly increase production. It will be sustainable by holding each worker accountable for their productivity. The free market of work will justly distribute the burdens and benefits of the economy among the workers, forming a just society. Finally, work competition is necessary to enhance the freedom of choice essential to building social good and to eliminate privileges that build social evils.
Such a division of labour sounds impossible mainly because it never existed, but the realization is just a technical problem. Yet, it cannot be established soon because it requires significant development before people can fully embrace it. However, once the new economy is established, private companies will lose the productivity battle with public ones because no economy can be more productive than one in which the best available worker fills each job. It will send capitalism down in history. The new economy offers enormous opportunities for socioeconomic improvement. The best way to name it is socialism. The division of labour in socialism is explained in detail in the article Developed Market of Work Will Create Socialism.
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Initially, work competition may increase antagonism among workers, creating a severe obstacle to harmonious social relations. Still, open competition among people is necessary because the problem cannot be removed any other way than through people's understanding gained from their own experiences, which shows that competition is a burden on a good life. The idea assumes that open competition for all workplaces will allow people to try them, thereby demystifying the importance of jobs and balancing the interests of all of them. Additionally, open competition across all workplaces will be exhausting, thereby diminishing workers' competitive interest. As a result, people will give up on competition, accepting equality and cooperation as essential to creating a harmonious society.
Equal human rights will empower people to resist the power of authorities. Authorities and their privileges will disappear together with obedient, powerless people. People released from the pressure of authorities will be able to demystify the alienated values imposed on them throughout history and discover natural ways of living. Removing privileges will eliminate the central nest of narcissism and sadomasochism in the community, together with human destructiveness. Eliminating privileges by establishing equal human rights is crucial for developing a harmonious society.
Democratic anarchy can establish a much more efficient model of social responsibility than the capitalist economy provides, teaching people to rely on their own power to meet their needs. It will guide people in setting their needs in line with their abilities to satisfy them. This is the primary prerequisite for overcoming destructiveness in society, as individuals who consistently meet their needs are more likely to be satisfied and less likely to exhibit destructive behaviour. In such a society, people will eliminate human and social destructiveness. Then, society will develop a new culture capable of creating a productive orientation for people and building a bright future for humankind.
There is a vibrant inner world within people, where all emotions, including love, hate, misery, and joy, reside. In a society where people understand that they are equal to all others, regardless of their accomplishments, they will relinquish the need to compare themselves with others. In such a society, exploiting the outer world will barely yield noticeable benefits to people. Therefore, people will begin searching for values within their inner world. When such an orientation is accepted, hate and misery will be eliminated because they do not exist in the inner world of individuals who are relieved from the need to compare themselves with others. In contrast, love and joy will develop significantly because nothing destructive exists in the inner world of individuals who are relieved of the need to compare themselves with others. People who do not compete with others generally prove it.
The most critical point of an individual's creation is themselves. Exploring the inner world enables people to enlighten themselves and develop into more productive beings. The more people get to know themselves, the more freedom, peace, joy, and wisdom they can achieve. Developed people achieve what they need on their own; they love the world unconditionally just because it exists. The article Equal Human Rights Will Make People Love Unconditionally teaches readers how to love unconditionally.
We learn through our lives what is good and what is bad. Equal human rights are the best teacher. They will enlighten people, enabling them to create a prosperous society that surpasses even the wildest dreams of today.