Friday, July 5, 2013

Peace Requires Limitation


Economical, ecological, and wise: Peace means limitation.

What does it mean to be human? What is a good life? The pagan answer is freedom. The Christian answer is peace. Man cannot be free from limits, and it is a fool's errand to attempt to gain such freedom. The wise answer to life's aim is peace, and this peace has as many facets as a diamond. Any peaceful life must be economical, ecological, and wise.

It may not be possible to create economies which are completely self-sustaining; which establish peace through systematic isolation. Indeed, it is certainly impossible to do so, since all human economies and ecologies depend upon constant material and energy inputs from the earth and the sun. The material cycle can come very close to being closed. The energy cycle cannot. Thus, peace within the energy cycle is achieved when the cycle attunes it's need for input to that which the sun regularly provides, so that given the sun, the system is energy stable and does not require mining energy from other systems. This is what it means to live wisely, economically, ecologically.

In addition to these limits, there is a hard limit to population. Many would like to deny this, but end up only admitting that there is a limit but that we aren't approaching it yet. Perhaps, perhaps not. This limit is assumed in the limit on the energy cycle. Manifest destiny does not or can not assume that the west coast will never appear and that settlers can keep consuming the frontier forever. This also is foolish thinking.

Also, there is a moral limit. Men do not naturally desire wisdom, but scorn it. Men desire freedom...autonomy, and not peace and economy. Let us not forget that the call to peaceable economics is the call to having Godly households. There is no such thing as a bachelor economy.

Just as plants need the input of the Sun, so men need the input of God.

Only God can make a peaceable Kingdom; may His servants be obedient and ready.

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