Criminality and economic conditionsBonger, Willem Adriaan
General
Criminality and economic conditions
Bonger, Willem Adriaan
Crime -- Economic aspects
“By man’s laws being forced upon the population of all countries, in
continual opposition to nature’s laws; with law added to law, in the
vain attempt to remedy endless previous laws, the world had been made
and kept criminal, with crimes multiplying as human laws increased.
“The laws of man are made to support injustice, and give additional
power to the oppressor and to the man devoid of truth and honesty over
the innocent and just. And such must be the result, as long as human
laws, lawyers, and law paraphernalia shall be sanctioned by society....
“Nature’s laws carry with them the only just rewards and punishments
that man should experience; and they are, in every case, efficient for
nature’s purposes, and to ensure the happiness of man in all countries
and climes; and, differing from man’s puny, short-sighted laws, they
are always adequate to the end intended to be accomplished. And this
end is evidently to increase human knowledge and happiness. It is
through these laws of nature, that man has attained the knowledge which
he has acquired. He has been continually urged onward to make
discoveries, and to invent, through pain experienced, or pleasure
enjoyed or anticipated.
“But man has been trained to have his character formed, and to be
governed by laws of his own making; his habits, manners, ideas, and
associations of ideas have emanated, directly or indirectly, from his
artificial and injurious source; and, in consequence, the mind,
language, and practice of all individuals have become a chaos of
confusion. And this chaos in the character and conduct of individuals
has made a yet greater chaos in all the proceedings of society: and, in
consequence, man is now opposing man, and nation opposing nation, all
over the earth. Yet all nature declares, that it shall be by union of
man with man, and nation with nation, that the human race can ever
attain a high degree of permanent prosperity and happiness, or become
rational.
“Nevertheless, while this irrational individual and general character
shall remain, those men and women who have been made to receive this
character, and to be so injured, must continue for a time to be
governed by these most injurious laws. The laws of nature being alone
applicable to a society, whose laws are in accordance with the laws of
nature.
“When this rational society shall be formed, and men, individually and
generally, shall be trained to act in accordance with it, then shall
human punishments and rewards cease, and cease for ever.
“The thirteenth law will therefore be, that—
“‘As soon as the members of these scientific associations shall have
been educated, from infancy, in a knowledge of the laws of their
nature, trained to act in obedience to them, and surrounded by
circumstances all in unison with them, there shall be no individual
reward or punishment.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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