TheNaturalState

by
AishaBewley
Oncewediscussthenaturalformofman,thenthequestionmustarisewhatisthenaturalformofmanina
social,andbyextension,politicalsituation?Beforemovingontostatingwhatthatactuallyconsistsof,itis
necessarytopointoutwhatitisNOT,becausewearealllivinginvariationsonasituationwhichwehavecome
tothinkofasnatural,butwhichisinfactcompletelyUNnatural.
ThefirstthingwemustdoisexplodeabasicpremiseofWesternliberalthought.Thisisanideawhichis,
historicallyspeaking,veryrecent,buthasbecomesoengrainedastobeacceptedastruewithoutquestionthis
istheconceptofmanasbeinginnatelyafullyautonomousindividualwhoseoriginalnaturalsituationislocated
inasortofnebulousprimitivestateoutsideofanypoliticalorsocialdimension.Thisimpliesthepriorexistence
ofapresocialcondition,oftencalledthe'StateofNature'.Thisisviewedasanegativeconditionwhere,as
ThomasHobbesstates:
...thereisnoplaceforindustry,becausethefruitthereofisuncertainandconsequentlynoculture
oftheearth,noNavigation...nocommodiousbuilding...noaccountoftimenoarts,noletters,
nosociety.[Furthermoreinsuchastate,thelifeofmanis]solitary,poore,nasty,brutish,andshort.
Fromthisprimitivestateofabsoluteandunbridledfreedommanthentheoreticallyentersintoasocialcontract,
surrenderinghisprimalfreedomandacceptingabsolutesubservienceinreturnforguaranteedorder,andthus
becomespartofsociety.Societythenconsistsofanaggregateofautonomous,sovereignindividualssomething
akintoafederationinthatthemembersenterintothisagreementfromoutsideofitfromapresocialcondition.
Societyisthusviewedasbeinganartificialconstructioninventedbyman.
ThisnegativepresocialconceptisnotfoundinancientGreeceorRome,norinChristiancountriespriortothe
Reformation,oramongtheMuslims.Itis,infact,ridiculous.Itdescribesastateofaffairsthathasneverexisted.
Manisasociablecreature.Outsideofyouroccasionalhermit(whopositshisisolationinrelationshipto
society),humanbeingsarefoundinsocialsituations,notinisolation.Itwouldbefairtousethetermcontractin
termsofassenttogovernance,butnottobecomingasocialcreature.
Thismayseemtobeaninnocuousidea,but,infact,ithasseriousconsequencesbecauseitturnstheentirebasis
ofsocietyintosomethingwhichissubjecttodeliberateandconsciousmanipulation.Sowheredidthisfallacy
originateandwhere,moreimportantly,hasitledus?
Thecurrentviewofmanandhumannaturehastodowiththeriseofcertainrelationshipswhichwerebased
largelyonthegrowthofanusuriouseconomicsystemtheriseofbourgeoissocietyinwhichmenwerefreedof
theiroldsocialbondswhichwere,inturn,replacedbyselfgratificationandacquisitionasanendinitself.The
competitivedriveformaterialgainbecamethedominantcharacterofman.Thisviewofmaniscrucialforthe
developmentofthemodernstate.
Itshouldbenotedherethatthiseventwasprecededbyabreakdowninthetraditionalorderwhichwas
progressivelyusurpedbytheestablishmentofafeudalandpapalpowerstructure.Therewas,indeed,areaction
tothiswhichmanifesteditselfinvariousformsofcriticismofthesystem(asinNorthernItalywithMarsiglioof
PaduaandBartolusinthefourteenthcentury).But,atthispoint,allthatthecriticscoulddowastoswitchthe
sourceofpowertothepeople,whohadusuallylostaccesstotheearliermoredynamicsocialforms.Therewas
nowheretodeveloptootherthanwhatwastobecomethestate.
Thisdegressionwasacceleratedbytheremovalofoldstrictures,particularlybythelegalisationofusury.Inthe
newview,menarefundamentallyhostiletooneanotherbecausetheyallhaveappetitesforthesamethings.

Theyallwantthelargestshareofthepie.Hencetherelationshipsbetweenmennecessarilybecomemarket
relationships,relationshipsbetweenindividualcontractors.Itisnowonderthattheterm'socialcontract'is
stressed.Alltheyhadtodowastolookatthenatureofthesocietythathaddevelopedaroundthemtofindtheir
justificationthatitwaspeoplewereupto.
Hobbes,thearchexponentofthisviewofthestate,said,'theValue,orWorthofaman,isasofallthings,his
Pricethatistosay,somuchaswouldbegivenfortheuseofhisPower,'(Lev.p.151)or'Themanifestationof
theValuewesetononeanotheristhatwhichiscommonlycalledHonouring.'(p.152)Itisatthispoint,atthe
verybeginningofthemodernconceptofhumanrelationswhicharecouchedineconomicterms,thatthemarket
economyweseetodaybecomeinevitable.Indeed,thedoctrineofmarketforcesisalreadylaidoutasHobbes
says,'ThevalueofallthingscontractedforismeasuredbytheAppetiteoftheContractorsandthereforethejust
value,isthatwhichtheyarecontentedtogive.'(p.208)
Thefunctionofthestatethereforebecomesthemaintenanceofthefreedomsofthecontract,labour,exchange,
andcapitalaccumulation.Itsjobistopreservethemarketfromanarchy.Politicalstabilitymeansoptimum
conditionsforstablecapitalgrowthanddebtcollection.Thedesireforgainandincreaseunderliesall.Greedisa
powerfulstimulantandisitselfstimulatedbythesystem.Indeed,thesystemrunsongreed.Greedisthe
lubricant.Thatwhichwaspreviouslyasinbecomesanasset.
Theclaimismadebyproponentsofdemocracythatthemodernliberaldemocraticstate'maximizesthe
aggregateofindividualsatisfactionsequitably.'Inotherwords,itsatisfiesthegreatestamountofappetiteswhich
areallequallyvalid.Everyonehasfreeaccesstoselfgratification.Thenwhatmanbecomesisaconsumerof
utilitiesabundleofappetiteswhichmustbesatisfied,andthebestsocietyistheonewhichmaximizestheself
gratificationofitsmembers.Thisistantamounttosayingthatthebestsocietyistheonewhichdistributesthe
corntoaherdofpigsinthemostequitablewaysothatnopigistoohungry.Theideaofgettingoutofthepig
stydoesnotarise.Ifthatistheunderlyingviewofman,thenit'snowonderthatthingsareinthestatethatthey
arein!
Insuchastateofaffairs,hereisnowayofjudgingrightandwrongbecauseallisrelative,astheappetitesof
everyoneareequallyvalid.WilliamGodwinsumsitup,'Theendofvirtueistoaddtothesumofpleasurable
sensations.'Nothingmore.Thisviewunderliestheveryfoundationofthemodernnationstate.Itisinseparable
fromit.
Somodernsocietyconsistsofnothingmorethanmarketregulation,bywhichImeanmaximisingthepotential
forgainforthosewhocontrolthemeansofexchangeandaccesstothemarkets,irrespectiveofwhatthe
politicalapparatuscurrentlyinpowercallsitself.Theonly'freedoms'stressedandevenallowedarethosewhich
areprerequisiteconditionsforthestablefunctioningofthemarket.Goodistobefoundintheindefiniteincrease
ofmaterialgoods.Wealth=happiness.Everyoneisaconsumerandhasanequalrighttoconsumeornotto
consume.YoucangotoTescoortoSainsburyorSafeway,butyoucan'tchangethebasicstructureofthewhole
system.Youcan'toptoutofit.Tryitandyou'llfindtheU.N.arrivingonyourdoorstepandAmericanbombs
fallingoutofthesky!
Sothemoderndemocraticstateinwhichvirtuallytheentireglobeisenmeshedischaracterisedbyasystem
basedon:
1.Theencouragementofselfgratificationleadingtothebestialisationofthehumanbeingandcuttinghimoff
fromanyaccesstospirituality.
2.Alackofloyalty,fidelityandtrustbetweenmembersofsociety.Allarecompetitorsforthesameprize,and
henceallaremutualrivalsofoneanother.Inthiscontext,itisworthnothingthatmoderneconomictechniques
are,infact,hostileandaggressivemoveshostiletakeovers,etc.
3.Animpositionofthelawsofthesystemfromaboveinordertomaintainordersothatthosewhoareinpower
(whoarethosewhoareaccumulatingmorethroughusuryinitsvariousmanifestations)canaccumulatestill
more,andtoletoffpressurefromthosewhoareexploitedsothattheydonotattempttodoanythingaboutit.

Thisis,infact,amaster/slavesituationwherethemastershavenoresponsibilitiestotheslaves,andwherethe
slaveshavenotevenrecognisedthattheyareslaves.
Isthisanythingbuttyranny?Andinademocracy,youhaveabsolutelynocontrolaboutwhatthegovernment
does.Ifyoudon'tlikewhatitdoes,ofcourseyoucanvoteintheotherparty,andthenyouhaveabsolutelyno
controloverwhatthegovernmentdoes.Allyourvotedoesistoprovideaspuriousjustificationforthesystem,
andoncepeoplesensethis,itmeansthattheybecomepassiveandapatheticbecausetheyknowthattheyhave
nopower.Theyareslaves.Thisisnotanaturalhumansituation.Thisisnihilism.Thisistheendofthefree
humanbeing.
ButasIsaid,thisisafaultymodernviewofsocietywhichis,infact,aresultoftheacceptanceoflegalisationof
usurywhichtransformedsocietyinapreviouslyunheardofmanner.Thenaturalstatethepreusurioussociety
andtheIslamicmodelissomethingelse.Theunderlyingbasisofsocietyisnotmindlessgain,butjusticeand
loyalty.
Thisbringsusbacktotheessentialnatureofman.Beforethisunfortunatesocialtransformation,thereal
businessoflifewasviewedassalvationofone'ssoulorone'speopleortribethroughgoodorheroic
actions.Economicconcernsweresubjecttothat.Henceeconomicmattersmustfollowcertainprinciplesof
justiceandloyaltysoasnottoimpairman'sspiritualstatetoensurethatheremainsafreehumanbeing,and
notabeastandslavetohisorsomeoneelse'sappetites.
Sowhatisasociety?Itisnot,asthemoderndefinitionwouldhaveit,a'objectivecollectivity'ofpeoplesimply
lumpedtogether.Itisacollectionofpeoplewhohaveacommonprojectandsharedvalueswhichpermeatethe
wholeofaman'slifeandwhichprovidesameansfortherealisationofspiritualgoals.Whatisthecommongoal
ofdemocracy?Anunanswerablequestion.Itisafellowshipinwhichpeoplehavemutuallyrecognisedrelations
withoneanother.Earlysocietiesformedaroundaleaderofatribeorapeople,usuallyinaterritory.Inthe
Islamicparadigm,thecommunityembracesanywhoacceptitsbasictenetsandoffersallegiancetoit.There
mustbesomethingwhichholdsasocietytogether.
Thecentralfactorinanynaturalsocialgroupingisloyalty.AsAristotlesaid,'Everyassociationseemstoinvolve
justiceofsomekindandfriendship,'i.e.loyalty.
Loyaltytakesonmanyformsbeingfaithfultoone'scommitments,dutiesandvaluesincludingfollowingthe
preceptsandcommandsofGod.Thereisloyaltytoone'sspouseandrelativesandfriends.Thereisloyaltyto
one'sbusinessassociates.Thereisloyaltytoallsortsofpeopleandideasinallsortsofsituations.
Oneexpectsthisloyaltytobereciprocalandsothereistrust.Itisthistrustandfidelitywhichunderlies
relationshipsbetweenpeopleinanaturalsocialsituation.Thisissobasicthatitisevenreflectedinthe
language.BothintheJudeoChristiantraditionandintheIslamic,thetermsfortrustandbeliefhaveacertain
reciprocity.ThewordforbelieforfaithinArabicisimanandthewordfortrustisamana,bothbeingderived
fromthesameroot.ThereareactsofdisobedienceagainstGodbothBiblically(pesh)andinIslam('asiyya)
thisisviewedasasortofdisloyalty.Allrelationshiparepermeatedwiththissense.Anindicationofwhat
happenedinEuropeinthetransformationofthemeaningoftermslikesocietywhichtookplace.(seeMichel
Foucault)
Itisthissenseofloyaltywhichpermeatesnaturalsocietyandprovidesthebasisfortheobservationof
customarylawratherthananycentralauthorityimposingitonareluctantpopulation.Ifyouneedastanding
policeforcetoenforcethelawonaregularbasis,thereisanobviousprobleminsocietyitself.Somethingis
wrongwithsociety.Itshouldnotbenecessary.Theoutlawisananomaly,notapersistentandpervasive
problem.Inanaturalstate,therulesarebasedonpersonaltiesandwhatisnecessarytomaintainanatmosphere
ofmutualtrust.Inthemodernstate,theremustbestrongerpoliticalsanctionstoenforcethembecausethese
statutesarefrequentlypoliticalmechanismstomaintaintheextractivepoweroftherulers,nottomaintain
justice.
Whichbringsustotheruler,ortothestatewhichhastakentheplaceofaparticularruler.Ratherthanbeingthe

extractorandexploiter,inanaturalstatetherulerisviewedastheprotectorofthoseunderhim,theonewho
ensuresthatjusticeisdoneandeveryonewithaduereceiveswhatisduetohim.Heisaresponsibleguardian.
Togiveaconcreteexampleofthis,thewordusedbythefirstKhalif,AbuBakr,inreferringtohimself,anda
wordthatisfrequentlyusedforgovernors,iswali,whichmeansaguardian,heir,orexecutor.Heissomeone
whomanagesthingsforapersonintheirbestinterests.Asanexampleoftheproperattitudeofaruler,itwould
dowelltoquotewhathesaidtothepeoplewhenhebecameKhalif.Hesaid:
Opeople!Ihavebeenputinchargeoveryou,butIamnotthebestofyou.IfIactwell,thenhelp
me,andifIactbadly,thenputmeright.Truthfulnessisatrustandlyingistreachery.Theweak
amongyouisstronginmysightuntilIrestorehisrighttohim,Allahwilling.Thestrongamong
youisweakinmysightuntilItaketherightfromhim,Allahwilling.Peopledonotabandonjihad
inthewayofAllahbutthatAllahafflictsthemwithhumiliation.Shamelessnessdoesnotspreadin
apeoplebutthatAllahenvelopstheminaffliction.ObeymeaslongasIobeyAllahandHis
Messenger.IfIdisobeyAllahandHisMessenger,youowemenoobedience.(SiraIbnHisham)
Thereisreciprocitybetweenrulerandruled.TheProphetclearlystated,'Animamisashepherdandis
responsibleforhisflock.'
Otherwisegovernancebecomesunlawfultyranny,andinanaturalstatewhentherulerbecomestheextractor
andexploiterratherthantheprotector,thatisrecognisedasbeingwrong.Inotherwords,therulerwouldhave
thenleftthebondsofloyalty.AsBlackstonedefinesthisinCommentariesontheLawsofEngland(176569),
BookIV,Ch.1:
[Allegiancetothetie...]whichbindseverysubjecttobetrueandfaithfultohissovereign,inreturn
forthatprotectionwhichisaffordedhimandtruthandfaithtobearoflifeandlimb,andearthly
honourandnottoknoworhearofanyillintendedhim,withoutdefendinghimtherefrom.'
Andwhatofabuseofpower?InIslam,tyrannicaloppressorscanbeoverthrown.Thereisadefinitionby
'UthmandanFodioaboutwhensuchacoursebecomesnecessary.Thisisalsointeresting.Itariseswhen:
'SecularlawsaresubstitutedfortheShari'a,pagancustomsandbehaviourreplaceIslamicmoralityoppressive
taxation,usurpationandtheconfiscationofpropertyreplacetheIslamicsystemoftaxationandfiscalpolicies,
andIslamicinheritancelawsareabandonedinfavourofpaganwhims.'Thetransformationdescribedcould
easilybetransposedtotheEuropeansituation.
ForMuslimsincasesofinjustice,thereisaccesstotheqadisorjudges,fortherulerisnotabovedivinelaw.For
theprefeudalsociety,asinIreland,therewasthebrithemorjuristwhoexpoundedthelawandthebrithem
wasliablefordamagesifhegaveafalsejudgement.Evenwithinthefeudalsystemitself,thetheorywasstill
there(asinthecaseofJohnofSalisbury),butithadbeensupersededbytheimperialmodeltakenfromRome.
Thelawwasnotimposedfromthetop.Therulerdidnotpasslawsandthenimposethemonthepeople.In
Islam,itisofdivineorigin.ThesolefunctionofgovernanceistoenabletheindividualMuslimtopractisehis
DeenandtofulfilhisobligationstoAllah,whichincludeswhatisduefromhimtowardsothermembersof
society.This,atthebottomline,isthesolepurposeofany'state'forwhosepurposealonethoseinauthority
possessanyauthorityoverothers.Theworthofthegovernmentcanbemeasuredbyhowmuchthisisachieved.
ThestateasaninstitutioninitsownrightisausurpationofGod'ssovereignty.Ithasnointrinsicauthorityonits
own.Bydefinition,aMuslim'state'CANNOTenactlaws.
IntheprefeudalEuropeansystem,(againtomentionCelticlawsincethereissuchalargecorpusofextant
sourcesonit),thebrehonorjudgewasconsideredtobeactingonbehalfofadivinepower.TheIrishwordfor
judgement,'breth',comesfromtheverb,'ber',tobear.Togiveajudgementwasexpressedas'tobearabreth',
denotinghisdivinesoure.Thefamousbrehonofthefirstcentury,Morann,woreacollarroundhisneckwhich
tightenedwhenhegaveafalsejudgementandexpandedwhenhegaveatrueone.Itinvolvesreachingwhatis
trueandjustandordainedbyGod.
Furthermore,thecustomaryprefeudallawbetweenpeoplewasbasedontiesofloyaltyandbondsof

service/protectioninamannerwhichdidnothavetheextractivepowerofthefeudalpowersystem.IntheIrish
systemofclientage(clsine),amanwouldofferarmedattendanceonalordinreturnforprotectionandsupport,
butheretainedhisfreestatus.Hewasnotaserforavassaltiedtoabitofland.Itwasnotastatewhereone
groupunfairlyextractsfromanothergroup.AservesBinreturnforBservingA,notBpayingAsomeunfair
amountandlosinghisfreedomintheprocess.Itwasastateofmutualbenefitbasedonloyaltyandtrust.The
highestloyaltybeingtoGod,andthenderivedfromthat,loyaltybetweenitsmembers.Itisthissenseofmutual
loyaltyandsupportwhichislackinginmodernsociety.
Themajorproblemfacingallmankindisthatmanhasforgottenhispositioninthecosmos.Fromtheinception
ofthemodernstate,andparticularlysincetheEnlightenment,hehasdevotedhisenergiestoseekingpower,
masteryandunlimitedgain.HehastriedtobecometheLordofall,andforgottenwhotheLordofallreallyis.
Byattemptingtocontroleverythingbyrationaldefinitionoftenbasedonerroneousconceptsandassumptions
orbysheerunrestrainedwillandgreed,hehasturnedeverythingandeveryoneintoobjects.Byrefusingany
naturalrestraintsonhisgodlikemasteryofall,hehasinfactbecomebestialised,andthisisreflectedinthe
politicalformwhichmodernmanhaschosenliberaldemocracy.Theendresultofdemocracyisdespair
becauseyouhavenopowerandallyourrelationshipsareunimportant.Theonlypossibleendthatthiscanhave
ispoliticaldecadence,inwhichoneresortstoelaboratemethodology,structuralismandcodificationinavain
attempttofindsomemeaninginitall.
ThenaturalstatehasbeentotallylostintheWestandtherenolongerremainsameansofrealaccesstoit.The
prefeudalstateiseitherlostinthemistsoftimeanddustyhistorybooks,orturnedintoaRomanticcostume
fantasy.
TheoneaccesstoanaturalstatewhichweDOhaveistheIslamicparadigm.ThereISamodelanditisnotlost
inthemistsoftime.ItwassuccessfullyimplementedinNigeriaonlyinthelastcenturyintheSokotocaliphate
by'UthmandanFodiowhomImentionedbriefly,untilitwasoverpoweredbymilitaryforcebytheEnglish
colonialists.Itworked.Itfunctionedwell.Itcanstillworkifwewanttobehumanbeings,andnotmindless
brutesorslaves.Itrequiresthedesiretogetoutofthepigsty.

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