The Long Parade of Human Governments
Men have tried them all; none have succeeded. What hope remains for righteous rule?
MONARCHIES, empires, democracies, republics, dictatorships and socialistic governments—all forms of human rule have been tried many times over during the past 6,000 years. All ultimately fail, though each new one tried is proclaimed to be the one that will succeed.
Present efforts at human rule are no exceptions. They have blazed no new trails, have ushered in no glowing successes. The same systems of government are in existence, with the same records of failure. The work ethic is fading, morals are collapsing, old values are giving way to “me-first” philosophies. Poverty and hunger, inequality and special privilege, oppression and corruption, crime and terrorism, powerful nations dominating weaker ones, arms races and greedy wars—all these evils are products of present-day human governments. If any one thing sets this generation apart, it is the surge ahead in scientific knowledge, but this has been prostituted to corrupting industry and producing terrible weapons of war.
After 6,000 years of human experimentation with governments of all kinds, in this area also it can be said that “there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) Neither are the causes of failure in human government new. It is still true, as Jehovah declared through his prophet Jeremiah: “It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jeremiah 10:23) In addition to there being human imperfection, “the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” “The god of this system of things has blinded the minds” of millions. Satanic influences are maneuvering “the kings of the entire inhabited earth.”—2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 5:19; Revelation 16:14.
When we look at the parade of human governments, at their rise to power and later their decline and fall, a pattern seems to run through them all. This has caused scholars to speak of history as repeating itself. World powers rise to their zenith through purposeful dedication and sacrifice. But, once entrenched, they slowly relax in spirit and ultimately dissipate into materialistic excesses and fleshly immoralities. Once this has happened, collapse is not far off.
Historian Will Durant recognized this pattern of internal decay, saying: “We have tried to show that the essential cause of the Roman conquest of Greece was the disintegration of Greek civilization from within. No great nation is ever conquered until it has destroyed itself.” (Part II of The Story of Civilization, p. 659) The World Book Encyclopedia (1978 ed.) pinpoints one forerunner of collapse that should give our generation special cause for concern: “Family is the oldest human institution. In many ways it is the most important. It is society’s most basic unit. Entire civilizations have survived or disappeared, depending on whether family life was strong or weak.”—Vol. 7, p. 24.
Will History Repeat Itself?
Historian Arnold J. Toynbee said of history repeating itself: “A survey of the historical landscape in the light of our existing knowledge shows that, up to date, history has repeated itself about twenty times in producing human societies of the species to which our Western society belongs, and it also shows that, with the possible exception of our own, all these representatives of the species of society called civilizations are already dead or moribund. Moreover, when we study the histories of these dead and moribund civilizations in detail, and compare them with one another, we find indications of what looks like a recurring pattern in the process of their breakdowns, declines, and falls. We are naturally asking ourselves to-day whether this particular chapter of history is bound to repeat itself in our case. Is that pattern of decline and fall in store for us in our turn, as a doom from which no civilization can hope to escape?”
He then answers his own question: “In the writer’s opinion, the answer to this question is emphatically in the negative. . . . There is nothing to prevent our Western civilization from following historical precedent, if it chooses, by committing social suicide. But we are not doomed to make history repeat itself; it is open to us, through our own efforts, to give history, in our case, some new and unprecedented turn. . . . What shall we do to be saved? In politics, establish a constitutional co-operative system of world government. In economics, find working compromises (varying according to the practical requirements of different places and times) between free enterprise and socialism. In the life of the spirit, put the secular super-structure back onto religious foundations. . . . Of the three tasks, the religious one is, of course, in the long run by far the most important.”—Civilization on Trial (1948), pp. 38-40.
Typically, he is emphatic in thinking that our civilization can be different and can escape the repetition of the history of human governments. He wrote the above 34 years ago, basing his hope politically on the United Nations, economically on compromise between capitalism and Communism, and, most important of all, on a return to religion as the foundation of our civilization. Today we see failure on all three fronts. The United Nations has proved ineffective, compromise between capitalism and Communism is farther off than ever, and religion is weaker than ever.
History seems on the verge of repeating itself. But will it?
There is another writer of history that has expressed himself on human government. He has, in fact, written in advance a history of it. He has also written in advance of a righteous rule that will come to the earth. The following article considers his expressions on government.