A Philosophical Proposal for Guaranteeing Equality Before the Law By Way of Unborn Children

For centuries after the birth of philosophy, before its conquest by the academy, it has been the privilege and obligation of philosophers to envision ideal societies anathema to the status quo: for More, his utopia, for Rabelais, his abbey, for Sade, his republic, for Bentham, his panopticon, and so forth. Since the conquest of philosophy by the academy, however, philosophers, fattened on the coin of the state, the academy, and capital, have either become apologists for the status quo or cautious revolutionaries who, in one breath, denounce the status quo through and through, and, in another, warn against every course of action taken against it. Their philosophy is founded on a spirit thoroughly crushed by the necessities of life. They have forgotten that the truth must be imbibed, wine or hemlock. This proposal is written in defiance of the servility which prevails across philosophy today. It is not founded on any personal opinion of mine, but on the principles of reason, which, we have forgotten, too, can, indeed, deliver us a vision of the world as it ought to be. Any thinking creature, by thought alone, can attain the conclusions I have attained in this proposal. If they fail to do so, it is not by virtue of any error in my reasoning, but a lack of effort on their part.

1. First and foremost, it is agreed on all hands that equality is a state of affairs we should strive towards in human society. Equality, however, has two forms. Its first form is its abstract form, which expresses equality as the equality between all and all others. “All”, however, is so indeterminate that we may as well have said “any” as “all”. The abstract form of equality, therefore, also expresses equality as the equality between any and any other. In lieu of definite entities between which equality holds, equality, too, becomes indeterminate. We do not know what, precisely, is equal between all and all others, or any and any other. The abstract form of equality, in general, is indeterminate and insubstantial. The second form of equality is its concrete form, which expresses equality as a definite (gender, ethnic, economic, and so forth) equality between one definite entity and every other entity. This form is determinate and substantial, but, in simultaneity, it is also thoroughly parochial. It expresses, within itself, only the equality between one entity and every other, but not the relations between the latter, other entities. In the concrete form of equality, we find the self-interestedness worshipped by classical liberals and libertarians in the place of truth.

2. In a nation, the abstract form of equality corresponds to the law in itself, or the general legal norms which prevail across a nation, considered in themselves and in isolation from the individuals, communities, and, in general, entities which abide by them. The concrete form of equality corresponds to the individuals, communities, and, in general, entities which abide by the law. The law, considered in itself and apart from law-abiding subjects, is an insubstantial scrap of paper or a spirit without flesh. It is concretized and realized in the law-abiding activities of subjects. In simultaneity, since the law in itself is the law which applies, equally, to all law-abiding subjects, its concretization and realization in each law-abiding subject are only limited. In each law-abiding subject, we find only the concrete form of equality, or a parochialism which is thoroughly indifferent to the equalities or inequalities which may prevail among other subjects, so long as the parochial subject remains an equal with every other subject. This is only a limited concretization and realization of the spirit of the law, or the equality of all and all others before the law.

3. If law-abiding subjects cannot but be parochial, and, if they, in their law-abiding activities, only realize the spirit of the law partially, it falls, squarely, on the law in itself, or the abstract form of equality, to pursue its own total realization among law-abiding subjects. In other words, the law must have, in itself, sufficient power to compel law-abiding subjects to move beyond their parochialisms and realize the spirit of the law totally among themselves. The law in itself, however, is indeterminate and insubstantial. It is equality without equals, or definite subjects between which equality holds. Nevertheless, if law-abiding subjects cannot be trusted with the total realization of the spirit of the law, because their very mode of being prevents it, it is in the law in itself, or the abstract form of equality, we must locate power. In practice, this is to say that the power of the law, whatever form it may take, must not be exercised by law-abiding subjects, be they the people or the state. The law in itself must be above both the people and the state. It must hold a power within itself, which compels both the people and the state to seek the total realization of its spirit, and it must hold this power irrespective of the compliance or resistance of the people and the state. The power of the law, in general, must be free from the law, because, as soon as this power abides by the law, it no longer belongs to the law in itself and has become concrete and, therefore, also parochial.

4. With regard to the source of this power of the law, it is not necessary to find a source external to the nation, such as God or a foreign power. Rather, it can be found within the nation itself. The first potential source of this power is the state, but this state cannot be a state which consists of law-abiding subjects. Rather, in order for it to function as the power of the law, it must be above the law. This, however, is tyranny. Tyranny is objectionable not because it is anathema to freedom, but because there is no guarantee that the tyrannical state would not remain weighed down by parochialism and, even after being freed from the law, fail to pursue the total realization of the spirit of the law. The second potential source of the power of the law is the people, or subjects who are doubly subjects, of both the law and the state. In order for the people to function as the power of the law, however, they must also, like the tyrannical state, be above the law. In most nations, this would seem that the people must, in order to pursue the total realization of the spirit of the law, paradoxically, renounce the law and every right, obligation, and, in general, their statuses as subjects of the law. This, however, is the most extreme form of vigilantism. Vigilantism, like tyranny, is objectionable because there is no guarantee that the people who renounce the law would not remain weighed down by parochialism and, even in their freedom from the law, fail to pursue the total realization of the spirit of the law. The third potential source is found in the interstices between the law in itself and law-abiding subjects. It is the unborn children of law-abiding subjects. All unborn children are law-abiding subjects in the potential. They realize their potential when they are born into this world and, more importantly, into the rule of law. Therefore, unborn children contain, in their unborn bodies, the law in itself as a potential of theirs which has yet been realized. In simultaneity, because this potential has yet been realized, they have also yet become parochial like their parents and other law-abiding subjects who have been born. They are the ideal source of the power of the law.

5. I, therefore, propose that a special committee be formed in every nation, whose charge shall be to guarantee the total realization of the spirit of the law in the nation, which shall consist of the unborn children of every citizen of the state, and which, finally, shall not be beholden to the law, the will of the state, or the will of the people. This committee shall be nothing other than the law in itself, or the abstract form of equality.

6. Members of the committee shall constitute a single biocomputational system charged with, first, analyzing information collected across the nation by state surveillance, financial institutions, and other sources, second, determining the courses of action necessary for guaranteeing the total realization of the spirit of the law in the nation, or the equality of all and all others before the law, and, third, taking these courses of action. These courses of action shall not be subject to the law, the will of the state, or the will of the people. They may include the re-appointment of the head of state, the dissolution of the legislative body, or bodies, of the state, the confiscation and re-distribution of private property, the adjustment of prices of select or all commodities on the market, and so forth.

7. It is foreseeable that some of the courses of action taken by the committee would be fiercely opposed by the people and the state. I, therefore, also propose, first, that every citizen who has contributed their unborn child, or children, to the committee be provided with a portable device by which they may, at any moment, view their child or children. Second, that the committee be formed simultaneously with the disbanding of the armed forces of the state and the cessation of all arms, by both the state and the people, to the committee. The committee shall thereafter pursue the total realization of the spirit of the law by way of drones directly operated by the committee and suitably armed for the suppression of any opposition from the people and the state.

8. Members of the committee shall be collected from citizens of the state. Citizens shall not be legally obliged to contribute their unborn children to the committee. They may do so voluntarily or be compelled to do so by force unregulated by the law. The committee, in order to guarantee the total realization of the spirit of the law, cannot afford to abide by the law. In nations whose birth rates cannot meet the demands of their committees, the committees shall collect reproductive materials from citizens and directly breed the children necessary for the continued function of the committee. In nations where a semblance of unconditional freedom is necessary for maintaining order and general happiness, the committees shall promote breeding among citizens by way of child purchase programs which, in addition to guaranteeing the continued function of the committees and the freedom of citizens from the burdens of pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing, also afford citizens with greater financial ability to buy, consume, and pursue their personal happiness.

9. Members of the committee shall hold office for forty weeks, or for the full duration of their gestation, after which they shall be released from duty and entered into society as new citizens of the state. With this, the dream of Rationalists is fulfilled, as every child born into this world, having already witnessed and participated in society before their birth, shall be born with the innate ideas of law and equality. Every new citizen shall have the necessary pre-experience to thrive in our new society.

10. Finally, it is foreseeable that, with each successive generation after the formation of the committee, parochialism would gradually vanish from the nation. This is so not only because citizens of the state shall be born with the innate ideas of law and equality. They shall also be born into a society which, with the passing of previous and more parochial generations, becomes increasingly amicable to the spirit of the law.

What I have proposed here is not founded on any personal opinion of mine. It is founded solely on the principles of reason. Reason has demanded that all the blessings of the world find their way to us through our unborn children. All thinking creatures are obliged to accept this gift of reason.