Because everyone has an inner quality and the right to discover and express that inner quality, government -- like all social institutions -- should serve the individual and strive to ensure that the person and the collective body of society are safe, prosperous, and free to pursue the goal of becoming their true self.

The form of government a society takes is less important than its policies. These policies should be designed to encourage people to discover their true self and to improve their character and contributions to society. Above all, government should not place impediments in the path of citizens seeking to express their inner quality.

A government which supports its citizens' desire for self-improvement and creates opportunities for individuals to contribute their best efforts to society is in harmony with the inner quality, and thus can be considered legitimate and proper. On the contrary, a government which denies citizen self-improvement and restricts their contributions to the good of society is not in harmony with the inner quality. Such a government is in conflict with the higher nature of mankind and should be replaced when the opportunity arises.

No government, no ruling party, no leader, no political institution has the right to govern or rule without the support of the people. This is particularly true when the people -- individually and collectively -- are intent on becoming their true selves. It is therefore important for government to be organized in such a way as to be responsive to the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs of the people. Public policy should be designed to meet these needs; and government leaders, officials, bureaucrats, and administrators should be held accountable to society for implementing these policies.

Internationally, a sense of universal good will should characterize relations between governments, cultures, nation-states, and peoples. Aggression and hegemony should not be tolerated, and every government should be measured by how it treats its own citizens: man, woman, and child. The use of force, unilaterally or multilaterally, can be justified to prevent atrocities and massive violations of human rights, as well as to punish blatant acts of aggression against other peoples or societies.   

By their nature, almost all governments are conservative, in that -- once established -- they do not like to change and absolutely abhor rapid change. In general, the larger the political unit, the more difficult it is to bring about even a highly positive new direction in policy. To align political institutions with principles of the inner quality will be a lengthy process, made possible only by leaders and citizens who individually discover their true self and begin to improve their own character. Social and political institutions, as they are led and populated by such individuals, will gradually reflect the higher potential of mankind.  


This concludes the Overview section. Part Two addresses the challenges all mankind face in properly using free will. Subsequent sections will discuss the perennial questions of ethics and politics from the perspective of the inner quality.