THE SEARCH FOR A JUST SOCIETY
JOHN HUDDLESTON
GEORGE RONALD 1989
PART II
Chapter 1: Peace through Empire: Egypt and Mesopotamia
The earliest civilizations consisted of multitudes of small city states which had no formal borders and were often in armed conflict with one another. The first successful imposition of peace over an extended area came with the establishment of the Egyptian monarchy which, under King Menes (about 3200 BC), united settlements in both the upper and lower Nile regions over an area some 600 miles long and several miles wide. This remarkable state was to last for 2,500 years, surviving various periods of instability until its defeat first by the Assyrians and then by the Persians and the Greeks.
Early Egyptian civilization is remembered for its skills in the use of herbs for medical purposes; for the establishment of the present-day system of recording the calendar year as 365¼ days; and for the invention of the hieroglyphic system of writing, papyrus which made books possible, and the fraction in mathematics. The Egyptian Empire not only kept peace over a large area, but developed a professional bureaucracy which provided such services as storehouses where provisions were kept for use in years of bad harvest.
- The state had the virtue of being relatively non-militaristic. It did not suppress women unduly, and in consequence quite a few women were literate; some of them worked as scribes for the state.
- The most fundamental defect was that the king (or pharaoh) had virtually unlimited powers and was treated like a god.
The second large state in history was Sumer, a Semite kingdom established by King Sargon I around 2400 BC with its capital at Ur. Uniting the warring cities of lower Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), the new kingdom established a legal system of mutual obligations with its citizens, whereby each citizen contributed to the cost of the state but in return could draw on the state’s resources during times of difficulty. Initially women were relatively well-treated; for instance they were given certain rights in case of divorce. Later their position deteriorated as the veil was imposed and a one-sided emphasis on sexual purity developed, manifested in the punishment of death by stoning for an adulteress but not for an adulterer. The Sumerians are given credit for inventing the wheel (for use on a four-wheeled chariot), glass, and the baked brick (stones for building were not readily available in the region), and for being the first to manufacture bronze. They also created the first cuneiform script, which was used initially for keeping records of financial transactions. In this script was recorded the oldest extant story in history, the Epic of Gilgamesh, which includes an account of a great flood, perhaps the one later associated with Noah. The Sumerians are also believed to have been the first civilization to make alcohol, in their case from barley. In the view of many, including this writer, the latter was a negative rather than a positive contribution to the evolution of civilization and the just society. This issue is discussed in Chapter 19.
- The Mesopotamian state endured in different forms for some 2,000 years before being finally overthrown by the Persians.
- The greatest of the Babylonian monarchs was Hammurabi, who lived around 1800 BC, who systematically codified the laws of the state and then had them made generally available to all his subjects on eight-foot high steles (or pillars) erected around the country.
- The principle that people should know in advance what is expected of them and what sanctions will apply if they fail to follow such expectations is one of the essential features of a just society.
The Babylonian monarchy was overthrown by the Assyrian Empire which, with its capital at Nineveh (in present-day Syria), came to dominate the Tigris-Euphrates region from around 1400 BC to 1200 BC, and then again from about 900 BC to 600 BC. At the peak of its second period the Assyrian Empire included both Palestine and lower (i.e. northern) Egypt in addition to Mesopotamia.
- The Assyrian state was harsh even by the standards of the time.
- The regime did have some progressive qualities, including the establishment of one language (Aramaic), one legal system for the whole region, and the construction of a network of aqueducts to bring fresh water to the population.
- King Ashurbanipal (699-630 BC) built a huge library (the first ever recorded) that is the source of much of today’s information about the ancient world.
This emphasis on learning (in the long run an essential feature of a just society) was continued by the succeeding Second Babylonian Empire which replaced Assyria when the latter was overthrown by the Medes of Persia, and which survived for about 100 years before being defeated in its turn by the Persian king, Cyrus the Great.
To summarize, the Egyptian and Mesopotamian states made at last four broad contributions to the heritage which was to develop into the idea of the just society. First, both states maintained relative peace over significant areas for a considerable period of time; second, Egypt set an important example in the relatively liberal treatment of women; third, the Mesopotamian states pioneered a common code of law and justice; and finally, there was encouragement of learning.
Chapter 2: Judaism: Monotheism and Ethics
Those early empires were to be outshone by the three new civilizations that came into being in Palestine, Persia and India – inspired by monotheistic and ethically-centred religions – during the last millennium-and-a-half BC. The general raising of ethical standards in society which resulted from their influence is one of the greatest factors in the evolution of civilization and the development of a just society.
- Gods and goddesses proliferated, mostly associated with various aspects of nature.
- They offered little – if any- ethical guidance and for that reason had virtually no lasting influence on the development of civilization and the idea of a just society.
- Such was not to be the case of the great monotheistic faiths we will now consider.
- The first of these came to the Hebrews, an obscure pastoral tribe having apparently migrated from Sumeria at the beginning of the second millennium BC and settled in the land of Canaan, later to become Palestine.
- The religion of the tribe was founded by Abraham, but there were traditions linking it with an earlier religion associated with Noah and one even earlier associated with Adam.
In the 17th century BC during a period of famine, one part of the Hebrew tribe (the Israelites) followed Joseph to the prosperous empire of Egypt where they were allowed to settle. By the 14th century the tribe had fallen into bondage, from which it escaped by migrating back to Canaan under the leadership of a new prophet, Moses. In His youth, Moses had been outraged by the injustice of the Egyptian treatment of the Israelites and had once killed an Egyptian overseer to save a slave who had been badly beaten. Fleeing into exile, He received the first intimations of his station as a Messenger of God. The new prophet inspired a spiritual rebirth in His people by renewing the Covenant of Abraham and restating it in terms of specific teachings centred around what came to be known as the Ten Commandments.
A major concern of the teachings of Moses was to keep the religion of Abraham – monotheistic and ethical – pure of the corruptions of the decaying religions of the region, particularly those current among the Canaanites and the Philistines who were polytheists.
- The Mosaic law put emphasis first on spiritual detachment and the idea that earthly goods are a divine trust.
- A second theme is the injunction to treat one’s neighbour as oneself and to serve one’s fellow human beings; to be concerned for the poor and the weak, the afflicted and oppressed.
- There should be a limit set on the power of those who are strong. The misfortune of others should not be exploited and free loans should be made to those who are in trouble.
- Every man has a right to life, work, leisure, clothes, food and shelter.
Some of the key standards of behaviour required are spelt out in the last six of the Ten Commandments:
Honour thy father and thy mother…
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house …
- The new religion of Moses was a powerful inspiration to the Israelite tribes. They became united, and there eventually emerged a vibrant civilization which manifested itself in the kingdoms of David and Solomon.
- This was the greatest time of peace and prosperity for the Israelite people, ‘and Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.’
- After the death of Solomon the unity of the tribes was lost. The new kingdoms went into decline and eventually Israel was conquered by the revived Assyrian Empire in 732 BC.
During this tragic period, when the Israelite people fell from heights of glory to depths of bondage, there emerged a series of prophets who held up a metaphorical mirror to their nation. All were shown the failings, not only of the people, but of their rulers as well. This was unprecedented; hitherto religions had always been subservient to the state. The Old Testament prophets presented the revolutionary concept that all men were equal in the sight of God, that kings might not do simply as they liked, and that the moral code was God-given and independent of the state’s authority. This heritage is the basis of Western liberalism and the concept that state power must be confined within a moral framework independent of the state.
- A temporary respite to the woes of the Jewish people occurred at the end of the 6th century BC. This period ended 200 years later when Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and took control of the whole region.
- A popular rebellion broke out, led by the Maccebee brothers who drove out the Greeks and for a time re-established an independent Jewish state where their religion could be practised without interference. This was the only time in the entire history of the ancient world when a successful revolt took place in defence of religion.
- In an effort to maintain its independence from Greece, the new state allied itself with Rome, the rising power of the region. This strategy only worked for a short time.
- The Jewish people rose up once again and drove the Romans from Jerusalem.
- The Romans recaptured Jerusalem (AD 70). The rebellion held out at the hilltop fortress of Masada for three years, until finally in desperation the last 960 committed mass suicide rather than surrender.
- These failed revolts are among the earliest and best known struggles in history of a people determined to be free to practise their own religion and culture without outside interference.
- The Jewish revolts demonstrated that no state can be considered just until it has the self-confidence to allow and encourage all its peoples to develop their own culture.
- When this is achieved there is enrichment and deepening of the whole human experience.
The expulsion from Jerusalem was the formalization of a process of dispersal which had been going on for several centuries. It was to continue nearly 1,800 years until the recreation of Israel in 1948. During this period when the Jewish people spread to all parts of the world, often suffering the fiercest persecution, their religion gave then strength and sustenance not only to survive as a people but to make major contributions to the world’s heritage in the arts and sciences.
- Though the religion of Moses continues to show remarkable vitality, it has deteriorated into a tribal or national religion despite the breadth of its original teachings.
- It no longer has the power to bring together in unity people of all backgrounds, which may be seen as a prime purpose of religion.