I’ve been thinking about the first non central government state ever created. The first iteration of the nation of Israel. No king, no prime ministers, no congress. no central government at all. Just a collective moral framework, and Rule of Law. Local magistrates for deciding conflict. Strong property law, total debt forgiveness once every generation. Law enforcement was not outsourced. The people themselves carried out punishment after a fair hearing and decision, in the form of stoning. Sounds barbaric, but lately I’ve been wondering how barbarous it actually was.
Replies (2)
There was a book about this ancient Israeli government that I read some time ago called "Radical Moses: The Amazing Civil Freedom Built into Ancient Israel (God and Government)" by Gordan Runyan.
atyh
I’ve been thinking about the first non central government state ever created. The first iteration of the nation of Israel. No king, no prime ministers, no congress. no central government at all. Just a collective moral framework, and Rule of Law. Local magistrates for deciding conflict. Strong property law, total debt forgiveness once every generation. Law enforcement was not outsourced. The people themselves carried out punishment after a fair hearing and decision, in the form of stoning. Sounds barbaric, but lately I’ve been wondering how barbarous it actually was.
View quoted note →
it depends how optimistic or pessimistic I am while reading about it. for example, God sounds so common sense and pro human happiness
Deut 24:5 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.
then the pessimist in me is like, what if she never liked him and would rather he go to war.
