Kant's philosophy of history position paper

Thesis 5

To start with Kant’s idea about history, I have picked specifically one thesis that I would briefly discuss through this paper. The reason for this is not just because there are nine theses that Kant proposed and I do not want to mention each and every one of them, but the extreme complication of his theory that should be looked upon very carefully.

So to start off with Kant, I have chose Thesis 5.

Thesis 5: The highest problem for the Human Species, to the solution of which it is irresistibly urged by natural impulses, is the establishment of a Universal Civil society founded on the empire of political justice.
(Kant)

In his theses about human perfectibility, I thought that it was truly high enlightenment for Kant to figure out the outcome of our political system and the constitution in general.

I believe that governments or political systems differ among countries and nations. Some people might say that this belief of mine is obvious. But the reason that I state something that is so obvious is because I wanted to dig in deeper into the kinds of governments around the globe.

Beginning with the world super power country, America is known as the nation with two party systems. The democrats and the republicans. It is in fact not prohibited in America to establish a third party but it hasn’t been very successful.

United Kingdom in the other hand is well known for its parliamentary system. They still have a queen who isn’t involved in government. The prime minister is actually in charge of the politics and the House of Lords.

China is well known for the communist party system, but somehow the globalization and the capitalistic movements are happening within China itself and many people are having a second thought before saying that China is still a communist country. Some countries like Taipai still have an ongoing monarchy with the king which has power unlike the queen of England.

So the question is, how do we distinguish good types of governments and bad types of government?

Well I believe that this is the space that Kant’s idea exactly fits in. For Kant, trial and error is a very important concept referring to the types of government. This means that if we try a type of government and if it doesn’t work, then we find out the errors that this type of government has and change it. If the government that was agreed upon the people and the congress doesn’t work, then try something new and change it until it works.

This is a very simple yet important concept that politicians should always keep in mind for the benefit of the country and for the people. I know that changing something that has been done for such a long time is truly hard. But if is doesn’t work, and if it is not beneficial for the people, then why not change and enhance for a better nation to live in?

For an example, I have chosen Germany because Germany undergoes a tremendous changes in their government over the last hundred years and this is because the cause of WWI and WWII.

The paragraphs that I have quoted below are from the speech of Germany’s brutal dictator, Adolph Hitler.

“The Polish State has refused the peaceful settlement of relations which I desired, and has appealed to arms. Germans in Poland are persecuted with bloody terror and driven from their houses. A series of violations of the frontier, intolerable to a great power, prove that Poland is no longer willing to respect the frontier of the Reich.

In order to put an end to this lunacy, I have no other choice than to meet force with force from now on. The German Army will fight the battle for the honour and the vital rights of reborn Germany with hard determination. I expect that every soldier, mindful of the great traditions of eternal German soldiery, will ever remain conscious that he is a representative of the National-Socialist Greater Germany. Long live our people and our Reich!”
(1939)

I believe that German soldiers who heard these two paragraphs speech of Hitler, was so willing to go to the battle and fight for Germany in behalf of Hitler. But looking back on the things that happened in WWII, we see that Hitler wasn’t truly committed to what he has said to his people. He actually killed himself not being responsible for the millions of German soldiers and millions of Jews who were brutally killed just because of him.

So after all the pain of war and destruction in Germany, Germany had to adapt into a new environment which was the new government that was imposed by Great Britain, France, United States, and Soviet Union.

Those two wars made major changes in their government and economy. Even though there wasn’t any efforts that was poured by the Germans to change this cruel and irrational dictatorship, it had to be changed and be modified into a better government and a political system.

Change is not necessarily a negative concept. In fact when it comes to changes in the government, it should be a positive concept. Because it should actually mean the enhancement of what we have now into something that is much more useful, achieving perfectibility in future.

Proclamation by Adolph Hitler (Sept. 1, 1939)
Retrieved on September 2, 2008
Retrieved from http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/gp1.htm