Harmony and Politics

Harmony and Politics: A treatise on balance and prosperity of nations is a political treatise written by Mao Meili. Considered to be one of the Aurlûnor Velande's core political texts, it serves as an introduction to political philosophy and the ideology of the Velande. It incorporates many philosophical ideals of Twin Dragon into practical political advice.

The following is the full organized text of the treatise; the original copy can be found at the Temple of the Four Sages in Helemar.

Section I. The Fundamentals of Government
What is a government? When one looks at the nations of Rathnir, amid their myriad ideologies and origins, what are their common traits?

The first trait, immediately recognizable, is the recognition of power. Two entities will recognize each other as governments with designated rule over a particular territory. These entities may not always be equal; a provincial governor or a vassal will recognize their suzerain as a higher power. Civilized nations will regard squatters’ territory as illegitimate, and as such seek to retake the de facto control of the territory at their least expense- be it through diplomacy or by the sword.

Self-recognition through the Other. A principle known to almost any student of epistemology. This is how governments are primarily identified- by recognizing one’s distinctness from other governments and from non-governmental occupying bodies (squatters and barbarians).

The second trait of government is control of territory. This is the commonality that governments share with squatters and barbarians, but as mentioned previously, they lack recognition. All governments have a designated area in which they have power to exercise their rule. This may be limited, much as subjects to a higher ruling body have limited autonomy, or absolute. A government which controls no territory can be said to be illegitimate.

The final trait of government is hierarchy. The individual subjects of governments always submit to the higher power. This is of course most apparent in autocratic regimes where a single individual has absolute power. Some may declare that anarchist communes and direct democracies have done away with hierarchy; they have not! These governments have simply become immaterial, ideological concepts to which the citizens yield to. Their ruler is therefore not a person, but a shared belief, goal, or idea. Hence, a single person cannot claim to be a government to themselves; a single person cannot submit to themself.

Hierarchy must be maintained through some means or another; see Section III for more.

Section II. The Management of Territory
Territory is key to governance; it is from land (and sea) that resources are drawn, and material power exercised over. Governments use land to gain resources, and use resources to control land. It is a cyclical, self-sustaining system; a government that cannot control land (be it through loss of territory or overextension) loses its legitimacy.

Self-recognition through the Other applies to territorial control. A government’s territory, the country, is defined just as much by where it is not just as much as where it is. Borders define where power is exercised.

Borders should ideally be easily defendable and harmonious; a bad border is one under which a government cannot maintain order, and long, defenseless borders are only breeding grounds for chaos. Two countries with short and heavily defended mutual borders would find themselves in a stalemate more often than countries with large frontiers, where armies have more free range. Hence, maintaining small borders not only makes it easier to enforce one’s rule, but prevents war- the ultimate manifestation of chaos. Harmony can only be maintained through security over controlled land.

Section III. Securing Rule
Policy is little more than the maintenance of the hierarchy that makes a government exist. Ideology is merely the philosophy of determining the best policy. Ideology is in turn affected by the manifestations of policy, as the practice of policy leads to positive and negative outcomes, thus influencing ideology as a whole. This is the dichotomous balance between ideology and policy.

So what kind of policy outcomes are positive and negative? Positive outcomes, in this context, are those that secure the rule of the government, and negative outcomes endanger or destabilize the government. Government security must be maintained through a dichotomous balance of its own- that between the government and governed.

An unstable government is one that cannot make its people happy. A government can have all the weapons in the world, and have its own ideological justifications absolutely entrenched, but if it only makes its citizens enraged and unhappy they will disobey, thus destroying the hierarchy and therefore the government. The government can wage war on its rebellious citizens, but doing so will not appease them; for those individuals and their controlled territory, the government has ceased to be.

A good government is therefore beneficial to the subject classes. A generous government (and thus a good government) aids its people when they are in need, gives the people hope for the future, and protects them from banditry, barbary, and foreign exploitation. A good ruler therefore must justify to their subjects that they are the key to prosperity and safety. This can be done through rhetoric, but it is best done through actions. The best propaganda is not word salad or pretty pictures, but material prosperity. A prosperous society will always support its government.

When we shout that the Velande will last ten thousand years, we are not only wishing for the mere existence of the state for that duration of time; we wish for the prosperity and happiness of its subjects, for without them the Velande would be unharmonious and unstable, and eventually cease to be.