Law at the service of man

“Because it’s the law.”

Everyone has been the victim of this phrase during their life. We are shut down and refused certain activities or goods because some rule book declares it so. This creates tension with law—and therefore the government. Such friction erodes the unity and trust between the government and the governed and will inevitably lead to revolution.

However, let us provide understanding where there is ignorance.

Laws—and any rule in general—should never contain and degrade the human personality—an idea reflected in Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Their purpose is not to oppress the individual and allow the state to seize full power. Any type of just law necessarily encourages the flourishing of humans. This is most fully seen in Natural Law.

Natural Law is a self-evident code of morals that all humans know. Murder is always wrong; lying is always wrong; torture is always wrong; and many more follow. The true man who flourishes aligns his way of life knowing that this implanted code is part of his nature, and that to flourish, he must act in accord with it. Men who regularly go against these Laws of Nature find themselves less capable of aligning their life with nature, and therefore flourishing.

Human Law ought to reflect Natural Law and encourage the man to flourish according to his nature—and human nature does not change. How ought Human Law allow the man to flourish? The answer, not surprisingly, lies with Aristotle.

Four causes encompass man’s being. 1) The Final Cause (purpose), 2) The Efficient Cause (the maker), 3) The Formal Cause (essence), and 4) The Material Cause (Physical mater that makes up man). Man’s final cause is eternal union with God, his maker. Man’s formal and material cause are soul and body, respectively. Therefore, if law ought to acknowledge God as man’s maker and protect man, body—dust—and soul—imago Dei, towards eternal union with God. The laws serve man and raise him up.

Next time someone appeals to the law to censor an action, think: does this law draw me closer to my ultimate purpose, or does imprison the nature of man?

Law is not government’s weapon to subdue the people, though many have abused law in this manner. Law is government’s tool to allow man to flourish as a political animal interacting with other political animals.