We live in turbulent, threat-filled, contentious times. And in the middle of things is government. Never in the history of the mankind have governments been so central to our daily lives. Whether it is about wars, crimes, economics or angry factions fighting to gain political control - the doings of governments fill the news. Today's governments regulate more of what we do than ever before. The economies of the world now rise and fall with the actions of governments and their monetary and fiscal policies. Governments imprison, confiscate, prohibit, protect, and support. Everywhere we look, government is a central issue. Some are representative, some authoritarian, some socialist, and others embodying a fair amount of capitalism. Political ideologies, political policies, and politicians compete, each claiming they will be the best. On the nightly news we hear the word "should" as people ask questions like, "Should government be doing this?" or "Should people be prohibited [by government] from doing that?" There are fierce arguments about what kind of government is best? We should ask, "What is a standard against which we can measure and judge different policy proposals?" Is there a rational set of principles for comparing political systems, policies, or candidates? Arguments can rage on forever if the different sides can't repair to a more fundamental, common ground where they can agree. Only by finding a common footing is it possible to bring in reason and logic and move forward in hopes of resolving, or least diminishing the tensions around a political conflict. It is also true that no man may feel certain in their political reasoning or in their political beliefs, while being free from political positions held by emotions alone, not unless they arrived at their beliefs based upon sound, fundamental principles. Those fundamental principles, in the realm of politics, reside in an understanding of the nature of government. To not understand the nature of government is to be blind to the underlying principles affecting every man, woman and child's lives in this world.
Author Biography:
Steve Wolfer has had several careers over the course of his life, and has stated that "psychologist" feels like the central aspect of his identity even though he isn't practicing now. He also created software for a long time - programming, designing and managing the software development process. He left the family home in Wyoming as a rebellious 16 year old to live on his own and to travel. He was driven by a strong sense of adventure that may have come from how he felt as child when in the wilds of Wyoming's high country. This sense of adventure was later fed by deep water sailing. He sailed small boats in the Baltic, the North Sea, the English Channel, crossed the Atlantic single-handed in a 34 foot sailboat, through the Caribbean and the Bahamas, in the South Pacific and parts of Mexico. He confesses a love for travel to exotic countries. His first heroes were men of the west - the last of the tough, old ranchers. Then he discovered philosophy from his father's Harvard five-foot shelf of books, and ended up going from the ancient Greek philosophers to Ayn Rand. After that his heroes were intellectuals and the world of ideas became the new lands to be explored. He went from a high-school drop-out to a Master's degree in clinical psychology - interning under Nathaniel Branden to became a licensed psychotherapist. But above all else, his lifelong interest has been in learning. His passions are for those fundamental ideas that define our culture, our society, our political systems, and our motivations. Today, he lives in the Arizona desert, south of Phoenix and writes.
