Comments on a constitution for Iraq, part 1
Iraq, 8/27/2005

Tomorrow, the Iraqi political factions will be discussing the draft constitution, in what maybe a day that they will be able to settle their differences and decide if they want to be one nation and how to manage their affairs. At such a critical time to Iraq, it is worth going over some issues one more time.

In "A constitution for Iraq" article, I had elements that should be in the Iraqi constitution. But one of the founding principals of these amendments is that the individual, and not society, should be the focus of the constitution. This premise, will determine how laws and society look at itself. Is the individual created to serve society, or is society created to serve the individual. This answers itself. The individual is what makes a society, and not the other way around.

We have to further consider, that man was not created to serve society, but to serve his own interests. By doing so, he builds a society because that serves his interest. Therefore, when we are focused on the individual as the foundation of society, and attend to his interests, all these other interest should fall into place. When there is conflict between the interests of the individual and society, the perspective to approach a solution in law should be from the perspective of the individual. An individual's interests are not an abstraction; society interests are.

By making sure that interests of the individual are served, we will ensure that society's interests are properly served. By looking for interest of society, we can risk dictatorship that speaks on behalf of "society". In undeveloped societies, this dictatorship can be the rule of a strong government against the will of the people, or it could be the tyranny of a technologically advanced society by using the complexity of laws and its creation and its volume to keep a society in check.

Either way, these are forms of coercion that seek to continuously grow the rights of society at the expense of the rights of the individual. Man was created free, and laws were a necessary evil for the functioning of his society that he built. The laws should not grow more powerful than the individual's ability to control these laws.

Saddam Hussein's government ruled for the benefit of society, but what society? And at what cost? After all the sufferings you have had, it is important to understand some facts that seem counter intuitive. That is, in your tendency to want to protect yourself as Shiite, Kurd, Sunni, Christian, etc. from the pain that you suffered, you do not protect yourself as a group or society. You protect yourself, having the individual, no matter who he is, protected, without mention to his religion or sect etc. Afford every citizen equal protection of the law, and from the law.

That is why you should make sure that the individual is afforded all the protection that I had listed. Protect yourself from future oppression and misery. Freedom and liberty and opportunity are yours to have. Just give it to yourself, by giving it to others. That is how you protect yourself as a group. That is how you live in respect, freedom and dignity. That is how you will give yourself the opportunity to pursue happiness. There are no guarantees in life, but you can give yourself the best chance to achieve it. You experienced pain and sufferings, it is important to not learn the wrong lessons, and be led by emotions of the past.

Here is what Charles F. Horne: The Code of Hammurabi: Introduction says according to http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/hamcode.html :
"Hammurabi was the ruler who chiefly established the greatness of Babylon, the world's first metropolis. Many relics of Hammurabi's reign ([1795-1750 BC]) have been preserved, and today we can study this remarkable King....as a wise law-giver in his celebrated code ...
By far the most remarkable of the Hammurabi records is his code of laws, the earliest-known example of a ruler proclaiming publicly to his people an entire body of laws, arranged in orderly groups, so that all men might read and know what was required of them. The code was carved upon a black stone monument, eight feet high, and clearly intended to be reared in public view."

That was some 4 thousands years ago, and much has been learned since then. There is no reason you can't make history again. You have done it many times over.

Best regards,
Jamil Talaat Kazoun

Previous Stories:
  Comments on a constitution for Iraq, part 2   (8/27/2005)
  Comments on a constitution for Iraq, part 3   (8/27/2005)
  Iraqis have learned little from the past   (8/26/2005)
  A constitution for Iraq   (7/2/2005)

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