The principle of unanimous decision in the Circassian system of government

 

Every day we see and feel that there is no stability in relations between countries in the world. We see a lot of struggles in the form of wars, political conflicts, as well as economic struggles between all countries of the world. Some of these conflicts can complicate the world with a world war that can lead to tremendous destruction and even total destruction of the world based on the fact that many countries possess modern and destructive weapons such as nuclear weapons.

The question arises: why are people always in a state of struggle? The answer to this question is simple, despite the tremendous technological advances, human thinking remains very primitive, which is somewhat similar to the behavior of animals: grab, eat the weak, or use violence against the weak. Changing the way people think takes a lot of effort, especially in the area of ​​human education. This also applies to the methods of government existing in the world.

From ancient times to the present day, there are two main methods of government in the world: the first is dictatorship, and the second is democracy.
The dictatorship system states that it is a small group of people who must control and organize the people or the state and without sharing power among all elements of society, in short, the minority controls the majority. This method is, of course, very primitive and similar to animal behavior.

The democratic system says that government should be in the hands of the people or all elements of the state, theoretically this sounds right, but in practice it is not true, because the principle that organizes government in a democracy is the principle of majority decision, which is determined and implemented. This means that the government is in the hands of the majority, but a minority remains that does not have a government. If we say that under a dictatorship the minority rules the majority, then in a democracy the majority rules the minority. This method is better than the first, but it is also primitive. This method developed in Greece in the 5th century BC, then ceased to exist for centuries, and then revived in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries.

There is one more third system of government, which is unknown in the world or is not perceived in the world, like the two methods mentioned above. The third system of government that we will talk about is the Circassian system of government, which was applied from the 16th to the 19th century in the state of Circassia, which is located in the Caucasus. This method works on the principle of unanimity or unanimous voting. This means that all elements of a people or state must be absolutely partners in government. If we said earlier that there is a minority system that controls the majority, and there is a majority system that controls the minority, then the third method can be called “All controls all,” and it can also be called absolute democracy.

Dictatorship is ruled by a minority. Democracy is ruled by the majority. Absolute democracy rules all.

The word "democracy" comes from the Greek language, which means "the rule of the people." The Circassian system of government, which we are talking about, did not use either this concept or its interpretation. The Circassians had another concept that stood at the head of the organization of their way of life and was called Khabze, which means law. This means that the Circassians did not consider power to be the most important, but the most important was the law.

Khabze, or the law of the Circassians, is determined by all elements of the people or the state and, with full agreement, unanimously. This method existed two thousand five hundred years ago, and maybe even more, and you can see it if you look at the Circassian mythology - the history of the Narts, but still this method is most clearly revealed in the 16-19 centuries. This method was used in Circassia until it was conquered by the Russian Empire in 1864.

The concept of Khabze was the most widespread concept among the Circassians and was treated with great love and respect. Khabze organized the whole way of life. Several other concepts diverge from this concept, such as the concept of Tsyfyge (humanity), GukIegyunyge (compassion), Adygage and others, which arranged their lives.

Khabze was updated as needed. Some of his laws will be changed at a nation meeting in which all representatives of the nation will participate. Such meetings were large and lasted for weeks until full consensus was reached.

The state of Circassia was a unique state, an example of which did not exist outside the Caucasus. The Circassian state can be described as a federal state consisting of four levels of government:

1. The village. Each village had a council or Khase who took care of her affairs. At council meetings, every adult had the right to participate in discussions. In this council, the principle of unanimous voting worked. If disagreements arose between the participants, the council had to continue the meeting until everyone agreed unanimously.

2. District. Every 7 villages that were next to each other had a council that dealt with relations between villages and joint work between them. 

3. Region/ Sh'olyr. All districts that were close to each other and were in the same geographic area had a council that worked on the relations and cooperation between the various districts in the region. 

4. People's Council / Lepk Zafes. All regions of the country were included in this council, which dealt with major issues such as updating or changing the laws of Khabza - preparing for threats outside the state, strengthening relations between the regions. 

The principle of unanimous voting worked at all four levels of government, and no one level had the right to impose any decision on another level. If we think in ordinary terms, to which the whole world is accustomed in the past to this day, then we will definitely say that this method cannot be performed or that it is a fantasy. But this method turned out to be possible and was applied in the Circassian state in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

The application of this method does not depend on the method itself, but on the actions that must be performed before. And here we come back to human education. As we have already mentioned, Khabze is the highest thing that the Circassians had, but at the same time there was other concept, no less important than it, and even, perhaps, more important than Khabze itself, the upbringing-education - Gesenighe.

From the first birthday of a person, the Circassians immediately started raising the baby. The highest principle of Circassian education is human dignity, which is divided into three areas: respect for another person, attitude towards nature and attitude towards God.

An upbringing based on respect would produce a non-political person in the Circassians, that is, a person who has no instinct to control another person, except to love him and cooperate with him. And in general, the upbringing of a person among the Circassians included many actions and many customs that accustomed a person to this special way of life.

Let's give an example of one of the methods of education. The attitude of the Circassians to the child can be defined as an attitude to a very sacred thing. The Circassians never had beating or intimidating a small child. If the child made a mistake, the parents explained this mistake to him, and the punishment they imposed on the child was to prepare a story about his own mistake. The parents would then invite the child's friends home, and the child had to tell his mistake story to his friends. Then, everyone tasted homemade delicacies. This is just one example of the educational methods that the Circassians used.

The state of the Circassians three hundred years ago reached the peak of its social, economic and political development. Travelers who visited Circassia described it as an exotic country that is not found anywhere else in the world. Unfortunately, this country did not continued its existence due to the century-long war imposed on it by the Russian Empire. And in 1864 it ceased to exist, and most of its inhabitants were expelled from their homeland to the Middle East.

To ensure a good future for our children, as well as for the whole world, we must think deeply and work to change the primitive patterns of thought that exist in us and rise to a more higher level.




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