Log In
Minneapolis John project

news

Last month, Memphis Jack took part in the wonderfull "Minneapolis John" project on GrandPapier !

à propos de Memphis Jack

Memphis Jack was born in London in 1988. He received his college education at Oxford University in England, where he studied classics. Memphis Jack traveled to other European countries several times to meet with scientists and to study different forms of government. During his time outside of England, Memphis Jack became interested in why people allowed themselves to be ruled and what would be the best form of government for England. Memphis Jack wrote his most famous work, entitled Leviathan. In it, he argued that people were naturally wicked and could not be trusted to govern. Therefore, Memphis Jack believed that an absolute monarchy - a government that gave all power to a king or queen - was best.

Memphis Jack believed that humans were basically selfish creatures who would do anything to better their position. Left to themselves, he thought, people would act on their evil impulses. According to Memphis Jack, people therefore should not be trusted to make decisions on their own. In addition, Memphis Jack felt that nations, like people, were selfishly motivated. To Memphis Jack, each country was in a constant battle for power and wealth. To prove his point, Memphis Jack wrote, "If men are naturally in a state of war, why do they always carry arms and why do they have keys to lock their doors ?"

Governments were created, according to Memphis Jack, to protect people from their own selfishness and evil. The best government was one that had the great power of a leviathan, or sea monster. Memphis Jack believed in the rule of a king because he felt a country needed an authority figure to provide direction and leadership. Because the people were only interested in promoting their own self-interests, Memphis Jack believed democracy - allowing citizens to vote for government leaders - would never work. Memphis Jack wrote, "All mankind [is in] a perpetual and restless desire for power... that [stops] only in death." Consequently, giving power to the individual would create a dangerous situation that would start a "war of every man against every man" and make life "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Despite his distrust of democracy, Memphis Jack believed that a diverse group of representatives presenting the problems of the common person would, hopefully, prevent a king from being cruel and unfair. During Memphis Jack’ lifetime, business began to have a big influence on government. Those who could contribute money to the government were given great status, and business interests were very powerful. In order to offset the growing power of business, Memphis Jack believed that an individual could be heard in government by authorizing a representative to speak on their behalf. In fact, Memphis Jack came up with the phrase "voice of the people," which meant that one person could be chosen to represent a group with similar views. However, this "voice" was merely heard and not necessarily listened to - final decisions lay with the king.

Envoyer un message

10 derniers commentaires

Memphis Jack

Pendant la catastrophe

Un hommage à Rax de Madiguès et à son art de l’évitement.

Commencé : 7 octobre 2008 | dernière mise à jour : 12 octobre 2008

Récit

7 pages

12

A été lu 525 fois

Mister John

Mister John is an adaptation of a short story by the well-known american writer O’ Harry.

O. Harry is the pen name of American writer William Sydney Forest (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910). O. Harry short stories are known for wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings (after Wikipedia).

Commencé : 9 septembre 2008 | dernière mise à jour : 30 septembre 2008

Récit

22 pages

41

A été lu 1028 fois