Peasant Versus King

The Happy Peasant and The Philosopher King have been mentioned in past articles. John A., author of the Araujo Arts blog, observed that there seemed to be a conflict in the two messages. Aren't the messages that of "Be happy with what you have" and "Date to try"? In fact, the two messages are that of "Happiness is an achievable, simple thing" and "Lasting happiness takes work on everyone's part".

In "The Happy Peasant", you'll find the following:

"Instead, this article is an invitation to examine your own life, to see if the dream that you hold in your mind's eye is something that will actually bring you happiness."

Then, in "Potential for Happiness":

"My idealistic pursuit is firmly rooted in the idea that to pursue a world of philosopher kings is to pursue nirvana, or heaven, or paradise - whatever you want to call it."

Both are talking about achieving great happiness.

The happy peasant has tripped through pure accident into the right mix of goodness to have happiness in his life. This is why happy peasants are found only here or there. Few are happy all the time because of the ephemeral nature of happiness in life. Something invariably intrudes on our happiness, or we sabotage it ourselves for various unintended reasons. The message of the Happy Peasant is not to be happy with what you have, but that there is a right mix that will bring lasting happiness. Few find it, and fewer still recognize it and nurture it.

The philosopher king actively seeks that right mix of goodness that brings happiness. While any king will seek happiness for themselves, as Napoleon surely did, philosopher kings seek it for every life that they impact. As often comes up in Opinion Dump articles, figuring out what will bring happiness is a key task for anyone, and philosopher kings occupy themselves with that challenge.

The philosopher king does not create a world of happy peasants. A world of philosopher kings creates a world of happy peasants. That's because the mix that brings happiness must be actively pursued. Our instincts, our passions and the world itself are constantly conspiring to move us away from the balance that brings happiness. And so it requires the developed philosophical skills of the philosopher kings to push back and stay at the balance point that brings happiness.

This is why it is my hope that America can realize its potential as a nation of philosopher kings, pushing for the greater good both here at home and around the world, using the tremendous might of the nation to help craft that world of philosopher kings.

Producing a world of happy peasants.