Great Classical Liberal Suggests Answer To The Labor Question.

Briefly stated the common sense solution to the labor unrest and those who were in position to encourage or discourage the unrest was given in a subtle manner.

On April 26, 1912 in Washington, DC at the Memorial Continental Hall Mr. Samuel Gompers [President of the American Federation of Labor, who was one of the scheduled speakers at this event.] was brought in to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Among other things he said, “I try to do my duty.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied, “If each one tried to do his duty there would be no Labor Question.”

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Why Is Laissez-Faire So Difficult To Appreciate?

Uncertainty is intolerable to humans because in these Dark Ages of economics trust in God is forgotten and misunderstood. The perverse solution derived at by the ignorant is ego-driven intervention.

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Great Classical Liberal Says Our Intellectual Faculty Is Unlimited In Its Sphere Of Action.

Human action is our unique distinction and it is the essence of our human reality. The great foundational, human potential is our intellect and the logical structure of our intellect.

At the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Parsons on April 25, 1912 in Washington, D.C. Abdu'l-Baha concluded his talk with this: "God has endowed man with reason that he may perceive what is true. If we insist that such and such a subject is not to be reasoned out and tested according to the established logical modes of the intellect, what is the use of the reason which God has given man? The eye is the organ of sense by which we view the world of outer phenomena; hearing is the faculty for distinguishing sounds; taste senses the properties of objects, such as bitter, sweet; smell detects and differentiates odors; touch reveals attributes of matter and perfects our communication with the outer world; yet after all, the circle and range of perception by the five senses is exceedingly limited. But the intellectual faculty of man is unlimited in its sphere of action. The eye views details perhaps a mile, but the intellect can perceive the far East and West. The ear may hear tone modulations at one thousand feet, but the mind of man can detect the harmonies of the heavenly spheres as they swing in their courses. Mind makes geological discoveries in subterranean depths and determines the processes of creation in the earth's lowest strata. The sciences and arts, all inventions, crafts, trades and their products have come forth from the intellect of man. It is evident that within the human organism the intellect occupies the supreme station. Therefore, if religious belief, principle or creed is not in accordance with the intellect and the power of reason, it is surely superstition."
 (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 63)

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Great Classical Liberal Knows The Value And Blessing Of Liberty!

On April 23, 1912 at the Bethel Literary Society, held at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Abdu'l-Baha spoke of the potentials of men and women unencumbered by oppression: "Through intellectual and intelligent inquiry science is the discoverer of all things. It unites present and past, reveals the history of bygone nations and events, and confers upon man today the essence of all human knowledge and attainment throughout the ages. By intellectual processes and logical deductions of reason this superpower in man can penetrate the mysteries of the future and anticipate its happenings."
 (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 49)

" . . . in this human world there is no greater blessing than liberty. You do not know. I, who for forty years have been a prisoner, do know. I do know the value and blessing of liberty. For you have been and are now living in freedom, and you have no fear of anybody. Is there a greater blessing than this? Freedom! Liberty! Security! These are the great bestowals of God.
 (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 52)

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Great Classical Liberal Asks Capitalists To Be Entrepreneurial.

In the economy the function and responsibility of the entrepreneur is to be alert to what is going on by paying attention to the signals sent directly and indirectly by the prices in the market. Alertness to the needs of the workers is part of successful entrepreneurship.

When speaking on the subject of economics to guests shortly after 6pm in Washington, D.C. on April 22, 1912 Abdu'l Baha spoke of: "the great need of Capitalists to study and improve the conditions of laborers, otherwise there would be serious results: the harm of strikes or of gaining things by force that should be settled amicably."

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Great Classical Liberal Says Knowledge Ends Wars.

It is true that knowledge is the solution to the problems that come from a lack of knowledge. In the dynamic model of the divine economy - constructed using the subjectivist methodology - the "Nature and Role of Knowledge" axis moves to the right naturally and continuously as civilization is ever-advancing when it is unhindered by ego-driven interpretation and ego-driven intervention.

On April 21st in 1912 in Washington, D.C. the great classical liberal spoke about the ending of wars: "It is evident that prejudices arising from adherence to religious forms and imitation of ancestral beliefs have hindered the progress of humanity thousands of years. How many wars and battles have been fought, how much division, discord and hatred have been caused by this form of prejudice! But inasmuch as this century is a century of the revelation of reality -- praise be to God! -- the thoughts of men are being directed toward the welfare and unity of humanity. Daily the mirage of imitations is passing away, and the ocean of truth is surging more tumultuously. All the existing nations had a divine foundation of truth or reality originally, which was intended to be conducive to the unity and accord of mankind, but the light of that reality gradually became obscured. The darkness of superstitions and imitations came and took its place, binding the world of humanity in the chains and fetters of ignorance. Enmity arose among men, increasing to such an extent that nation strove against nation in hatred and violence. War has been a religious and political human heritage."
 (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 39)

And like the great classical liberals Abdu'l-Baha knows the vital contribution of ethics to the development of individuals and to the development of societies and civilization as a whole. He says: "In the world of existence the animal is a captive of nature. Its actions are according to the exigencies and requirements of nature. It has no consideration or consciousness of good and evil. It simply follows its natural instinct and inclination. The Prophets of God have come to show man the way of righteousness in order that he may not follow his own natural impulse but govern his action by the light of Their precept and example. According to Their teachings he should do that which is found to be praiseworthy by the standard of reason and judgment of intellect, even though it be opposed to his natural human inclination; and he should not do that which is found to be unworthy by that same standard, even though it be in the direction of his natural impulse and desire. Therefore, man must follow and manifest the attributes of the Merciful."

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Great Classical Liberal Speaks About Ontology At Columbia University.

One might think that the great classical liberal who spoke at Columbia University was Murray Rothbard since he did his early studies at that university. But this speaker and this talk about natural law preceded Murray Rothbard by a third of a century.

"If we look with a perceiving eye upon the world of creation, we find that all existing things may be classified as follows: first, mineral -- that is to say, matter or substance appearing in various forms of composition; second, vegetable -- possessing the virtues of the mineral plus the power of augmentation or growth, indicating a degree higher and more specialized than the mineral; third, animal -- possessing the attributes of the mineral and vegetable plus the power of sense perception; fourth, human -- the highest specialized organism of visible creation, embodying the qualities of the mineral, vegetable and animal plus an ideal endowment absolutely absent in the lower kingdoms -- the power of intellectual investigation into the mysteries of outer phenomena. The outcome of this intellectual endowment is science, which is especially characteristic of man. This scientific power investigates and apprehends created objects and the laws surrounding them. It is the discoverer of the hidden and mysterious secrets of the material universe and is peculiar to man alone. The most noble and praiseworthy accomplishment of man, therefore, is scientific knowledge and attainment."
 (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 29)

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Great Classical Liberal Speaks About Reason And Knowledge.

Human beings confront the Absolute with relativity. To us the future is uncertain, unknown. The knowledge that we have and the knowledge that we gain is relative and even ephemeral when the whole time horizon - from the beginning that hath no beginning to the end that hath no end - is kept in mind.

The great classical liberal, addressing the diverse people gathered at Hotel Ansonia,

Broadway and Seventy-third Street in New York on April 17th, 1912, offered the following tidbit of wise perception: "the materialists announce that the criterion and standard of human knowledge is sense perception. Among the Greeks and Romans the criterion of knowledge was reason — that whatever is provable and acceptable by reason must necessarily be admitted as true. A third standard or criterion is the opinion held by theologians that traditions or prophetic statement and interpretations constitute the basis of human knowing. There is still another, a fourth criterion, upheld by religionists and metaphysicians who say that the source and channel of all human penetration into the unknown is through inspiration. Briefly then, these four criteria according to the declarations of men are: first, sense perception; second, reason; third, traditions; fourth, inspiration."

 

And he goes on: "All human standards of judgment are faulty, finite."

 

These are only the tools, the means, not the ends. If pride and arrogance prevent these means from being energized with the Holy Spirit then only a lesser degree of perfection is possible.

 

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Great Classical Liberal Praises Western Civilization.

Speaking at the Hotel Ansonia, Broadway and Seventy-third Street in New York on April 16th, 1912, he said: "Christ appeared in this world nineteen hundred years ago to establish ties of unity and bonds of love between the various nations and different communities. He cemented together the sciences of Rome and the splendors of the civilization of Greece. He also accomplished affiliation between the Assyrian kingdom and the power of Egypt. The blending of these nations in unity, love and agreement had been impossible, but Christ through divine power established this condition among the children of men." (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 18)

These were the fruits of the divine civilization which appeared on the European continent (Western Civilization) as the message promulgated by the inspired classical liberalism scholars blended together Aristotelian logic and love of humanity and the love of God.

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Great Classical Liberal Speaks About Civilization.

In the tradition of classical liberalism there is harmony between economics and religion. Here (and a portion of it below) is a quote of a great classical liberal not yet appreciated as a contributor to this vital and magnificent philosophical tradition. Also, yet to be appreciated is the new economic theory within the classical liberalism tradition - the divine economy theory.

"Since my arrival in this country I find that material civilization has progressed greatly, that commerce has attained the utmost degree of expansion; arts, agriculture and all details of material civilization have reached the highest stage of perfection, but spiritual civilization has been left behind. Material civilization is like unto the lamp, while spiritual civilization is the light in that lamp. If the material and spiritual civilization become united, then we will have the light and the lamp together, and the outcome will be perfect. For material civilization is like unto a beautiful body, and spiritual civilization is like unto the spirit of life. If that wondrous spirit of life enters this beautiful body, the body will become a channel for the distribution and development of the perfections of humanity.

Jesus Christ came to teach the people of the world this heavenly civilization and not material civilization. He breathed the breath of the Holy Spirit into the body of the world and established an illumined civilization. Among the principles of divine civilization He came to proclaim is the Most Great Peace of mankind. Among His principles of spiritual civilization is the oneness of the kingdom of humanity. Among the principles of heavenly civilization He brought is the virtue of the human world. Among the principles of celestial civilization He announced is the improvement and betterment of human morals.

Today the world of humanity is in need of international unity and conciliation. To establish these great fundamental principles a propelling power is needed. It is self-evident that the unity of the human world and the Most Great Peace cannot be accomplished through material means. They cannot be established through political power, for the political interests of nations are various and the policies of peoples are divergent and conflicting. They cannot be founded through racial or patriotic power, for these are human powers, selfish and weak. The very nature of racial differences and patriotic prejudices prevents the realization of this unity and agreement. Therefore, it is evidenced that the promotion of the oneness of the kingdom of humanity, which is the essence of the teachings of all the Manifestations of God, is impossible except through the divine power and breaths of the Holy Spirit. Other powers are too weak and are incapable of accomplishing this.

For man two wings are necessary. One wing is physical power and material civilization; the other is spiritual power and divine civilization. With one wing only, flight is impossible. Two wings are essential. Therefore, no matter how much material civilization advances, it cannot attain to perfection except through the uplift of spiritual civilization.

All the Prophets have come to promote divine bestowals, to found the spiritual civilization and teach the principles of morality. Therefore, we must strive with all our powers so that spiritual influences may gain the victory. For material forces have attacked mankind. The world of humanity is submerged in a sea of materialism. The rays of the Sun of Reality are seen but dimly and darkly through opaque glasses. The penetrative power of the divine bounty is not fully manifest." (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 11)

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100 Years Ago A Great Classical Liberal Came To America.

The exciting part of this news is that the daily activities and events and messages are posted for each of the 239 days that 'Abdu'l-Baha was in America (April 11th through December 5th in 1912). You can see the media portrayal, and the diary notes by those who were deeply affected by associating with 'Abdu'l-Baha, and the text of the content of the talks given by 'Abdu'l-Baha at various and sundry venues across America and Canada.

Lovers of history and lovers of peace and justice will enjoy following this historical journey during this centenary observance.

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