Free Political Propositions

I consider, for the preceding reasons, and because of the nature or quality of humans' general, boundless desires, to be afflicted with a withering, indeed lethal disease. If anyone now wants to object here with the ordinary foolishness or ignorance of a people, I also acknowledge this. But I can never, on that account, admit that any people, however base and ignorant they may be found, should therefore be obligated to abandon their best knowledge in order to blindly follow someone else's or a private better knowledge. For in a similar case, I not only prefer the people's slight knowledge for their own benefit, but I also assure them, moreover, that by following blindly, they will most certainly be deceived and must fall back into the utmost misery and slavery. Wherefore, in my judgment, this might serve as a best rule: that if someone would wish to accuse any people of foolishness in order to save them and bring them to a better state, he must try to convince them through sound reason, and through that alone, attempt to bring them to better counsels, decisions, and outcomes. And for the people, nothing better or safer can be thought of or pursued than to close and stop their eyes and ears once and for all to all other means and movements, and certainly to have to know that everything that one tries to recommend to them as something special and wholesome must always occur through the best reason and through nothing else. From which then also clearly follows: that to those to whom the judgment of a matter belongs absolutely and completely, to them also belongs the highest authority of that matter completely. The judgment of the commonwealth belongs completely to the people; therefore, also the highest authority and management of it. And consequently, I also want one to conduct oneself in all Political propositions primarily according to the main condition and demand of the majority of the people. Yet, notwithstanding that, everything must occur uprightly and solely through reason, which reasons must primarily and in advance be derived from their most according general interest, good, and objective (without which it will always be found impossible to better a commonwealth in any way). By which general according interest, objective, and good, we shall here, as touched upon before, take in advance the interest of the bodies, and in respect of the souls, in order to be spared from all deceit. Everything to be pursued through an equal freedom for the promotion of each one's particular prosperity according to everyone's own judgment. Provided that particular prosperity shall never be able to injure or clash against the general prosperity and good, but will always have to contribute improvement and strengthening to it. And which objective I want to have left absolutely and completely to the people alone. Although I must acknowledge that one people, both by nature and by other circumstances, is better disposed to this than another, I nevertheless hold that they all (except for the Hottentots indigenous Khoikhoi people at the Cape of Good Hope Dutch colony in South Africa, if it is true what is written about them, being more to be regarded as unreasoning cattle than humans) can and also must be guided for their best through reason, without any deceit. The reasons are that instruction in reason is willed from the heart by all reason-containing humans as a most holy and wholesome thing, and deceit, as a most vile and harmful thing, is also to be avoided and warded off with all power and strength.