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    Former Guinness World Record Holder for largest book signing ever, Orrin Woodward is a NY Times bestselling author of And Justice For All along with RESOLVED & coauthor of LeaderShift and Launching a Leadership Revolution. His books have sold over one million copies in the financial, leadership and liberty fields. RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions For LIFE made the Top 100 All-Time Best Leadership Books and the 13 Resolutions are the framework for the top selling Mental Fitness Challenge personal development program.

    Orrin made the Top 20 Inc. Magazine Leadership list & has co-founded two multi-million dollar leadership companies. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of the LIFE. He has a B.S. degree from GMI-EMI (now Kettering University) in manufacturing systems engineering. He holds four U.S. patents, and won an exclusive National Technical Benchmarking Award.

    This blog is an Alltop selection and ranked in HR's Top 100 Blogs for Management & Leadership.

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The Five Laws of Decline Within Society

Posted by Orrin Woodward on September 15, 2013

Today, I am wrapping up the chapter on the FLD and society. I am always amazed how one might think he knows a subject, but when he starts to write, he realizes how many more connections there are than he had originally identified. At least, this is what typically occurs in my writing. The Six Duties of Society are what’s good in human nature, working together in cooperation to produce results which leads to prosperity and justice within society. In contrast, the Five Laws of Decline are what’s wrong with human nature, working selfishly to exploit others production which leads to poverty and injustice within society. Soberingly, both of these natures are inside of all of us. Indeed, it’s only when society learns to systematically magnify the good, while checking the bad, that it becomes possible for the quest for concord and justice for all to be achieved. LIFE Leadership intends to play its part in helping society fulfill the quest.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Dwelling inside of every human being is the ability to do remarkable acts of good and evil. In fact, its the good actions of cooperating human beings within society that satisfy the SDS. However, as mentioned in the previous chapter, mankind also has a darker side. In essence, the Five Laws of Decline (FLD) capture this darker side by systematically describing man’s inhumanity to man. For in his core, man is tempted to reap where he hasn’t sown, seeking to exploit from other’s production rather than producing himself. Accordingly, when the SDS is fulfilled and society prospers, the exploiters have greater opportunities to siphon the wealth of others into their unearned pockets. The FLD, in other words, is the author’s systematic method for describing how man’s inhumanity to man destroys cooperation within organizations and societies. This concept was first introduced in my book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE and then expanded upon in the book LeaderShift, co-authored with Oliver DeMille. Basically, when the FLD are not checked, society is split into two groups – those who produce wealth and those who plunder it. James Madison described man’s nature accurately when he wrote, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Men, however, are not angels; therefore, if tempted by large enough rewards and low enough risk, the historical record displays mankind will exploit his fellow man. Governments, in sum, were created by society to restrain man’s desire to exploit others through decreasing the potential rewards available greatly increasing the risk of punishment if exploitation is attempted.

UnknownFor just as a pickpocket typically avoids practicing his craft in the vicinity of police officers, so too do exploiters usually avoid practicing plunder where government is performing its proper role. However, it’s crucially important to remember that government itself is an organization consisting of men and women who also have sinful natures; thus, if society isn’t diligent, the government’s “monopoly of force” can be redirected from its proper role of protector into an unjust role of exploiter. In fact, much of third-world poverty is a disgraceful result of government force being used as a tool of injustice rather than justice. Although Western Society governments are, of course, less overt than their third-world counterparts, but the same principle still holds true – that all governments must be diligently watched to ensure that exploiters do not gain control of government and set up systems of exploitation, using the “monopoly of force” for unjust ends. Indeed, the real challenge to taming the FLD within society is that any government with sufficient power to protect, is, by definition, also given enough power to exploit. The paradox of government’s “monopoly of force” is clearly revealed in the need for delegated force within society but also ensuring this force is used to restrain the FLD not encourage them.

For exactly how does a society delegate to government a “monopoly of power” to restrain exploitation, but then ensure no group of exploiters gain control of the government to use its “monopoly of force” for unjust ends? Indeed, if a group of exploiters did manage to legally control the government, how would society stop them from gradually passing laws to “legalize” societal plunder for the rulers benefit?Furthermore, if society’s members object to the government’s violations of inalienable rights, the exploiters, unbelievably, can now access the “monopoly of force” to intimidate the protesters into compliance of the “laws”. Shockingly, the government’s hammer, instead of pounding exploiters to ensure justice for all, is now in the exploiters’ hands to pound society, ensuring plunder for rulers and injustice for the ruled. In truth, this isn’t just hypothetical reasoning, for this scenario has occurred numerous times in history. Probably the best known historical case, for instance, was Hitler, who, learning from his aborted Beer Hall Putsch, followed quasi-legal methods to seize control of government when he was elected democratically elected and then appointed Chancellor by President Von Hindenburg.

21 Responses to “The Five Laws of Decline Within Society”

  1. Chad Waters said

    Hi Orrin,

    We are a society of which needs change and reading this serries definetly has put some new perspective to light.
    Thanks for your selfless service to a better world! With out you who know how much worse it would already be.

    God Bless
    See you soon!

  2. Rick Satterstrom said

    Thank you for another insightful blog post. This country is in such trouble from the FLD, I wish I knew about them 10 years ago. Together we must spread the truth. We will save this country. We have to!

  3. Scott Russell said

    Thanks for another great article brother Orrin and the “fuel” to keep on keeping on in Leadershift!!!

  4. Steve Duba said

    Thanks Orrin. You should know this. The LIFE “watchmen and women”are on duty and associating and teaching and mentoring others
    in truths and growing “hungry,honeable,and honorable men and women for the future of this great country.
    Thank you for all you do and God Bless, Steve Duba

  5. Chris Beaubien said

    Thanks Orrin for your dedication and hard work towards your selfless pursuit of excellence. We will go to a million people because our countries and our futures depend on getting this type of information into our various communities, through leaders of character, integrity, and true influence through personal self mastery. In fact, its our duty. We may be fortunate to not have to physically fight in battle and pay the ultimate sacrifice to maintain our countries freedom; although we will have to confront head on, the FLD in ourselves and others. Resulting in the only way we can possibly influence change in others, by changing ourselves first. Blessed to be on this journey with you!

  6. Joe McGuire said

    Thanks for another great post. The greatest thing about LIFE-Leadership is the inexpensive education available for members and customers. Inexpencive and yet the highest quality possible. Only an educated public can check the backslide induced by the plunderers!

  7. Lynn Barker said

    Thanks Orrin and P.C. for standing up in a world of silence. Prayers wrapped in action is what we need. Faith filled leadership.

  8. Tony Klassen said

    Thanks Orrin! One of the things I truly appreciate in your writing is that you have the ability to breakdown complex issues and craft them is a way that is not only clear to understand, but actually becomes ‘almost obvious’. I can’t tell you how many issues, that after hearing or reading from you, I actually laugh out loud when the explanation that you present has almost magically transformed into an obvious answer.

    • Orrin Woodward said

      Tony, I much appreciate your comment. This was absolutely not true several years ago, just go back and read my old blogs! 🙂 But, thankfully, PDCA is a wonderful tool for personal growth and skill development and I am slowly comprehending how to take the thoughts from my heads onto paper, without losing much in the translation. 🙂 God Bless, Orrin

  9. wes said

    This information needs to be taught in schools. Wow! Thanks Orrin.

    • Orrin Woodward said

      The problem is the high schools, colleges, universities, etc are are funded mainly by the ruler elites. who have a vested interest in keep its citizens ignorant of the difference between a limited-government and a controlling state. In essence, the education of the producers is in the hands of the exploiters. How crazy is that? 🙂

  10. Rob Robson said

    Thanks for another awesome post Orrin! It is pure genius to create a new class of producer citizens, social leaders, and statesmen through creating a way for anyone with a dream to become full time freedom activists. I believe this is the only way to get the message out with enough breadth and depth to stop the tyranny train from running us off the cliff. I am so grateful to be playing for the winning team!

  11. Elizabeth Sieracki said

    Your article makes me think of the book The Slight Edge. Life isn’t a straight line. We have to continually work on striving toward the good, focusing on the positive and putting the SDS into practice or “gravity” will naturally pull us down.
    Thanks Orrin!

  12. Orrin has hit the problems with America right on the head of the nail. When enough people focus on SDS and learn how to avoid the FLD we WILL turn this nation around.

  13. Chris Gillette said

    Orrin, Some fascinating insights into mankind’s fallen nature and the kind of societies and governments that result from it, unless affected by our better angels’. Which thought now requires me to quote Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

  14. Fabulous!

  15. robert wilcox said

    Orrin thank you for the lesson again! I was on second to last paragraph when I stopped and began to think of Hitler’s story of how he got control…. sure enough you teach me something about Hitler I did not know… thank you once again!

  16. Greg Oesch said

    I am so glad for life leadership and it’s educational stand. Thank you Laurie and Orrin and the policy Council. I just pray that we are able to turn the tide quickly enough.

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