The Queen's Guards and Barracks
("Hawaii's Story", page 268)
Royal PrerogativesHawaiian society was in no way democratic. But it was also unlike feudal social orders in Europe. The monarchists of Hawaii were not the rich parasites of Britain or the wealthy Republican arisocrats of the U.S.A. In Hawaiian society, social respect was accorded to those who provided for others and had the wealth and power to manage resources in the best interests of the people at large. Nobles had hereditary rights, but were supported only so long as they provided for the people. The chief whose retainers were in any poverty or want would have felt, not only their sufferings, but, further, his own disgrace. As was then customary with the Hawaiian chiefs, my father was surrounded by hundreds of his own people, all of whom looked to him, and never in vain, for sustenance...There was food enough and to spare for every one. This was equally true of all his people, however distant from his personal care. For the chief always appointed some man of ability as his agent and overseer. This officer apportioned the lands to each Hawaiian, and on these allotments were raised the taro, the potatoes, the pigs, and the chickens which constituted the living of the family; even the forests, which furnished the material from which was made the tapa cloth, were apportioned to the women in like manner. It is true that no one of the common people could mortgage or sell his land, but the wisdom of this is abundantly proved by the homeless condition of the Hawaiians at the present day. Rent, eviction of tenants, as understood in other lands, were unknown; but each retainer of any chief contributed in the productions of his holding to the support of the chief's table. ("Hawaii's Story", page 3) Land and PropertyThe "feudal" Hawaiian system of land tenure was based less on the concept of private property, even for the elite, and more on the concept of public need and public access to lands. The managerial class made sure that no-one was left out, and doled out land as was necessary. It was akin to a consensual system for public land use. Those nobles with large amounts of private land were expected to marshall these resources in the interests of the people and not just themselves, as in European, American or Asian societies. Social ValuesIf he believed in the divine right of kings, and the distinctions of hereditary nobility, it was not alone from the prejudices of birth and native custom, but because he was able to perceive that even the most enlightened nations of the earth have not as yet been able to replace them with a ruling class equally able, patriotic, or disinterested. I say this with all reverence for the form of government and the social order existing in the United States, whose workings have, for more than a century, excited the interest of the world; not the interest of the common people only, but of nobles, rulers and kings. Kalakaua's highest and most earnest desire was to be a true sovereign, the chief servant of a happy, prosperous, and progressive people. He regarded himself as the responsible arbiter of clashing interests, and his own breast as the ordained meeting-place of the spears of political contention... He freely lent his personal efforts to the securing of a reciprocity treaty (free trade) with the United States, and sought the co-operation of that great and powerful nation, because he was persuaded it would enrich, or benefit, not one class, but, in a greater or less degree, all his subjects."("Hawaii's Story") Comparisons between the Hawaiian social structure and feudal Europe should be drawn with great care. Just as important as the apparent social hierarchy are the community values that underpin societies. An authoritarian society that venerates those who spread wealth through the public, and respects those who provide for others, will likely respect the public interest. It's possible for this to be true even if power is concentrated in the hands of the few. On the other hand, a society that has democratic structures but rewards obsessive greed and exclusive self-interest will ultimately not be democratic in any real, meaningful sense. Like modern Western corporate-based democracy, it will be economically and socially abusive. Despite the lip-service given to the concepts of democracy, choice, freedom and equality, it will be a limited class-based social order. Liliuokalani took great pains to point out this subtle but vital factor when interpreting her own society's political system to Americans. The cultural values and climate of a polity should always be taken into consideration. This includes tradition, custom, spirituality, common assumptions of right and wrong, child-rearing practices and the society's world-view. Native GovernmentPolynesian Hawaiians had a well-articulated and complex system for managing their society in the best interests of all, even if their system was ultimately elitist. Before foreign investors and developers arrived, Hawaii was much more egalitarian than Europe or North America. Then as now, European and Asian social models protected the interests of the few. A tiny percentage of the population hoards wealth and resources exclusively for themselves, and doles out a small proportion to the rest of the population who are held in virtual wage-slavery and servitude. The free Hawaiian people would not have tolerated so brutal a situation, but by the time their leaders were ready to react against American economic expansion, it was far too late. Sources and Reading"Hawaii's Story: By Hawaii's Queen", by Liliuokalani. First published 1898 by Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co., Boston. Reprinted by Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., Vermont, 1977. "The Legends and Myths of Hawaii", by His Hawaiian Majesty, Kalakaua. First published 1888. Reprinted by Mutual Publishing, Honolulu, 1990 . |