New Essentials of Unification Thought
Principle of Mutual Existence, Mutual Prosperity and Mutual Righteousness

The principle of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness is a principle addressing a certain dimension of Rev. Moon’s concept of Godism, namely, the dimension including economics, politics and ethics. It is a compound principle consisting actually of three concepts: mutual existence, mutual prosperity, and mutual righteousness. In order to understand the meaning of the principle of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness correctly, it is helpful to understand each concept in turn. Thus, I will explain one by one.

A. Principle of Mutual Existence

The principle of mutual existence is a concept dealing with the economic aspects of an ideal society, especially the aspect of ownership. In terms of ownership, in capitalist economy there is private (individual) ownership, while in socialist economy there is social (national) ownership. Yet, in both economies the element of love is totally excluded. That is to say, whether private or socialist (public), economy is simply materialistic ownership, without regard to the mental aspect.

In contrast, in the principle of mutual existence, joint ownership is based on God’s true love. In other words, it is first, the joint ownership of God and myself; second, the joint ownership of the whole and myself; and third, the joint ownership of my neighbors and myself. It is not simply a materialistic ownership, but rather it is an ownership based on God’s true love. This means that, through God’s infinite love, we (myself, my neighbors, and the whole) are entrusted to jointly take care of God’s property, which is given to us as His loving gift.

According to the principle of creation, the created world is God’s possession, and it was created to be governed by Him through love (DP , 64). It is written in the Bible that God, the Creator, let birds fly above the earth, and He let the waters swarm with fish, and He made the beasts of the earth (Gen. 1:20-25). This means that the sky is the joint possession of all birds, the waters are the joint possession of all fish, and that the ground is the joint possession of all beasts, all based on God’s love.

Even birds of prey, like eagles, will not monopolize the sky. Even beasts of prey, like tigers, will not monopolize the ground. Even violent sharks will not monopolize the sea. Since God endowed human beings with the right to have dominion over all things with love, all human beings were to jointly possess the sky, the sea, and the land, as well as all living beings, including birds, fish and beasts, with a heart of gratitude, based on God’s true love. Thus, nature is the joint possession of God and human beings.

Nevertheless, due to the fall, human beings fell into self-centered individualism, and came to monopolize land and property. Today, under the banner of liberal democracy, people legally possess vast lands and enormous amounts of property. Yet, they are not usually very grateful; they seldom experience any pangs of a guilty conscience. Even when they see their neighbors starving, they often do not seem to care, and just continue to live arrogantly; this is characteristic of capitalist society. They are basically living their lives against the Way of Heaven.

The relationship between God and human beings is that of parent and children, the basic form of which is realized in a family. In a family, all property—such as the house, the garden, the yard, cattle, and so on—belongs to the parents, and at the same time to the children. In other words, in a family, even if the property is legally possessed by the parents, in fact, it is jointly possessed by both parents and children. In the original world, parents always love their children; therefore, children always have a heart of gratitude towards their parents and take good care of the family property.

In the basic form of the family the three generations of grandparents, parents and children (brothers and sisters) live together. Therefore, joint ownership is, strictly speaking, joint ownership of the three generations: namely, the joint ownership of grandparents, parents and children, all based on true love. Here, since the grandparents are in the position representing God, the joint ownership of the three generations can be expressed as the joint ownership of God, who is the subject of true love, parents, and children. The family joint ownership in which three generations possess things together, is the prototype for various other kinds of joint ownership. Thus, joint ownership in the principle of mutual existence is the joint ownership of God and I, the whole and I, and my neighbors and I, all based on God’s true love. It is the joint ownership of all three levels of the other and I. In short, it may be called “the joint ownership of God, the whole, my neighbors, and I.”

An extension of this joint family ownership is the joint ownership of various other organizations. For example, the joint ownership of a company is the joint ownership of three parties: God, who is the subject of true love, the executives, who are in the position of parents, and employees, who are in the position of children. Therefore, it is the joint ownership of the three levels of “the other and I,” namely, “God and I,” “executives and I,” and “my fellow employees and I.”

In the original world, even when a company is founded by entrepreneurs, it should first be offered to God. After it is offered to God, thus becoming God’s possession, it is returned to the entrepreneurs with God’s true love; then, it will be possessed jointly by the entrepreneurs and God. Such a procedure is more than a mere formality. Only through such a procedure can God’s true love, protection and help effectively come to a company. The same thing can be said of other organizations as well.

Next, let me explain about joint ownership on a national level. In the case of a state-owned enterprise, for example, all properties are under the joint possession of the state and the people. It is the joint possession of the three parties of God, who is the subject of true love, the president or the sovereign of the country, and the employees of the enterprise; also it is the joint possession of the three levels of “the other and I,” namely, “God and I,” “the president and I,” and “the employees and I.” Here, God’s love, protection and help can be given; the president will give affectionate concern and assistance; and the employees will be thankful to God and to the president, and they will take good care of all property with a consciousness of joint ownership. This is the concept of “joint ownership on a national level.”

Here, one might raise the question; “Is not there any private ownership in the ideal world?” Yes, there is, and it is proper that there should be. This is because a human being, in resemblance to God, has both a universal image and an individual image. That is to say, a human being has a common attribute (universality) and at the same time, an attribute peculiar to himself or herself (individual image). A human being has dual purposes: the purpose for the individual and the purpose for the whole, as well as the desire and freedom to practice love. Thus, private ownership is allowed. I will explain this using the case of joint family ownership, which is the prototype for various other joint ownerships.

Let’s take the example of the family of a farmer. It is for pursuing the purpose for the whole that family members jointly take care of, and keep, the family property, i.e., house, garden, field, cattle, and so on. In other words, all the family members jointly seek the life of food, clothing, and shelter. They do so, living under the same roof, spending the same budget. Yet, each member of the family has his or her own unique individuality (individual image). Thus, he or she will lead his or her own way of life according to his or her situation, tastes, and so on. Also, in many cases, children need a room, clothes, or other living necessities for their exclusive use in the same way that parents do. So, parents will give allowances to their children. This kind of personal possession is necessary for them to accomplish their individual purpose.

Private possession is necessary to accomplish the purpose for the individual, and at the same time, it is necessary to accomplish the purpose for the whole as well. The purpose for the whole is accomplished through a community life or a family life, by using the jointly owned property; at the same time, it is accomplished through personal ways by using personal property.

When children try to comfort and please their parents, they are fulfilling the purpose for the whole. For example, in order to please parents, an elder brother reads many books, which are his possessions, and gets good grades at school; a younger brother paints a beautiful picture using painting instruments, which are his possessions, and gets a special prize at an art exhibition; an elder sister plays the violin, which she possesses, and receives the highest praise from the audience at a concert. In these cases, they fulfill the purpose for the whole through their personal possessions.

In this way, private possessions are necessary not only for accomplishing the purpose for the individual but also for accomplishing the purpose for the whole. Thus, human beings are endowed with desire, love, and freedom in order to love others (to realize the purpose for the whole) according to their free will, investing their unique individualities and personal possessions.

Then, to what extent is personal possession reasonable? This is determined according to the appropriate necessity of each person. This kind of possession is called appropriate possession. The proper quantity and quality will be determined according to one’s own conscience. Rather differently from the case of fallen people, an original person will easily understand the quantity, quality, and kinds of his or her necessary personal possessions.

We often express the psychological amount—the amount of desire, gratitude, satisfaction and so on—through material means. For example, when we receive kindness from others, we often express gratitude with a kind of gift, or a sum of money. Similarly, in the case of private possessions, a psychological amount which one feels appropriate to oneself can be expressed through a material amount. No one other than oneself, can best express one’s psychological amount in a material amount. Thus, a psychological amount which is appropriate to oneself can easily be determined by oneself. When we have meals, we know our condition well: if we eat little, our physical strength will become weak, and if we eat too much, our stomach will have trouble. Similarly, if our conscience is pure, God will show us through our conscience the psychological amount appropriate for our personal possessions. Thus, the appropriate possession of private property can be easily determined.

It should be clarified here that even if the proper quantity and quality of one’s private possessions are determined through one’s conscience, that quantity and quality may vary from person to person. There are certain reasons for that. First, each person has his or her unique individual image, and therefore unique character, taste, and so on. Second, every person is an individual truth being and at the same time a connected being. A connected being refers to an individual person who is related to others in the six directions of high and low, front and back, and right and left. In order to have such relations, a person, as a connected being, requires at least a certain necessary quantity of personal possessions. Usually, the higher the position a person occupies, the greater the quantity and quality of his or her necessary possessions become. Therefore, the proper quantity and quality of personal possessions will differ from person to person. Thus, if a person has adequate personal possessions necessary to love others, then, those possessions are appropriate, even if the amount of his or her personal possessions is substantially higher or lower than the average.

In this way, the principle of mutual existence is the theory of joint economy based on joint ownership. The concept of economy here refers, first, to the totality of activities related to the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods through primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, in the same way as it does in conventional economic theory. However, since the economy in the future world is based on joint ownership centered on God’s true love, as already explained, economic activity in the future world will be quite different from the economic activity up until today. To explain briefly, all economic activities are the unity of spiritual processes, which are the flow of heart, love, gratitude, and so on, and the material process, which is the circulation of commodities. The commodity itself is a united being of spirit and matter where love and sincere heart dwell, and the circulation of commodities is also the unity of spiritual processes and material processes where love and a sincere heart circulate.

Since the future world will be a unified world without national boundaries, the future economy will be one global economy in which regional bloc economies are organically and harmoniously united. In other words, a unified industry will be established, in which local, special industries fitted for particular regions and non-local, universal industries are harmonized and unified. This is a conclusion derived from Unification Thought, which states that every being is a united being in which the universal image (universality) and individual image (individuality) are unified.

In future industry, an enterprise will seek to contribute to the progress of the welfare of all humankind rather than aiming only for the interest of the entrepreneurs. Therefore, the overall result of industrial activity will be the multiplication of beneficial goods for humankind.

In the future, society’s most serious economic problem, which must be solved, is the food problem, since the population is increasing in a geometric progression. Thomas Malthus expressed concern about this problem in his An Essay on the Principle of Population as It Affects the Future Improvement of Society, and the Club of Rome also warned about this problem back in the 1970’s. However, this difficult problem will be solved through the development of the marine industry-based on the development of aquaculture, and so on. This is a conclusion which is derived from the Divine Principle, according to which the ocean symbolizes a woman, and a woman’s important mission is fertility or production.

B. Principle of Mutual Prosperity

The principle of mutual prosperity is concerned with the political aspects of the future ideal society. Especially, the principle of mutual prosperity is proposed as an alternative to democracy, which is the political ideology of capitalism. As is well known, democracy in capitalist society is a liberal democracy, a political ideology associated with the slogan “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence of America and the slogan “freedom, equality, and fraternity,” which derives from the French Revolution.

Democracy is an ideology wherein “sovereignty rests with the people.” This is well-expressed in his famous Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, as the “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Essentially, democracy is an ideology seeking to realize freedom and equality for all people. In other words, the ultimate purpose of democracy, which claims majority rule and parliamentary government, is the realization of freedom and equality for people. Freedom and equality are like two sides of a coin: there is no equality without freedom, nor is there freedom without equality.

Then, what is meant by the “people”? In the days of bourgeois revolutions, the people were the ruled class under an absolute monarchy. Today, however, “people” generally refers to the masses, transcending social classes. The ruling class is often dictatorial; therefore, it can be said that people means “the majority of the people,” those apart from the ruling class, and the wealthy, privileged class as well.

Over two hundred years have passed since democracy was established. Have freedom and equality of the people been realized? It certainly seems that they have not been. Due to its structural contradiction, capitalism, which was established based on liberal democracy, has brought about economic inequality and the restriction of economic freedom, along with an uneven distribution of wealth. We have also witnessed in history many cases in which economic inequality and the restriction of economic freedom were directly connected to political inequality and the restriction of political freedom.

Especially the freedom and human rights of the majority of the people — the lower class — are often apt to be trampled upon under the name of democracy. Therefore, the sovereignty of the people exists only in name. Actually, freedom and human rights are utilized for the special interests of politicians, who spend enormous amounts of money to get elected. Today, an election campaign is hardly more than a political contest for concessions. Thus, democracy has failed to become a genuine “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”; rather, it has become almost like a “government of the party members, by the party members, for the party members.” Due to this deficiency of liberal democracy, Communists accused it saying, “it is no more than a bourgeois democracy for the ruling and wealthy classes, rather than for the people.” Since World War II, they maintained that Communism for laborers and farmers is the true people’s democracy.

What is the reason why democracy, which aimed at the realization of true liberty, equality and fraternity, has failed to realize its purpose for more than two hundred years? The main reason is that democracy, which was established by overthrowing absolute monarchy through bourgeois revolution, was closely united with individualism; it has claimed the rights, freedom, and equality of an individual person. Individualism is to be respected in that it emphasizes the importance of individuality, personality, and individual values. Due to the policy of the separation of church and state, however, Christianity, as a guiding principle for the human spirit, became unable to function, and as a result individualism degenerated into egoism. Thus, democracy came to be established on the basis of egoistic individualism.

Since egoistic individualism rules the minds of economists and politicians, capitalists perpetually pursue the maximization of profit, and politicians regard political power as their concessions. Today, politicians invest enormous amounts of money for elections with the spirit of investing to acquire concessions, in the name of fair elections. So, due to entrepreneurs’ persistent pursuit of profit, and politicians’ insatiable desire for power, corruption, and various kinds of injustices and crimes are rampant in democratic society today.

This means that democracy had, from its very beginning, inherent limitations on the realization of its slogan of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Democracy, in which religion and politics are separated, has the inevitable tendency for individualism to degenerate into egoism. However, it is not that liberal democracy has failed in every respect. Clearly, it has played an important role in securing freedom of faith. In fact, in liberal democratic countries, the flowers of religion and faith are in full bloom, in the same way that many flowers bloom in the spring time.

Here, let me explain about the significance of the emergence of democracy, as seen from the viewpoint of God’s providence. It is in accordance with God’s providence that democracy has secured freedom of faith, since democracy is a political system that emerged prior to the Messianic Kingdom. It should be noted that democracy was established by the bourgeois revolution, which overthrew the existing absolute monarchy. If the political system of those days had not been an absolute monarchy, but had been the Messianic Kingdom, realizing God’s true love, the bourgeois revolution would not have occurred, and humankind would have lived happily, enjoying true liberty, equality and fraternity. The above-mentioned presupposition that “if it had not been an absolute monarchy but had been the Messianic Kingdom” is not a mere assumption. Seen from the viewpoint of God’s providence, the Messianic Kingdom was already supposed to have been established by that time. Let me explain this point more concretely.

Charlemagne (Charles the Great) developed the Frankish Kingdom and revived the Western Roman Empire from the end of the eighth century through the early ninth century. Seen from God’s providence, Charlemagne, in the New Testament Age, is the figure who corresponds to King Saul of the Jewish United Kingdom, in the Old Testament Age. The prophet Samuel anointed Saul with oil as the first king of Israel about 800 years after Abraham. Similarly, Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III as the emperor of the Western Roman Empire about 800 years after Jesus. According to the Divine Principle, the Frankish Kingdom, from Charlemagne’s enthronement until the end of the Carolingian reign, is called the Christian Empire, which corresponds to the Jewish Kingdom in the Old Testament Age.

It was God’s providential will that the First Coming of Christ come to the Jewish Kingdom in the Old Testament Age to unify the world and establish the Kingdom of the Messiah, centered on God’s true love. In the New Testament Age, it was God’s providence that Christ at the Second Advent come to the Christian Empire to establish the Kingdom of the Messiah, centered on God’s true love.

In the Jewish United Kingdom of the Old Testament Age, the kings failed, throughout the three generations, to establish providential conditions in accord with God’s will; therefore, God divided that kingdom into two: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Eventually, God allowed the northern kingdom to be occupied by Assyria, a Satanic kingdom, and the southern kingdom to be occupied by New Babylonia. The Jewish kings were made prisoners. Thus, God’s providence for establishing the Messianic Kingdom through the Jewish Kingdom ended in failure.

Likewise, since the kings of the Christian Empire, in the New Testament Age, failed to establish providential conditions in accord with God’s will, the Christian Empire was divided into Eastern and Western Kingdoms, and finally came to endure the hardships of the Crusades, and the Popes’ captivity in Avignon. Also, due to the failure of the kings of the Christian Empire, Satanic absolute monarchies appeared.

Thus, God’s providence to establish the Kingdom of the Messiah on earth by receiving the Messiah at the time of the Christian Empire failed in the same way as it had in the Old Testament Age. However, God’s providence to establish the Kingdom of the Messiah continued in force, and a new providence to receive the Messiah was initiated. That was the providence to receive the Messiah through the will of the people-from the bottom. This kind of providence appeared in both the Old Testament Age and the New Testament Age. In order to receive the Messiah through the will of the people, Satanic kingdoms and monarchies which obstructed God’s providence had to be overthrown, and a social environment created, in which the people’s will could freely be manifested. Thus, God universalized democracy, wherein each person would be respected.

In the Old Testament Age, God established Persia, a gentile nation on Abel’s side, and let it overthrow New Babylonia, which had captured the Israelites, and thus enabled the Israelites to return home. Then God, sending the prophet Malachi, started the providence of the preparation to receive the Messiah. At the same time, He left the throne of the king of Israel vacant and put the Israelites under the Hellenistic cultural sphere from the end of the fourth century BC. Since the Hellenistic culture was based on democracy, which respects individualities, the Israelites were able to express their own opinions freely under this culture. Thus, it became possible to receive the Messiah through the will of the people. According to the Divine Principle, this type of society is called a “society in the form of democracy” (DP , 332).

God conducted a similar providence in the New Testament Age: He arranged for the Satanic forces, which were obstructing God’s providence, to disintegrate and decline. At the beginning of the sixteenth century God inspired Martin Luther to initiate the Protestant Reformation in order to awaken Christianity, which had been secularized by Satan. Then, from the end of the sixteenth century through the end of the eighteenth century, He allowed the Enlightenment to spread throughout Europe. This was a movement against the authority, privileges, social restrictions, and inequalities of the old regime, while yet maintaining respect for human reason. On the basis of the Enlightenment, God allowed the French Revolution, the slogan of which was “liberty, equality and fraternity,” to occur, and He arranged for the Satanic absolute monarchies to decline. Thus, in this way modern democracy was established. Yet, as mentioned above, democracy is a political ideology established in order to receive the Second Advent of the Messiah through the will of the people; it is not an ideology able to actualize true liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Historically, religions had certain shortcomings, including a disregard for the individuality, freedom, and rights of human beings. Therefore, democratic governments felt it necessary to implement the policy of the separation of religion and politics. As a result, the absolute standard of value which the human spirit should follow came to be lost, and as a matter of course, democracy degenerated into egoistic democracy. Thus, in democratic society, the great confusion which we see today came about.

Actual problems of all kinds can be solved fundamentally only with God’s truth and true love. Therefore, it will be possible to solve all problems fundamentally only when the Kingdom of the Second Advent of the Messiah, who will come with truth and true love, is established. I have so far pointed out the limitations of liberal democracy when seen from the viewpoint of God’s providence. I have also noted the fact that democracy, to its great merit, has fulfilled its responsibility in guaranteeing freedom of faith, so that people can freely receive the Second Advent of the Messiah, according to their will.

The principle of mutual prosperity is, in short, a theory concerning joint government. Joint government refers to a government achieved through “the joint participation of all people.” The joint participation of all people is an ideal which represents the ideology of democracy in the true sense. The joint participation of all people is, in fact, a people’s participation through their election of their representatives. Then, if participation in politics through elected representatives is joint politics according to the principle of mutual prosperity, one may ask the following question: “How is this different from present democracy?” There is one basic difference between them, which we must now consider.

A joint government under the principle of mutual prosperity would have the following characteristics. First, the relationship among the candidates would not be that of rivalry, but that of brothers and sisters attending the Messiah, the representative of God, as the true parents of humankind. Second, the candidates would run for election not by their own will, but rather with the recommendation of many neighbors (brothers and sisters), namely, by the will of others, since those who are in the relationship of brothers and sisters centered on true love will make mutual recommendations. Third, an election would not take place in a way that would require an enormous expenditure of money, with all the accompanying side effects. After a preliminary election in the first stage, an election by lottery would be made in the second stage, accompanied by solemn prayer and appropriate formality. With the assurance and confidence that the outcome was in accord with God’s will, those elected, those not elected, and, in fact, all the people, would be thankful to God, and could accept the result happily and sincerely.

In this way, a joint government under the principle of mutual prosperity is a government conducted through the joint participation of the people, based on God’s true love. It would be the government of the Kingdom of the Messiah, in which the entire world can be unified. Also, since all people would attend the Messiah, the representative of God, as the True Parents of humankind, and participate in the joint government as brothers and sisters who have inherited the love of True Parents, a joint government will be a “government of the brothers and sisters, by the brothers and sisters, and for the brothers and sisters, centered on the True Parents of humankind,” rather than “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” To be specific, a government under the principle of mutual prosperity is not a democracy, but rather a government of brothers and sisters centered on Heavenly Father.

True liberty, equality, respect for human rights, fraternity, and so on, all of which are the aims of democracy, but unrealized even today, can be realized completely through a government of brothers and sisters centered on Heavenly Father. In this sense, joint government under the principle of mutual prosperity can be expressed as a fraternal democracy. It should be noted that the sense of brotherhood described here has a different meaning from the common sense meaning: we are not referring to a brotherhood confined within a national boundary, thus creating regional brothers and sisters, as we see today. The brotherhood I am talking about is a universal brotherhood, in the true sense, wherein the entire world is united into one nation of brothers and sisters, and all humankind, as children, attend the True Parents, the center of humankind.

The reason why the idea of universal brotherhood has not been realized even today is that, first, the unification of the world has not yet been accomplished, and second, the True Parents of humankind had not appeared. The same thing can be said of democracy. The reason why democracy has not yet been fully realized is that-other than the reasons mentioned above-democracy, which is originally a supra-ethnic and supranational idea, is, in reality, restricted by ethnic and national characteristics.

A similar thing can be said concerning the Kingdom of the Messiah. The Kingdom of the Messiah is not a regional kingdom, but rather it is a supra-ethnic and supranational kingdom. The advent of the Messiah takes place in one elected nation, which is a regional nation, whereas the establishment of the Kingdom of the Messiah is possible only after the world is unified. It needs to be said, however, that the principle of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness can be realized to some extent, even before the actual unification of the world, if the leaders of the world are willing to make an effort, attending God as the True Parents. By their doing so, a temporary solution of various kinds of confusion we experience today would be possible. Thus, I would say that the actual society functioning fully under the principle of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness, will be established only after the present time of capitalism.

Finally, let me explain about the relationship between such a joint government functioning under the principle of mutual prosperity, and the separation of three powers. Democracy is a constitutional government, whose essence is the separation of the three branches of government: the legislative, the judicial, and the executive. Following this tradition, a joint government under the principle of mutual prosperity is a government by the representatives wherein the separation of the three powers is practiced.

However, the separation of three powers under the principle of mutual prosperity is not exactly the same concept as that proposed by Montesquieu, who sought to avoid any abuse of power. Under the principle of mutual prosperity, a separation of the three powers is proposed, but more in the sense of a division of the work of the three branches, legislation, judicial, and administrative, all working in harmony. The concept of power in the principle of mutual prosperity is also different from the traditional understanding. The traditional concept of power refers to physical force with which to subjugate people; but in the principle of mutual prosperity, power refers to an authority with true love, which inspires the object (people) to gratefully and willingly obey the will of the subject (sovereign).

While exercising their own physiological functions in harmony with each other, the various organs in a human body cooperate for the common purpose of supporting the life of the human body. Similarly, based on the common ideal of the country, the three branches will form an organic and harmonious system of cooperation, as they carry out the three functions of legislation, judicature and administration for the existence of the country.

According to the Divine Principle, the legislative, judiciary, and executive branches, which are all in a cooperative relationship with one another, are compared respectively to the lungs, heart, and stomach of the human body. The peripheral nerves connected to various organs in the human body cooperate with one another, harmoniously fulfilling the physiological functions of the human body, according to the commands of the brain. Similarly, in the ideal society, the will of God, who is the true subject of love, will be conveyed to the legislative, judicial, and executive branches through the organs of communication, and these three branches will cooperate harmoniously.

It should be clarified here that in God’s creation the ideal image of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth was conceived in God’s mind by taking the human body as a model. Therefore, the structure of the state in the ideal world resembles the structure of the human body. I explained above that the legislative, judicial, and executive branches are compared respectively to the lungs, heart and stomach; as a matter of fact, these three branches were established by imitating the lungs, heart, and stomach.

Due to the human fall, nations lost their original character, and became non-principled nations. Yet, the framework of a nation still resembles the structure of the human body. Thus, in the same way that the structure and function of the organs (lungs, heart, and stomach) of the human body are unchangeable, the structure and the function of the three branches of legislation, judicature and administration are unchangeable in the principled world. What should be added here is that the realities of the three branches in the ideal world are not identical to today’s non-principled ones. In fact, principled power and non-principled power are very different in that the former is based on an emotional force of true love, whereas the latter is based on a compulsory force of physical power.

C. Principle of Mutual Righteousness

The principle of mutual righteousness refers to joint ethics. This is the perspective needed for the realization of an ethical society, namely, a society of joint ethics, in which everyone observes and practices morality and ethics, both publicly and privately. Today, regardless of there being a capitalist or Communist society (including the ex-Communist societies), morality and ethics, which people should observe, have all but collapsed. As a result, various injustices and social crimes are rampant, and the world is now sunk in great confusion. Many people deplore this collapse of values, but no one seems to be able to offer any effective measures for revitalizing those values.

The principle of mutual righteousness is an ideology capable of terminating this collapse of values, and of establishing a healthy society on earth, wherein everybody freely observes morality and ethics everywhere and at all times. The ideal society, which is to come after both the capitalist and communist societies, will be the society of mutual existence and mutual prosperity as explained above and, at the same time, it will be the society of joint ethics, where all people, regardless of their positions, will live with the same ethical attitudes. The principle of mutual righteousness is the very core of the future society of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness. More concretely, and this will be explained shortly, the society of mutual righteousness will be the society in which the three great subjects thought is fully practiced.

In the future ideal society, religion will not be necessary, since the purpose of religion will have been completely realized. The purpose of Christian teaching is to empower an individual to firmly maintain faith until he or she receives the Second Advent of the Messiah. The purpose of Confucianism is to empower people to practice virtue until the ideal world of universal brotherhood arrives. The purpose of Buddhism is to empower people to train themselves and observe the law (Dharma) until the ideal world — the Realm of the Lotus-store (the World illuminated by the Buddha of Perfect Enlightenment) as taught in the Hua-yen (Kegon) School — arrives. Islam seeks a theocracy centering on the sovereignty of Allah. Therefore, the purpose of Christianity will be achieved when the ideal world of creation is realized by receiving the Second Advent of the Messiah; the purpose of Confucianism will be accomplished when the world of universal brotherhood is realized; the purpose of Buddhism will be accomplished when the Realm of the Lotus-store is realized; and the purpose of Islam will be realized when the theocracy centering on the sovereignty of Allah is realized.

The world in which the purpose of all religions has been accomplished is the society of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness, namely, the society centered on the Second Advent of the Messiah. The teachings of the Second Advent of the Messiah embrace the core teachings of Christianity, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Islam. Therefore, there is no further need for any religion to persist. The society of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness is not merely an instructive, ideal society, as traditional religions have taught, but rather the society in which people will lead a life of true love; a heavenly life in the midst of reality together with the Messiah. In that society, all people will live with the same values; therefore, religious doctrines centered on faith will be transformed into, and consummated as, living ethics centered on practice. This aspect of the future society is called the society of joint ethics, namely, the society of mutual righteousness

Then, what will be the characteristics of the society of joint ethics- First, social life will be reinforced by the true love of the three great subjects based on the three great subjects thought. Primarily, the three great subjects-namely, parents, who are the center of the family, teachers, who are the center of the school, and managers or leaders (company presidents, leaders of organizations, heads of state), who are the center of dominion-give God’s true love continuously and limitlessly to their object partners, namely, children, students, employees or the people of their country, all based on the three great subjects thought. Subsequently, mutual love among object partners will be induced, and the entire society, a highly ethical society, will resemble, metaphorically speaking, a garden of love.

Various inequalities will disappear with the practice of true love. Poverty will disappear through the true love of those who have more. Those who are thirsty for knowledge will be satisfied through the true love of those who have knowledge. Those who were alienated in the workplace will be consoled by the true love of the manager. Inspired by God’s true love, we can not but feel like helping those in need. This is what it means to say that the society will resemble a garden of love, and will be an ethical society.

A school filled with the teacher’s true love, and a workplace filled with the manager’s true love will both become ethical systems, which are the extended forms of an ethical family. That is to say, a school filled with the true love of a teacher is how a family filled with the true love of parents is extended in the aspect of education; a workplace filled with the true love of a manager is an extended family in the aspect of management. Thus, the entire society will be filled with God’s love. This is the society of mutual righteousness. Thus, the society of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness will be the social system based on the three great subjects thought.

Second, the basic unit of the society of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness is the family. In other words, the practice of the loves of the three great subjects is first realized in a family. There are four positions in the family, i.e., the positions of grandparents, parents (husband and wife), children (brothers and sisters), and grandchildren. God’s love is given and received between the various members of a family who are in these four positions. Thus, grandparents’ love, parents’ love, husband and wife’s love, brothers and sisters’ love, and children’s love are all fully realized in the family. When these kinds of love are given and received in the family, family law and family order will naturally be established. With the establishment of family law and family order (norm), a peaceful family, filled with compassion and harmony, will be realized. Such a family is indeed an ideal family.

The economical, political and ethical society based on the ideal family is the society of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness. In this way, the long-cherished desire of humankind and the ideal of many thinkers and religious believers will finally be realized, and the world of the ideal of creation which has been fervently desired by God for over six thousand biblical years will be realized.

Conclusion

I have explained the basic concepts of the principle of mutual existence, the principle of mutual prosperity and the principle of mutual righteousness. My explanations have hopefully clarified that the principle of mutual existence, the principle of mutual prosperity, and the principle of mutual righteousness are not separate ideas but rather they are integrated as one. When this one, integrated idea is realized, the world of the ideal of creation, which God originally envisioned, will be realized for the first time. Thus, we call this one idea the “principle of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness,” using this single phrase. This concludes my explanation about the principle of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness. Next, I will explain the concept of the three great subjects thought, the ideology of the ideal family, which is the core of the principle of mutual righteousness.