In the first half of the 20th Century, humans from across political and race polarities – leftists and rightists, democrats and communists, blacks and whites, Asians and Westerners – came together and fought two world wars against tyrannical dictators from Fascist and Nazi ideologies. In World War I, we lost 8.5 million soldiers. Ostensibly, the war was expected to end all wars, once and for all. Within just three decades, we fought a much bigger war, World War II, which claimed 40 to 50 million lives and displaced tens of millions. Since then, we have been continually at war, which apparently drives the world economies. According to the United Nations, about two billion people, i.e., nearly 25-percent of the world’s population, lives currently in conflict-affected war zones.
If wars were not sufficient to keep unleashing untold suffering on billions of hapless people the world over, our democracies, which were our last hope against tyranny, are undeniably turning into authoritarian regimes, as wolves in sheep’s clothing, under our full view. Astonishingly, however, we are not able to do much to stop the wheel of suffering from kneading us back into earth.
Our educational institutions are run as corporate companies and designed for profiting. Ethics and morality in law and politics are waning fast. As per a ruthless design, it seems humans are being turned into robotic consumers of every kind of nonsense being thrown their way by the capitalists through relentless advertisements on the televisions, tabloids and social media. Most of us can’t explain our behaviours.
The world seems to be ruled by a few shameless individuals, some remain faceless. Economy, and not empathy, is propagated as the mantra to run this world. An ongoing tussle between liberalism and authoritarianism reflects an unbridgeable divide between the wealthy and the poor. It is a case of human equality versus capitalism. Will it ever end?
This essay aims to remind us about past journey of civilisation and our current state of existence. Is our progress turning around along a circular trajectory? Are we regressing to a distant, violent past?
Our foundations
More than two millennia ago, in Athens, the great trio of Greek philosophers – Socrates, Plato and Aristotle – revolutionised our world with their thought and endeavours, laying the foundations of our modern-day democracy and the education system. They influenced the Western philosophy and the Classical antiquity.
Classical antiquity spanned across the Greek author Homer’s 8th century BCE period and the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th century CE, encompassing Greco-Roman culture that played a major role in the Mediterranean sphere of influence and in the creation of Western civilization. It shaped our law, architecture, art, language, poetry, rhetoric, politics, and philosophy.
Socrates (470 – 399 BCE), who neither considered himself as wise nor wrote anything, is considered a paragon of wisdom to this day. Socratic discussions help the students to think for themselves. At the centre of his discussions, while walking, he would repeatedly inquire about the meaning of good life and how to live well?
Plato (c.428 – c.348 BCE), Socrates’ most illustrious student and the founder of the Academy, is one of the major figures of Classical antiquity. He discussed aesthetics, political philosophy, theology, cosmology, epistemology, and the philosophy of language. His Academy fostered research in philosophy, as well as in mathematics and science. His best-known written work, Republic, which he wrote around 375 BC, is a Socratic dialogue, tells us what we know today about Socrates’ teachings. Republic concerns justice, the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man. In the dialogue with Athenians and foreigners, Socrates discusses the meaning of justice and whether the just man is happier than the unjust man. It is one of the world’s most influential works of philosophy and political theory.
Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE), an outstanding student of Plato and the founder of formal logic, conceived and wrote about ethics, political theory, metaphysics, and philosophy of science, which continue to be studied. He pioneered the study of zoology and his amazing range included biology, botany, chemistry, ethics, history, logic, metaphysics, rhetoric, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, physics, poetics, political theory, and psychology.
The post Aristotelian philosophers introduced us to schools of cynicism and stoicism, which inspired us to think critically and make endeavours to attain holistic human wellness and equity in power.
Cynicism, a belief that we are only interested in ourselves and not sincere, rejected conformity and social recognition. Cynics derisively flouted in public the conventional desires for worldly possessions, such as power, wealth and glory. Amongst the pioneer Cynics are Antisthenes (c.445 BCE – 365 BCE), Diogenes of Sinope (c.412 BCE- 323 BC) and Onesicritus (360 – c. 290 BCE).
Diogenes is considered as the founder of cynicism. He could have been inspired by Antisthenes. The word cynic, which means ‘dog-like’, was used to describe him because he behaved and lived like a dog in a large barrel on the street, ate raw food, and begged passers-by, urinated and defecated in the streets in full view of everybody. He was a brilliant philosopher but, unconventionally, used blunt language to express his sharp observations to everyone in the same way. After his bluntness and brilliance became known throughout Greece, Alexander the Great came to meet him one day. As per historians, they talked briefly after Alexander approached him at a time when he was stretched out in his barrel, enjoying the morning sun, and asked if he could do anything to help him and Diogenes responded: ‘Move a little to the right; you are blocking my sun.’ Impressed, Alexander remarked that if he were not himself, he would have liked to be Diogenes. Such defiance was unheard of at that that!
Stoicism is a school of philosophy, founded in 300 BCE by Zeno of Citium (c. 334 BCE- c.262 BCE), that asks for fortitude and self-control to lead a virtuous life, happiness, and harmony with nature. Stoics believe we have the freedom to use free will to create harmony by ridding ourselves of envy, jealousy, and anger. Stoicism believes in the equality of all humans and, in order to be ethical and virtuous, we must not attempt to control that which is not within our power. After Zeno, amongst the oldest Stoics were Seneca the Younger (4 BCE – 65 CE), Epictetus (50 CE – c.135 CE) and Marcus Aurelius (121 CE – 180 CE).
An inquiry for living a noble and virtuous life, and human defiance against pomp and power, was thus founded by the ancient philosophers, marking a significant shift in the human thought. Ostensibly, as a direct effect of the philosophical revolution, about four centuries later, Julius Caesar (100 BCE – 44 BCE), a Roman general, was assassinated by Roman senators in 44 BCE. Upon his return to Rome post his military conquests, Caesar enlarged the senate, sponsored the construction of the Forum Iulium, and rebuilt two city-states, Carthage and Corinth. His growing power and political ambitions threatened the senators. Within a month of proclaiming himself as dictator for life of the Roman Empire, they assassinated him during a senate meeting at the Theatre of Pompey. It is understood the senators had taken turns in stabbing him 23 times. Around 50 to 60 are understood to have conspired in his assassination, amongst them were Marcus Junius Brutus, his second choice as heir, and Gaius Cassius Longinus, the mastermind behind the assassination.
After Julis Caesar, the world continued to see ruthless monarchs despite a continuous human struggle against subjugation. Our present world was not made in a day, it took lots of human struggle and blood.
On 15 June 1215, a significant event occurred in human history when the Magna Carta (also known as the ‘Great Charter of Freedoms’) was signed to limit the tyrannical English King John’s power, which subsequently laid the foundation of law and the constitution of every English-speaking country. It was one of the first documents to state that citizens had rights and the king must follow the law and could not simply rule as he wished.
About 572 years after the Magna Carta, the French Revolution (1787 – 1799), also called the ‘Revolution of 1789’, subsequently marked a watershed event in world history. It completely changed the traditional relationship between the rulers and people. About a century after the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution of 1917 (also called the Bolshevik Revolution) also challenged the monarchy and established a new system in Russia that came to be known as communism.
In the 20th Century, however, both democracy and communism fought against dictatorship during the two world wars. No sane person wants functional monarchy or dictatorship anymore in this world, humans have travelled a long way from dark, horrible days of subservience and slavery.
Our mental metamorphosis over time
As our historical footprint grew since the days of Socrates, driven by our mass migrations across the globe – in search of food and water, for our survival, as well as our insatiable love for greener pastures, and armed invasions for material pursuits – our lives became relatively unpredictable. Gradually, with most of us losing the luxury to sit and contemplate, we spent most of our time in undertaking mundane chores – procuring food, shelter, and clothing. Like other life forms, with our lives constantly on the roll, we focused less and less on our long-term or a holistic living and, instead, became instinctively reactive to immediate threats, using less and less of our innate ability to introspect and question our individual behaviours for survival, howsoever, bizarre it might have seemed.
In the normal course of our lives, with time, as our everyday predicaments grew, the importance of contemplation – to sit back, composed and think about the purpose of life and the essence of humanness – dwindled steadily. Highlighting the importance of human values, morality, etiquette, and ethics gradually became an exclusive pastime of only a few amongst us, whom we started referring to as philosophers.
Three centuries ago, following the Industrial Revolution, our daily lives become relatively much easier, thanks to applied science and technology. However, before we could even realise, we started living mechanically just like the machines that worked for us. With time, due to our intrinsic tendency to follow the path of least resistance, and overreliance on our mechanical slaves, we got enslaved slowly by the same very machines that were supposed to serve us in the first place. How bizarre is that many of us, especially the tertiary educated individuals, still believe, albeit optimistically, that we are in control of our lives and masters of the machines, without realising it is very human to misuse and abuse every facility that we have had access to. Can we accept living now without a mobile phone or a computer or a motor car?
The recent emergence of AI, which seems to be the final nail in the coffin of our current existence, is exploiting our vulnerability and intrinsic gullibility and undoubtedly turning us into zombie consumers. We don’t even question why we do what we do, we just comply like monkeys, as desired and directed by those who rule us from our parliaments and their crony capitalists.
Absence of morality and personal responsibility is a major factor why the world, especially the educated youth, does not trust politicians anymore, and why most politicians don’t rise to become selfless leaders or dedicate themselves for the wellness of the broader humanity, but instead remain dwarfed in the stench of petty power politics.
Like yin and yang, or day and night, perhaps, in each cycle of our existence, will the human evolution be potentially alternated with human devolution?
Democracy versus Communism
Post World War II, we thought the human polarisation, along the lines of western democracy and Soviet communism, was enough to keep the world interested and the war economies going, despite the two coming together to rid the world of Nazi and Fascist dictatorships and end the war. Not surprisingly though, the rift between the two has continued till this day, obviously to gain an upper hand in the world politics and continue feeding the war economies. Both communistic and democratic regimes prefer to distribute the power amongst several individuals instead of one, not evenly though. Even though the ideological differences between the two have blurred over time, mainly due to a steady but silent transformation in democracy itself, from a more ‘liberal’ origin to a more ‘authoritarian’ version, the political polarisation broadly remains intact to this day.
Both democracy and communism thrive on capitalism and sale of weapons to warring factions and countries, primarily for economic reasons, and, where necessary, engage directly in the warfare to use their old weapons, and showcase their new weapons and technologies. On the surface, it may appear periodic elections separate the two; however, deep down, it is only the extent of freeness and fairness with which the elections are held that become the real separators. Rigged and botched elections don’t define a democracy. A compromised democracy can turn out to be worse than a dictatorship.
Brittanica (https://www.britannica.com) defines Capitalism, Socialism and Communism as follows:
- Capitalism is built on the concepts of private property, profit motive, and market competition. In Capitalism, ‘there is private ownership of the means of production … a market-oriented economy, in which the production and pricing of goods, as well as the income of individuals, are dictated to a greater extent by market forces resulting from interactions between private businesses and individuals …’
- Socialism calls for ‘public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources.’
- Communism ‘aims to replace private property and a profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control.’
Although communism has not changed much from its more original authoritarian shape, despite its capitalistic transfusion, democracy has transformed significantly over the years, such as (a) a more socialistic in the less populated European and Scandinavian countries; (b) capitalistic in the US; and (c) authoritarian in India.
The Indian democracy presents a severe challenge to liberal democracies. Because of its sheer size, it wields a profound influence on ‘liberal’ democracies that bend over backwards to appease India solely for meeting their short and medium-term economic, strategic and military interests.
Rightist versus Leftists
If the divide between democracy and communism was not sufficient, using the time-proven mantra, divide and rule, the architects and beneficiaries of modern democracy polarised it further into leftists and rightists, which are seen at each other’s throat across the globe, with rightists unilaterally assuming superiority over the leftists, even branding them as anti-nationals. Wouldn’t the communists be laughing at both of them?
Creating a credible opposition and, thus, the political polarisation becomes important to keep the wheels of the world turning. Absence of opposition can potentially lead to loss of focus and anarchy. A purposeless existence can eventually cause insanity.
The terms leftists and rights are casually used by people who may have no idea about what they mean. For them, it will be useful to know that the terms originated during the French Revolution, about 235 years ago, in 1789, when an angry mob stormed the Bastille. The National Assembly, while writing a new constitution, debated on how much power the king should have. Those who supported the king to have supreme power and an absolute veto, sat on the right of the president of the assembly, and those who debated that he should not, sat on his left. Thereafter, the seating pattern repeated itself in subsequent legislatures and parliaments across the world. (TIME, 2019)
In general, leftists, as woke, are seen to be more supportive of policies that promote human equality, inclusivity, secularism, social justice, and minority rights, whereas rightists care for work efficiency and religion, and promote traditional / conservative views on social and cultural matters, national identity, family structures, and, in some cases, stringent immigration and demographic policies.
Authoritarianism in democracy
In the last 124 years, the world population has more than quadrupled. To keep the flock disciplined, some authoritarianism, but certainly not dictatorship, must be expected to manage the growth of our material needs, which is alarmingly exacerbated by our material greed, crony capitalism and interest-based globalisation.
To stall our inevitable fall, as the world drifts towards authoritarianism – for whatever reasons, just or unjust, or driven simply by our population growth, Climate Change or Capitalism – political and business leaders must be chosen based on their Emotional and Intelligence Quotients (EQ and IQ).
References
Time (September 12, 2019), What to Know About the Origins of ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ in Politics, From the French Revolution to the 2020 Presidential Race, The Surprising Origins of ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ in Politics | TIME, accessed on 19 June 2024.
Copyright © Bill K Koul
Bill K Koul, 29 June 2024 (Perth, Western Australia)
It is a lively read, interesting, and informative. It is a brilliantly written overview of the changing philosophical stance on human relationships with rulers and rulers from the days of Socrates to the present day.
It is a lively read, interesting, and informative. It is a brilliantly written overview of the changing philosophical stance on human relationships, particularly on the changing relation between rules and rulers, from the days of Socrates to the present day.
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