How to reform [fill-in the Western social system] are all a waste of time, a distraction, and make matters worse -- by implying that the economy/ science/ the legal system/ health care/ education or whatever actually Can be reformed.
But they cannot be reformed.
They cannot be reformed because there are No people of sufficient power, wealth and influence that want to reform them; nor is there a sufficient constituency of 'the masses' who are motivated actively to desire genuine reform (i.e. at the cost of that immediate physical suffering which is the inevitable price of genuine reform in a corrupted system).
Ultimately nothing specific can be reformed because The System itself is corrupt - all its leadership class and controlling institutions are either activists for evil or evil-compliant.
Purposive evil is written-into the minds and rules by which our civilization operates.
And the leaders cannot cease from their evil because they are atheist materialists; whose world view (metaphysical assumptions) exclude even the possibility of purpose, meaning, the divine and real values (truth, beauty, virtue - and coherence).
Nothing significantly positive and good can be done at the Systemic level in our civilization until after we have changed our beliefs concerning the basic nature of reality - because our beliefs concerning the basic nature of reality exclude all that is positive and good.
Nothing can be reformed in this world, until we have a perspective that stands-outside this world, and therefore includes this world.
Only then can we know and strive for coherence of goodness; only then will change be good.
Until such a time; all efforts to Do Good in this-world will be subverted, corrupted, and inverted to evil purposes.
Until such a time; we can and must work on our-selves, at the personal level, and by spiritual means.
Note: Therefore, if we wait for a lead coming from an external initiative from some powerful person or institution, if we wait to follow-a-leader or join-a-group, or we insist on creating-a-group before acting -- then we will wait until the day of our doom without knowing, thinking or acting.
"Nothing significantly positive and good can be done at the Systemic level in our civilization until after we have changed our beliefs concerning the basic nature of reality - because our beliefs concerning the basic nature of reality exclude all that is positive and good."
ReplyDeleteThat hits the nail on the head, as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately, leftists have been uncannily successful at hijacking this line of thinking and weaving it into their various mantras like "become the change you want to see", "to change the world you must first change yourself", and so forth.
Of course, very few leftist reforms have succeeded in reforming or making anything better. The few reforms that have been successful have also been inevitably short-lived because they deny or oppose the basic nature of reality, that is Divine Creation and man's role as co-creator within it.
Your point about changing our beliefs concerning the basic nature reality is vital. No truly positive change will happen in the world until we choose to "grow into" God's divine plan for humanity.
@Frank "Of course, very few leftist reforms have succeeded in reforming or making anything better. "
ReplyDeleteVital to realize. The successes of leftism, so called, are (in the medium to long-term) examples of successful destruction of the good.
And in this entropic world, destruction is easy - all we need to do is cease to sustain the good, cease to support creation.
Those who oppose leftism are encouraged (by the secular-right 'Boromirosphere' - https://charltonteaching.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-boromir-strategy-as-advocated-by.html ) to learn from the methods of the left - but these methods can only lead to destruction.
Apropos your point about the secular-right 'Boromirosphere', I think it is relevant to note that most of our co-religionists have fallen into the same trap with their incessant focus on reforming society to reinstall some throne and altar model. If the past three centuries have proven anything, it is this -- any motivation that focuses primarily or exclusively on the "need" to reform society via external reorganization and re-ordering is in and of itself a purely leftist motivation because it places the includes only the world without standing outside it.
ReplyDeleteI believe this is evidenced in the arguments that insist that the masses are too stupid and have always been too stupid to understand truth and hence must be controlled by external means. Hence, most throne and altar approaches to societal reform barely rise above purely leftist/liberal approaches. Both squarely reside in the realm of the Grand Inquisitor.
The trad throne and altar model was certainly far more aligned with God than our current leftist/liberal model, but the consciousness that allowed throne and altar to be in alignment with God is no longer in alignment with God. The mode of consciousness still exists, in spades, but it has become leftist and opposed to God -- even when it is motivated by Christianity.
To me, this indicates that what needs to be overcome is the heteronomy model of strict, rigid externally-imposed demands, values, and norms that subvert self-determination, agency, and freedom before anything. Replacing leftist heteronomy with Christian heteronomy will accomplish very little spiritually. The basic "reality" and metaphysical assumptions supporting Christian heteronomy are insufficient.
The throne and altar model severely lacks this "working on ourselves at the personal level by spiritual means" aspect, primarily because it rejects the development of consciousness and embraces the relative cosmic insignificance of God's eternally sinful and fallen creature, man. Instead of working on ourselves, it seeks to recreate a world in which society "works on us." It is also not overly concerned about sacrificing freedom and agency for the benefit of the "greater good."
We need reform, but the re-forming we need must happen within Christians, not society, and it must happen consciously, spiritually.
@Frank - I'm afraid you are dead right.
ReplyDeleteThe snare is that it is easy to recognize better ways of doing things that our present self-loathing and suicidal civilization; 'simple' ways to 'improve' matters.
But - in practice - unless motivated as you say; the actuality will loop back into The System; because they invariably (try to) use The System to improve The System - but very quickly just reinforce The System which continues to consume itself, by its own internal logic of evil.
The temptations are getting even worse, now that the system is under threat from the ascendancy of Sorathic spite among the ruling Establishment; so 'Christians' will (if they don't understand things) be ensnared into defending The System against the evil destroyers.
You can see this among patriotic American conservative Christians, who apparently desire to make America Great by increasing its efficiency, effectiveness, and power over nature and The World. By making democracy more democratic. By supporting Markets. By wanting better leaders etc.