Monday, June 16, 2003
Great thoughts from LT-smash at www.LT-Smash.us.
Four IconsThere’s not much to do here in the desert, but we all have our own ways of keeping ourselves entertained. Some guys play video games on their computers, and some read books. Many others are avid exercisers, spending hours each week lifting weights in the gym.
I’m I thinker. During those “down times,” such as when I’m riding in a vehicle from here to there, or standing in line at the chow tent, I ponder various topics, such as sports, current events, or politics. For the past several days, I’ve been mentally developing an essay that has been percolating in my brain for a while now. I was outlining it in my head all during my road trip on Friday, and I started writing it down on Saturday afternoon. After getting some initial feedback from Dean, I polished it up on Sunday. Much to my surprise, it turned out to be quite a bit longer than I had expected. I hope you enjoy it.
Last week I wrote about how the United States views itself in respect to the rest of the world. Today, I am taking a look at the global big picture, as I examine the ideological battlefield of the twenty-first century.
Rather than view the world as a mish-mash of whatever-isms, I look at it from a slightly different perspective. The major ideologies of the modern world can be viewed in terms of four major icons--God, Caesar, Justice, and Liberty—each of which reflects a unique set of values.
God - The belief in a Supreme Being (or beings) continues to shape the lives of billions, and forms the cultural and social framework of most modern societies—even those that recognize religious freedom and diversity. Believers will tell you that faith can provide comfort in times of sorrow, hope in moments of desperation, and strength against temptation. But religion also defines the common values of many societies, and provides a sense of group identity. Religious law often forms the basis for civil law, helping to provide order, structure, and a sense of community values.
Houses of worship the world over serve as central meeting places, where members of large and small communities gather to exchange news and discuss politics. Religious leaders often wield great influence over their congregations, influencing and informing their opinions on the critical questions of the day. Followers are urged or encouraged to contribute money or labor to the faith, thereby increasing and maintaining the power and prestige of their religious leaders.
Since the dawn of civilization, societal leaders have sought to wield even greater power by declaring themselves to be super-believers, high priests, or even minor gods. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt were worshipped as earthly embodiments of various gods, and the Kings and Queens of medieval Europe claimed to rule by “Divine Right.” Conversely, Roman Catholic Popes have led armies in battle, lived in luxurious apartments, kept mistresses, and even had children—behaving very much like earthly kings.
Even in the most secular modern societies, religion continues to play a major role in politics. One of the largest political parties in Germany is the Christian Democrats. The national flags of most Northern European nations are based on the Christian Cross. The British monarch is also the titular head of the Church of England. In America, where freedom of religion is Constitutionally guaranteed, politicians continue to visit churches to make political speeches, and religious leaders sometimes run for public office. Indeed, after the terrorist attacks in September 2001, President George W. Bush addressed a grieving nation with a stirring address from Washington’s National Cathedral.
When piety and religious identity are raised as virtues above all others, however, the effects can be poisonous and divisive. Religious wars were the curse of medieval Europe, when heretics and unbelievers were often tortured or burned at the stake. Christian Crusaders visited terror upon the Arab Muslims in the Levant for centuries. Strife between Anglicans and Catholics in England led to many bloody conflicts, and still haunts Northern Ireland to this day. Muslim imams and mullahs declare jihad against the “Zionists and Crusaders” that occupy lands they consider holy. The fundamentalist Taliban in Afghanistan destroyed centuries-old Buddhist statues, oppressed the local populace, and harbored anti-western terrorists. A theocratic government in Iran continues to arrest and brutalize those who dare to oppose their rule.
All things considered, it’s a mixed bag.
Caesar - Since the first tribe of early humans went to battle with their neighbors to win control over their resources, societies have recognized the value of having a strong, decisive leader to guide and protect them. Tribal chieftains rose up from the warrior class, the strongest and wiliest man in the clan often seizing the mantle of leadership by coercion or murder. These strongmen provided the people of the community with a heightened sense of security, allowing them to concentrate their efforts on other tasks, like construction and agriculture. Leadership was often passed down from father to son—but the son would have to be on guard lest someone else in the tribe prove to be slightly stronger or wilier. Dynasties lasted only as long as the latest king could avoid assassination. Thus, survival of the fittest insured that unfit rulers did not remain in power indefinitely.
Alexander the Great, a Macedonian Greek, conquered Asia Minor, Egypt, and much of the Middle East in an incredible feat of military conquest. He was credited with spreading the influence of Greek Civilization throughout much of the then-known world. But upon his death the empire was divided up amongst his sons, who proved to be less capable rulers. Much of the lands he had conquered were, over time, absorbed into the Roman Empire.
Julius Caesar, the Roman general who conquered Gaul (modern France), became so revered by the Roman people that he returned to the capital and declared himself dictator—only to be assassinated shortly thereafter. His adopted son Octavius became the first Roman Emperor, and expanded the empire even further through military conquest.
Following the example of the Romans, such European leaders as Charlemagne, Napoleon, and Frederick of Prussia ruled through military might and power of personality. In the twentieth century, an Italian tyrant named Mussolini extolled the benefits of absolute dictatorship and the glory of war—his template was the Roman Empire, and his philosophy was called fascism. His disciple and eventual puppet-master, an Austrian named Adolf Hitler, carried the ideology to its frightening conclusion, creating a bloody cult of charisma, fear, and military conquest, before he was defeated by an alliance between a handful of liberal democracies and a communist dictatorship. It is a bitter historical irony that the communist, who called himself Josef Stalin (“Man of Steel”), applied many of the same measures as Hitler to maintain his own bloody reign.
Despite the fall of their respective empires, the philosophies of these strongmen are not dead--they merely live on under other names. Kim Jong Il, the “Dear Leader” of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, obliges his famine-stricken subjects to sing praises to him every morning at sunrise. Fidel Castro recently arrested and imprisoned several dozen Cubans for the unforgivable crime of running private libraries and petitioning for democratic reform. In Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist Iraq, it was difficult to travel very far without encountering a mural, poster, or statue of the brutal dictator.
Most of Saddam’s monuments have now been reduced to rubble. Sic semper tyrannus.
Justice - Most cultures recognize that life isn’t fair. But many people believe that given the right tools, human institutions can help to make the playing field a bit more level. Before such institutions existed, justice was the responsibility of the aggrieved party or a surviving relative, and could be more accurately described as “vengeance.” But such blood debts often resulted in unending feuds between families and other forms of cyclical violence, which interfered with the harmony of a productive society. Therefore, rulers would often “hold court” to referee disputes between their subjects, much in the manner of the Biblical King Solomon. Eventually, advanced agricultural societies grew too large for rulers to mete out justice effectively, so they appointed “judges” to handle such matters in subordinate courts. This provided a means whereby even the most humble citizen could get a hearing with his government.
While Justice is often represented as a blindfolded woman holding scales, she has not always been seen to be totally impartial. Indeed, it has often been observed that those with greater wealth and influence sometimes have the scales tipped in their favor. This disturbing disparity has resulted in much animosity between the haves and the have-nots. Thus, the concepts of “social justice” and “class warfare” were born.
Observing the plight of European coal miners and factory workers who toiled day and night to enrich men who never got dirt under their fingernails, a nineteenth century German philosopher named Karl Marx penned his Communist Manifesto. Marx prophesized that one day the workers would rise up and seize control over the means of production, thereby creating an ideal society where every man and woman benefited directly from the fruits of their own labor. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out the way that Marx expected. Communism invariably devolved into bloody despotism, with tens of millions of peasants slaughtered and only the party elite ever experiencing any real benefits.
But the idea of social justice did not disappear with the fall of communism. Social democracy (also simply called socialism), involving large welfare systems and national control of vital industries, emerged as a dominant form of governance across Europe in the late twentieth century. Social democracies place a premium on the elimination of class distinctions, heavily taxing their wealthier citizens in an effort to mitigate--or even eliminate--poverty and other social ills. Citizens of social democracies enjoy a wide array of government-supplied or supported benefits, including free medical care, shortened work weeks, and subsidized vacations--but providing these services invariably places a significant drag on economic growth, keeping the overall standard of living relatively low.
The quest for greater justice has also lead to the development of a new political philosophy called transnationalism. Also know as transnational progressivism (say that five times fast), this ideology declares nation states obsolete, and calls for international organs of governance to be established in order to rectify the inequalities of the modern world. The European Union is the first example of a transnationalist super-state, where an unelected bureaucracy issues regulations with the force of law over all of its member states.
Transnationalists ultimately seek to create a body of international law that will be superior to the legal systems of all nations. National citizenship will become irrelevant, and immigrants will enjoy legal rights, such as voting, in both their home country and their nation of residence. International bodies such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court will be strengthened, and even given jurisdiction beyond their membership. Historical injustices, such as the issue of reparations for the descendants of slaves or other displaced persons, will be addressed in super-national courts, whose rulings will be binding on all parties.
But don’t worry, your Big Brother will take good care of you.
Liberty - A relatively new concept in political philosophy is the belief that every human is a sovereign being, born with a set of fundamental rights that must be respected. This concept began to seriously emerge during the Age of Enlightenment, when philosophers such as the John Locke promoted radical ideas about Natural Rights, arguing that governments only rightfully existed with the consent of those they governed.
In 1776, a cluster of English colonies on the Eastern Seaboard of North America were suffering under heavy taxes, military occupation, and a distant monarch who was unresponsive to their pleas for relief. That summer, representatives from each of the thirteen colonies gathered in the city of Philadelphia and appointed a committee headed by Thomas Jefferson, a farmer from Virginia, to draft a Declaration of Independence. Echoing the philosophy of Locke, Jefferson penned the following memorable words:
We hold these Truths to be self-evident; that all Men are created Equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
With these words, the United States of America--the world’s first Liberal Democracy--was born. Thirteen years later, the former colonists drafted a Constitution that reflected the values of the new age, creating a government with limited powers designed to be responsive to the people. But the Revolution was incomplete, as several of the newly independent states refused to ratify the Constitution without some guarantee that the rights of their citizens could never be taken away.
Thus, the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were drafted. But the Bill of Rights did not grant specific rights to individuals, as is commonly believed. Instead, it recognized the inherent existence of these rights, and expressly forbade the government from infringing upon them. This was, indeed, a novel concept—that the people were placing restrictions on the government, and not vice versa.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Eventually, the ideals that gave birth to the United States returned to infect the mother country, and power in Britain gradually devolved from the Monarchy to Parliament. As the British Empire spanned the globe, it brought with it the tenets of English Civil Law and the concept of individual rights. Like a benevolent virus, the ideals of liberty infected societies around the world.
In the nineteenth century, a war was fought in America that ended with the abolition of slavery, bringing the promise of liberty to men of all races. In the twentieth century, that promise was extended to women, when they were granted the right to vote.
At the close of the First World War, American President Woodrow Wilson introduced a new doctrine to the wider world: Self-Determination. Wilson argued that no group of people should live under the domination of another, and that every nation had the right to determine their own form of government. At a time when the great European Empires still dominated much of the world, this was considered to be quite a radical idea.
In the late twentieth century the fall of the European empires accelerated, and many people around the world got their first taste of liberty. Unfortunately for most, that experience was short-lived, as the tyrants and theocrats quickly moved in to fill the power vacuum.
There are, of course, other icons; Peace, and Nature, for instance, are powerful ideas in their own right, with millions of dedicated followers. But neither of these movements has by itself achieved enough stature to form the basis for a modern nation state.
None of these four major icons are mutually exclusive—each one exists in every society, even where they are suppressed. Sometimes they can be complementary, but they are just as frequently at odds with one another—as is often the case today.
We live in an age where the conflict between these ideas appears to be approaching a pivotal point. The United States, which views itself as a defender of Liberty, has become the world’s leading military and economic power. Meanwhile, the European Union is beginning to promote an image of itself as a champion of Justice—one that is often at odds with the American Colussus. At the same time, a global conflict between Islamic extremists and the West is broiling, and third world Caesars are attempting to obtain weapons of mass destruction.
Interesting times, indeed.
Posted by LT Smash at 1414Z
Four IconsThere’s not much to do here in the desert, but we all have our own ways of keeping ourselves entertained. Some guys play video games on their computers, and some read books. Many others are avid exercisers, spending hours each week lifting weights in the gym.
I’m I thinker. During those “down times,” such as when I’m riding in a vehicle from here to there, or standing in line at the chow tent, I ponder various topics, such as sports, current events, or politics. For the past several days, I’ve been mentally developing an essay that has been percolating in my brain for a while now. I was outlining it in my head all during my road trip on Friday, and I started writing it down on Saturday afternoon. After getting some initial feedback from Dean, I polished it up on Sunday. Much to my surprise, it turned out to be quite a bit longer than I had expected. I hope you enjoy it.
Last week I wrote about how the United States views itself in respect to the rest of the world. Today, I am taking a look at the global big picture, as I examine the ideological battlefield of the twenty-first century.
Rather than view the world as a mish-mash of whatever-isms, I look at it from a slightly different perspective. The major ideologies of the modern world can be viewed in terms of four major icons--God, Caesar, Justice, and Liberty—each of which reflects a unique set of values.
God - The belief in a Supreme Being (or beings) continues to shape the lives of billions, and forms the cultural and social framework of most modern societies—even those that recognize religious freedom and diversity. Believers will tell you that faith can provide comfort in times of sorrow, hope in moments of desperation, and strength against temptation. But religion also defines the common values of many societies, and provides a sense of group identity. Religious law often forms the basis for civil law, helping to provide order, structure, and a sense of community values.
Houses of worship the world over serve as central meeting places, where members of large and small communities gather to exchange news and discuss politics. Religious leaders often wield great influence over their congregations, influencing and informing their opinions on the critical questions of the day. Followers are urged or encouraged to contribute money or labor to the faith, thereby increasing and maintaining the power and prestige of their religious leaders.
Since the dawn of civilization, societal leaders have sought to wield even greater power by declaring themselves to be super-believers, high priests, or even minor gods. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt were worshipped as earthly embodiments of various gods, and the Kings and Queens of medieval Europe claimed to rule by “Divine Right.” Conversely, Roman Catholic Popes have led armies in battle, lived in luxurious apartments, kept mistresses, and even had children—behaving very much like earthly kings.
Even in the most secular modern societies, religion continues to play a major role in politics. One of the largest political parties in Germany is the Christian Democrats. The national flags of most Northern European nations are based on the Christian Cross. The British monarch is also the titular head of the Church of England. In America, where freedom of religion is Constitutionally guaranteed, politicians continue to visit churches to make political speeches, and religious leaders sometimes run for public office. Indeed, after the terrorist attacks in September 2001, President George W. Bush addressed a grieving nation with a stirring address from Washington’s National Cathedral.
When piety and religious identity are raised as virtues above all others, however, the effects can be poisonous and divisive. Religious wars were the curse of medieval Europe, when heretics and unbelievers were often tortured or burned at the stake. Christian Crusaders visited terror upon the Arab Muslims in the Levant for centuries. Strife between Anglicans and Catholics in England led to many bloody conflicts, and still haunts Northern Ireland to this day. Muslim imams and mullahs declare jihad against the “Zionists and Crusaders” that occupy lands they consider holy. The fundamentalist Taliban in Afghanistan destroyed centuries-old Buddhist statues, oppressed the local populace, and harbored anti-western terrorists. A theocratic government in Iran continues to arrest and brutalize those who dare to oppose their rule.
All things considered, it’s a mixed bag.
Caesar - Since the first tribe of early humans went to battle with their neighbors to win control over their resources, societies have recognized the value of having a strong, decisive leader to guide and protect them. Tribal chieftains rose up from the warrior class, the strongest and wiliest man in the clan often seizing the mantle of leadership by coercion or murder. These strongmen provided the people of the community with a heightened sense of security, allowing them to concentrate their efforts on other tasks, like construction and agriculture. Leadership was often passed down from father to son—but the son would have to be on guard lest someone else in the tribe prove to be slightly stronger or wilier. Dynasties lasted only as long as the latest king could avoid assassination. Thus, survival of the fittest insured that unfit rulers did not remain in power indefinitely.
Alexander the Great, a Macedonian Greek, conquered Asia Minor, Egypt, and much of the Middle East in an incredible feat of military conquest. He was credited with spreading the influence of Greek Civilization throughout much of the then-known world. But upon his death the empire was divided up amongst his sons, who proved to be less capable rulers. Much of the lands he had conquered were, over time, absorbed into the Roman Empire.
Julius Caesar, the Roman general who conquered Gaul (modern France), became so revered by the Roman people that he returned to the capital and declared himself dictator—only to be assassinated shortly thereafter. His adopted son Octavius became the first Roman Emperor, and expanded the empire even further through military conquest.
Following the example of the Romans, such European leaders as Charlemagne, Napoleon, and Frederick of Prussia ruled through military might and power of personality. In the twentieth century, an Italian tyrant named Mussolini extolled the benefits of absolute dictatorship and the glory of war—his template was the Roman Empire, and his philosophy was called fascism. His disciple and eventual puppet-master, an Austrian named Adolf Hitler, carried the ideology to its frightening conclusion, creating a bloody cult of charisma, fear, and military conquest, before he was defeated by an alliance between a handful of liberal democracies and a communist dictatorship. It is a bitter historical irony that the communist, who called himself Josef Stalin (“Man of Steel”), applied many of the same measures as Hitler to maintain his own bloody reign.
Despite the fall of their respective empires, the philosophies of these strongmen are not dead--they merely live on under other names. Kim Jong Il, the “Dear Leader” of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, obliges his famine-stricken subjects to sing praises to him every morning at sunrise. Fidel Castro recently arrested and imprisoned several dozen Cubans for the unforgivable crime of running private libraries and petitioning for democratic reform. In Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist Iraq, it was difficult to travel very far without encountering a mural, poster, or statue of the brutal dictator.
Most of Saddam’s monuments have now been reduced to rubble. Sic semper tyrannus.
Justice - Most cultures recognize that life isn’t fair. But many people believe that given the right tools, human institutions can help to make the playing field a bit more level. Before such institutions existed, justice was the responsibility of the aggrieved party or a surviving relative, and could be more accurately described as “vengeance.” But such blood debts often resulted in unending feuds between families and other forms of cyclical violence, which interfered with the harmony of a productive society. Therefore, rulers would often “hold court” to referee disputes between their subjects, much in the manner of the Biblical King Solomon. Eventually, advanced agricultural societies grew too large for rulers to mete out justice effectively, so they appointed “judges” to handle such matters in subordinate courts. This provided a means whereby even the most humble citizen could get a hearing with his government.
While Justice is often represented as a blindfolded woman holding scales, she has not always been seen to be totally impartial. Indeed, it has often been observed that those with greater wealth and influence sometimes have the scales tipped in their favor. This disturbing disparity has resulted in much animosity between the haves and the have-nots. Thus, the concepts of “social justice” and “class warfare” were born.
Observing the plight of European coal miners and factory workers who toiled day and night to enrich men who never got dirt under their fingernails, a nineteenth century German philosopher named Karl Marx penned his Communist Manifesto. Marx prophesized that one day the workers would rise up and seize control over the means of production, thereby creating an ideal society where every man and woman benefited directly from the fruits of their own labor. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out the way that Marx expected. Communism invariably devolved into bloody despotism, with tens of millions of peasants slaughtered and only the party elite ever experiencing any real benefits.
But the idea of social justice did not disappear with the fall of communism. Social democracy (also simply called socialism), involving large welfare systems and national control of vital industries, emerged as a dominant form of governance across Europe in the late twentieth century. Social democracies place a premium on the elimination of class distinctions, heavily taxing their wealthier citizens in an effort to mitigate--or even eliminate--poverty and other social ills. Citizens of social democracies enjoy a wide array of government-supplied or supported benefits, including free medical care, shortened work weeks, and subsidized vacations--but providing these services invariably places a significant drag on economic growth, keeping the overall standard of living relatively low.
The quest for greater justice has also lead to the development of a new political philosophy called transnationalism. Also know as transnational progressivism (say that five times fast), this ideology declares nation states obsolete, and calls for international organs of governance to be established in order to rectify the inequalities of the modern world. The European Union is the first example of a transnationalist super-state, where an unelected bureaucracy issues regulations with the force of law over all of its member states.
Transnationalists ultimately seek to create a body of international law that will be superior to the legal systems of all nations. National citizenship will become irrelevant, and immigrants will enjoy legal rights, such as voting, in both their home country and their nation of residence. International bodies such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court will be strengthened, and even given jurisdiction beyond their membership. Historical injustices, such as the issue of reparations for the descendants of slaves or other displaced persons, will be addressed in super-national courts, whose rulings will be binding on all parties.
But don’t worry, your Big Brother will take good care of you.
Liberty - A relatively new concept in political philosophy is the belief that every human is a sovereign being, born with a set of fundamental rights that must be respected. This concept began to seriously emerge during the Age of Enlightenment, when philosophers such as the John Locke promoted radical ideas about Natural Rights, arguing that governments only rightfully existed with the consent of those they governed.
In 1776, a cluster of English colonies on the Eastern Seaboard of North America were suffering under heavy taxes, military occupation, and a distant monarch who was unresponsive to their pleas for relief. That summer, representatives from each of the thirteen colonies gathered in the city of Philadelphia and appointed a committee headed by Thomas Jefferson, a farmer from Virginia, to draft a Declaration of Independence. Echoing the philosophy of Locke, Jefferson penned the following memorable words:
We hold these Truths to be self-evident; that all Men are created Equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
With these words, the United States of America--the world’s first Liberal Democracy--was born. Thirteen years later, the former colonists drafted a Constitution that reflected the values of the new age, creating a government with limited powers designed to be responsive to the people. But the Revolution was incomplete, as several of the newly independent states refused to ratify the Constitution without some guarantee that the rights of their citizens could never be taken away.
Thus, the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were drafted. But the Bill of Rights did not grant specific rights to individuals, as is commonly believed. Instead, it recognized the inherent existence of these rights, and expressly forbade the government from infringing upon them. This was, indeed, a novel concept—that the people were placing restrictions on the government, and not vice versa.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Eventually, the ideals that gave birth to the United States returned to infect the mother country, and power in Britain gradually devolved from the Monarchy to Parliament. As the British Empire spanned the globe, it brought with it the tenets of English Civil Law and the concept of individual rights. Like a benevolent virus, the ideals of liberty infected societies around the world.
In the nineteenth century, a war was fought in America that ended with the abolition of slavery, bringing the promise of liberty to men of all races. In the twentieth century, that promise was extended to women, when they were granted the right to vote.
At the close of the First World War, American President Woodrow Wilson introduced a new doctrine to the wider world: Self-Determination. Wilson argued that no group of people should live under the domination of another, and that every nation had the right to determine their own form of government. At a time when the great European Empires still dominated much of the world, this was considered to be quite a radical idea.
In the late twentieth century the fall of the European empires accelerated, and many people around the world got their first taste of liberty. Unfortunately for most, that experience was short-lived, as the tyrants and theocrats quickly moved in to fill the power vacuum.
There are, of course, other icons; Peace, and Nature, for instance, are powerful ideas in their own right, with millions of dedicated followers. But neither of these movements has by itself achieved enough stature to form the basis for a modern nation state.
None of these four major icons are mutually exclusive—each one exists in every society, even where they are suppressed. Sometimes they can be complementary, but they are just as frequently at odds with one another—as is often the case today.
We live in an age where the conflict between these ideas appears to be approaching a pivotal point. The United States, which views itself as a defender of Liberty, has become the world’s leading military and economic power. Meanwhile, the European Union is beginning to promote an image of itself as a champion of Justice—one that is often at odds with the American Colussus. At the same time, a global conflict between Islamic extremists and the West is broiling, and third world Caesars are attempting to obtain weapons of mass destruction.
Interesting times, indeed.
Posted by LT Smash at 1414Z
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