Western Culture Today and Tomorrow: Addressing the Fundamental Issues
Part II, 'Politics and Morality'. Please read the first half of Chapter 1, 'Political Visions and the Praxis of Politics', pp. 61 to 70.
Political visions deriving from metaphysical worldviews.
Difference between conceptions about the goal of politics:
Classic ―> ‘Conservative’: keep order and peace achieved; preserve existing conditions against threats.
Modern ―> ‘Historic’: improve, change, create a new world.
Much more ambitious and hard, unrealistic to deliver.
Early Christians interested in the keeping of peace and order of the Roman Empire, yet eager for a change of different order (Christ as Salvator, not Convervator).
A transcendent order that surpasses anything of this world (see Rev 21).
Buddhism as an escape from this world (towards Nirvana, no political impact). Dharma and Tao describe a cosmic and moral law already set and within which one must live. Harmony of heaven and earth, political and social life (see ‘The Invariable Law of Nature’ and ‘Human Conduct’, pp. 97-98 in Fung, Yu-Lan and Bodde, Derk, A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, Free Press, New York 1997).
In stark contrast, the faith of Israel introduces the concept of history, motion in time, of a future where salvation is located. No interest in preserving the status quo as in the Tao. God is present and acting in history. Three examples:
The four kingdoms (Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome) before the final, eternal one of the ‘Son of Man’ (see Dan 2:36ss and 7:9ss).
The Maccabee revolt refusing to worship Greek idols (1 Mac 2:15ss).
Rebellion of Simon bar Kocheba, the ‘Son of the Star’ (see Numbers 24:15ss) around the time of Emperor Adrianus (ca. 135).
Apocalyptic trend in the XX century. What has changed? Secularist outlooks. Though still ‘Western’ (historic) but God (or the Modern ideation of God) has been dethroned by intellectuals.
Marx does not want simple reform, even if his original concern for the masses (proletariat) has been addressed. He wants the equivalent of Daniel, or Maccabees, or Revelation, but directs attention from Heggelian idea to matter, from philosophy (including Feuerbach) to action (praxis), from reform to revolution and from an otherworldly kingdom to Communist utopia.
Internal logic of thesis, antithesis and synthesis that miraculously stops once the classless society has been instaurated and where everybody is finally free to go about from activity to activity as they please (see Cottingham, John, Western Philosophy, Blackwell 1996, p. 511).
Marx expresses the Communist ideal and goal of revolution in apocalyptic terms under a historic worldview in line with Western (Jerusalem, Athens and Rome) thought.
Marx is long gone and the Communist experiments as attested in the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea, China, Eastern Europe and other places did not deliver.
But, is the Marxist outlook gone from our culture today?
Liberation theology.
Feminism.
Secularism.
Politics today and disenchantment with the political systems.
Why is politics not being able to cope today with the mission it has been assigned? See CCC2234ss and CCC2419ss.