DIVORCING THE WHOLE WORLD?

Markin comment:

I place some material in this space which may be of interest to the radical public that I do not necessarily agree with or support. Off hand, as I have mentioned before, I think it would be easier, infinitely easier, to fight for the socialist revolution straight up than some of the “remedies” provided by the commentators in these entries. But part of that struggle for the socialist revolution is to sort out the “real” stuff from the fluff as we struggle for that more just world that animates our efforts.
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DIVORCING THE WHOLE WORLD?

We are witnessing a brand new and fascinating phenomenon - our society is becoming integral. It is no longer about banks and industries establishing partnerships all over the world, exchanging raw materials, merchandise, food supplies and so on. Today, even the world's cultures and education systems are merging into a single, universal composite. All of these elements are interconnected and interdependent in every way.

It is no accident that the modern media have made it possible for everyone to be informed of everything that's happening in the world. Such transparency enables people to connect on a whole new level - across racial, cultural, and national divides. It also puts us at a greater degree of mutual dependence than ever before.

When there is this kind of dependence in a tightly connected family, whose members care for each other, it benefits all. Everyone is responsible for everyone else, and no one is left behind. Otherwise, the family falls apart.

The problem is that precisely because we've been integrated on a global scale, we simply cannot divorce each other. Though hatred and contempt may run rampant, it doesn't change the facts of the matter one bit. Nature has imprisoned us on this planet, this tiny surface, and we have nowhere to run from each other.

With each passing day, our interdependence grows stronger. In the past, when individuals or nations clashed, the worst they could do was simply "remove" the rival. Today, the smallest conflict is fraught with colossal global ramifications. Opinions aside, it's becoming increasingly obvious that everybody in the world is dependent on (and responsible tor!)
everybody else.

This presents us with a serious problem, because as our arsenals grow in their destructive power, our hearts remain filled with envy, lust for control, cruelty, and spitefulness. This mutual hatred clouds our common sense, and if it continues to swell, we could easily wind up destroying ourselves.

It is clear that nature is pushing us toward greater mutuality and interconnectedness, which is unavoidable, like in a family that cannot be divorced. So what do we do about it? We must find a solution. And the solution is clear and unequivocal: restore peace "in the family," in the home that is our planet, between all nations and people. This cannot be achieved by aggressive action, but only by everyone's free choice, made with complete integrity.

By actualizing this single solution that underlies our very survival, we will surely learn how to tackle all the other issues affecting us. As a result, all nations will live as a unified society, a single family. We will know what every individual and nation needs and how we can work to complement each other. We will know how to educate the world - the "grown-up children" and the actual children, the next generation, so they will have a benevolent, warm, and gentle world to live in. Our power of mutuality will ensure humankind's safety against its egoistic attempts to seif-destruct.

PUBLIC OPINION AS A METHOD OF TRANSFORMING THE EGO

History teaches us that many of our predicaments and perhaps our primary foe in battling today's global crises is the ego. It seems as though doing away with it would improve everything. But the ego is not the enemy. Indeed, it is our very nature, and any attempt to suppress or ignore egoism carries disastrous consequences.

For hard proof we needn't look any farther than the communist regime of the former Soviet Union. Human nature will outlast any regime or experiment that contradicts it. In a war against the ego we are doomed to fail from the start, so in order to avoid the mistakes of the past, let's take a different approach and learn to use the ego to our benefit.

In the 1950s, the now iconic Asch series of experiments proved that public opinion is of primary importance to an individual. Applying this principle to society as a whole, it becomes clear that the "be-all end-all" target of all human endeavors is social status.

We slave away for a bigger house, a newer car, or a fatter bank account only because society dictates that these things are valuable. In essence, though, they are not the goal but mere means to it, while the goal is achieving higher social status. If we lived in a culture where big muscles or high intelligence were the pinnacle of prestige, we would be compelled by society to put the same amount of effort toward achieving excellence in those areas, paying little to no mind to material possessions.

Now imagine a switch got flicked, and we were no longer venerated for our ability to hoard virtual zeroes in the bank, throw the pigskin, or manipulate the stock market. There would be no pleasure in these achievements, and we wouldn't have any fuel to go after them. And if such things were actually scorned or ridiculed, we would gladly and readily relinquish them all.

It follows that by changing the values in society, even artificially, the entire game gets transformed. If our offspring, friends, and neighbors respected and admired us for our contributions to society, and despised pursuit of personal interests, the same indomitable ego which is threatening the world today would be channeled toward collective benefit and the common good.

The key to such a transformation is public opinion. If we build an environment with abundant examples of favorable behavior toward society, we will finally begin to utilize human nature correctly. Not only is it the only way to survive in the new integral world, but we will also begin to tap the truly limitless potential inherent to humankind.

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