Apocalypse, revolution, palingenesis – these are all names for the same thing, used by different groups. The Christian nationalists, they want the Apocalypse, they want the world to end so they can all go to heaven. The radical left wants the Revolution, they want the world to end so they can build their communist or perhaps anarchist order. The techbros want the Singularity, so that everyone can be uploaded to digital heaven.
In 1930s Germany, the Communists believed that Germany was on the verge of a working class revolution and they would come to power. Instead there was a Nazi revolution, which the Nazis imagined as a palingenesis - rebirth- of German greatness. Now Vladimir Putin dreams of a rebirth of Russian greatness, and MAGA dreams of a rebirth of American greatness. The Christian nationalists want the Apocalypse. The techbros imagine a different kind of rebirth: the transformation of humanity by the technological singularity. All the same kind of thing, and history teaches us that time just goes on, the wheels of time pass them by, and the revolution comes to power and then has to govern and people still have to live. Most usually, they govern poorly and people die in vast numbers.
We must guard against apocalyptic thinking. It is so very attractive: there will be the apocalypse and all problems will be solved, but they never are. I suppose that is the attraction of MAGA for young men, the idea of leading the world to rebirth. The American Revolution was perhaps as near as reality gets to such a thing. It replaced the ideal of monarchy, aristocracy, with an ideal of egalitarianism. But it was not a complete replacement, aristocratic and monarchist ideas persisted. Especially patriarchy and racial hierarchy persisted, as did the worship of military heroes that is the root of monarchy.
The world does not want to be, cannot be, reborn.
No comments:
Post a Comment