It has been almost a decade since 9/11/2001, and for the past ten years we have all lived in a stressful global reality in permanent flux. The Chinese culture, inspired by Confucius, places at the core of its value system the notion of balance and harmony. Almost ten years ago, any hope for even some harmonious outcome of world events was smashed to pieces and it hasn't be mended ever since. A vicious cycle of crisis has engulfed our global reality: wars, food crisis, financial crisis, natural disasters and man-made disasters.
This inexorable cycle of death and destruction is a fast spreading global disease taking its toll on all of us, and none of us are immunised from it. The storms have become tornadoes or hurricanes aiming straight at us, and the big waves must be killer Tsunamis to make it into the headlines. It can not be contested by anyone that we are currently living in a period of deep turmoil, but very few propose solutions which are not purely cosmetic and merely at the periphery of the core issues. Most of us shift the blame for this global crisis, unfolding since a decade, on entities such as corporations, governments: what can be called a global system of governance and production or exploitation of people and resources. But, first of all we could have resisted this global system a long time ago, and secondly most of us carry within ourselves the psychological attributes we so vehemently reject in the global social context. Character traits such as greed, quest for power, narcissism and lack of empathy.
This year some positive changes are occurring in the global consciousness: Arabs are challenging the power of corrupt autocratic rulers across the Middle-East, protests are spreading in Europe within Greece, Spain, and now London. Activists are reaching across country boundaries to join forces and define common goal. Some are talking about the need of a global revolution. However, we can only challenge the order of a ruthless, amoral, "dog eat dog" mentality that is our global reality, by having a revolution within ourselves. We must change our own psychology, otherwise we will never make lasting progress in a global consciousness where brutality, selfishness, corruption and amorality are the real driving forces of social success.
Years ago, a term was constantly on the lips of people in Marxist circles to describe the United States. America was called "the heart of the beast", and identified as such as the center of capitalism. But, the Marxist colorful imagery doesn't portray today's reality at all. Capitalism doesn't have a conscience even less a heart, it has become a hydra, a giant octopus, with no heart, many twisted brains and countless tentacles reaching across the planet. It is not centered in America alone, and it would be ludicrous to think the capitalist "beast" can be killed with a shot in the heart.
All the tentacles chocking us must be severed, then the hydra must be taking ashore to die in the bright sun away from the "sea of profit" it has been dwelling in for decades. But again, even if this capitalist giant skid dies, unless we change our own psychological makeup at an individual level an other hydra will be shortly born from the seed of our lack of real humanity, our amorality, unethical behaviors and deeply rooted conscious or unconscious selfishness. The world is broken, but to mend it we must understand why, and what within ourselves should be changed to make us better humans.
Comment: For more information on this topic please see Political Ponerology: A Science of Evil Applied for Political Purposes.