Cultural Ecstasies

Are there anomalies in our socio-political systems? How else can one explain the seemingly ubiquitous civil unrest? I wondered if the world will ever cease from this mood of cultural ecstasies. Do differences exist in a system to keep it on a perpetual streak of life or is it the other way round?

None of our moralistic epitomes are infallible. They are merely complete insofar that the adherents consent to. That begs us to answer the question we began with-do anomalies exist in our ideas, ideologies and systems? Yes, otherwise the system would never evolve and over a period of time, it perhaps descends into the grave of regress. But why in the first place have we, the adherents of the system, allowed for anomalies to creep into the system?

The answer to this question lies in another question. That is, what is the yardstick to measure anomalies? The yardstick is the incumbent level or maturity of system. What this means is, unless the system itself evolves into a giant octopus, the ones adhered to it will not be in a position to identify the cancerous anomalies. Once identified, the anomalies prepare the battle ground for chaos. Through the labyrinthine situation, arises a voice that defies the systematic collusion of ideas and announces the situation of crisis.

More adherents shift towards the revolutionary voice of crisis. But here again, announcement of crisis only holds the pool of adherence for the moment, once the novelty dissipates and ecstasy dies down, the pool itself begins to dry up. Hence it becomes imperative for the voice of crisis to show the way forward.

“The biggest challenge of any philosopher is to state the problem in such a way that it allows for a solution”-Bertrand Russell.

The way forward cannot be an extension to the past, it cannot be a reflection of past, it has to ruthlessly decimate the past and in the rubble create potential for a new system. A new system that is built on the rubble of the old! But it is not ground breaking, for the adherents of old system stay reluctant, and the resistance to join the new system eases out only with time.

Throughout history, we have seen largely that few generations live and die through these periods of transition form the old to the new system. In their life times, they witness both the schools of thought. And it takes few more generations until the transition is complete.

Here is the real twist. Once the transition is complete, system does not lay still and motionless, for that is not the way systems evolve. What we will observe is that the anomalies crept into the new system at infancy (some generations before the present one) will be discovered now. And the cycle repeats itself all over again.