Great review, I'll have to check out the book. I somewhat disagree on your last point about class-structures becoming more ridged, as labor shortages (which are intensifying) work against serfdom. Technology could change this though.
Ah yes, the labour shortages of the Black Death in Europe, the disruption of serfdom and the dawn of modernity.
I heard that in medieval times, in you were to ask a Western European "who owns this land?", you would just get a puzzled look in response. Just like you would have if you asked an Indigenous man before their cultural decimation.
Class structures more clearly defined or more graduated, the rigidity is the key quality actually. Rigidity implies lack of meaningful participation, and related to lack of meaningful belonging to the Country.
I was more thinking of frontier societies (such as the British colonies, New France and Siberia). The alternate responce to labor shortages is the Roman one - lock people in their location and occupation once you have them.
Getting to the root of meaningful belonging (a massive Enlightenment blind spot) is nevertheless another factor, and possible solution. Hence the importance of what our host has spoke of before, essentially "pagan" rituals to stay in touch with the seasons. This is the success of premodern India and China in terms of labour, even though back then Chinese labour was already highly mobile and market price orientated.
Like Faith/fidelity to the Land needs to come back. It is not inevitable that thinking economically eliminates this. Premodern China, still maintaining peasant ritual whilst producing for the world, proves this.
Demographics favour India, Africa and Muslim nations. Africa holds all the key resources. The lead in technical productivity will still be with China for some time, as well as experience in developing without slavery to liberal doctrine. Military savvy and conservative Christian culture with Russia. This is part of the reasoning of BRICS.
If BRICS fails and/or is successfully sabotaged, I'm not sure any of us would enjoy US leviathan to continue its hegemony. I don't think a cultural revival there is possible without some diverse support, which means post modern madness and projection will not stop. It also means total war (without Bushido) will continue to develop.
P: For religions to cooperate, they would have to recognize a common enemy of sorts.
HH: The Leviathan is obviously this common enemy, which is at once a pure concept, an objective dynamic and a real potential for power. Faced with this enemy, an alliance of non-relativistic religions and wisdoms and of nations, excluding the universal Empire. If to this is added a philosophical progress which takes us out of modernity and postmodernity, but which is at the same time traditional and ultramodern, then yes, at this moment, we can hope to live an era of peace and freedom.
P: So, you include the religious question in what you call, in your book, “cultural peace.” In this perspective, Catholics fear that Christianity is moving from a reasonable humanism to an unreasonable, almost naive humanitarianism, and that interreligious dialogue is accelerating a kind of post-Christian decomposition within Christianity, even within the Catholic Church itself.
HH: If you have faith, if you believe that God is God, that Christ is truly the Son of God, that He is seated at the right hand of the Father, that He will reign in glory, you can perfectly well go to your Buddhist or Muslim neighbor and talk to him. Knowing each other is important, so that we don’t get the wrong idea about each other, without deluding ourselves about others and ourselves. Since we have the choice between surviving together or dying together, we must learn to talk to each other.
Father Bertrand de Margerie, a Jesuit theologian, a very good man whom I knew well, wrote a book entitled, Liberté religieuse et règne du Christ (Religious Freedom and the Reign of Christ). He thought that religious liberty, properly understood, was the best way to establish the reign of Jesus Christ in the future. However, without this freedom, clashes between religions or wisdoms are most likely and the Leviathan will prosper by capitalizing on these conflicts. Yet it is by taking into account the dimension of personal freedom in the religious act that a religion can extract itself from a logic of war.
I think a lot of westerners want the leviathan slain as much as foreign peoples do. The leviathan has enemies on all sides... and even if it "wins" this contest, it's already begun to rot. 10% of the working age men in the United States are not working. That's catastrophic. The more the managerial leviathan imports foreigners, the higher that number will rise. If the US survives the coming century it will have to fundamentally shift in national identity.
PS. Confucius' advice to rulers included only utilising peasant labour in service of the kingdom at the right times. "Pagan" observances and "holy (i.e. non work) days" revolve around the rhythms and energies of the Country, internal and external. Protestant infidelity to Country (in favour of personal conviction) is what leads to the capitalist work cult, where virtue becomes based on ignoring such rhythms.
Certainly catastrophic for a liberal market economy based on debt. Aristocracy and priesthood "work" by a different definition, and would have disdained "employment". Indigenous fame for not being reliable employees would be due to similar recognitions at root. Work Ethos is no replacement for loyalty to Country and Lore.
> A threat that utilized by governments, not corporations.
Do you believe that the leaders of Google / Apple / Amazon / Etc have assassinated people:
a) Exactly zero times
b) More than zero times.
Follow-up question: The same question, but with a more liberal definition of 'assassination' which includes political/character assassinations and, in general, and maneuver of power which neutralizes a specific person as a potential threat.
Oh, they've totally had the occasional person assassinated... but assassinations don't keep your warehouses safe from looters or your drivers safe from car-jackers. It's government policing that does that, and without government policing Amazon would have to pay for incredible security to keep warlords from ravaging their supply chain.
Great review, I'll have to check out the book. I somewhat disagree on your last point about class-structures becoming more ridged, as labor shortages (which are intensifying) work against serfdom. Technology could change this though.
Ah yes, the labour shortages of the Black Death in Europe, the disruption of serfdom and the dawn of modernity.
I heard that in medieval times, in you were to ask a Western European "who owns this land?", you would just get a puzzled look in response. Just like you would have if you asked an Indigenous man before their cultural decimation.
Class structures more clearly defined or more graduated, the rigidity is the key quality actually. Rigidity implies lack of meaningful participation, and related to lack of meaningful belonging to the Country.
I was more thinking of frontier societies (such as the British colonies, New France and Siberia). The alternate responce to labor shortages is the Roman one - lock people in their location and occupation once you have them.
O right.
Getting to the root of meaningful belonging (a massive Enlightenment blind spot) is nevertheless another factor, and possible solution. Hence the importance of what our host has spoke of before, essentially "pagan" rituals to stay in touch with the seasons. This is the success of premodern India and China in terms of labour, even though back then Chinese labour was already highly mobile and market price orientated.
Like Faith/fidelity to the Land needs to come back. It is not inevitable that thinking economically eliminates this. Premodern China, still maintaining peasant ritual whilst producing for the world, proves this.
Demographics favour India, Africa and Muslim nations. Africa holds all the key resources. The lead in technical productivity will still be with China for some time, as well as experience in developing without slavery to liberal doctrine. Military savvy and conservative Christian culture with Russia. This is part of the reasoning of BRICS.
If BRICS fails and/or is successfully sabotaged, I'm not sure any of us would enjoy US leviathan to continue its hegemony. I don't think a cultural revival there is possible without some diverse support, which means post modern madness and projection will not stop. It also means total war (without Bushido) will continue to develop.
Here is a French Catholic case for multipolarity:
https://www.thepostil.com/the-leviathan-leads-to-war-a-talk-with-henri-hude/
---
P: For religions to cooperate, they would have to recognize a common enemy of sorts.
HH: The Leviathan is obviously this common enemy, which is at once a pure concept, an objective dynamic and a real potential for power. Faced with this enemy, an alliance of non-relativistic religions and wisdoms and of nations, excluding the universal Empire. If to this is added a philosophical progress which takes us out of modernity and postmodernity, but which is at the same time traditional and ultramodern, then yes, at this moment, we can hope to live an era of peace and freedom.
P: So, you include the religious question in what you call, in your book, “cultural peace.” In this perspective, Catholics fear that Christianity is moving from a reasonable humanism to an unreasonable, almost naive humanitarianism, and that interreligious dialogue is accelerating a kind of post-Christian decomposition within Christianity, even within the Catholic Church itself.
HH: If you have faith, if you believe that God is God, that Christ is truly the Son of God, that He is seated at the right hand of the Father, that He will reign in glory, you can perfectly well go to your Buddhist or Muslim neighbor and talk to him. Knowing each other is important, so that we don’t get the wrong idea about each other, without deluding ourselves about others and ourselves. Since we have the choice between surviving together or dying together, we must learn to talk to each other.
Father Bertrand de Margerie, a Jesuit theologian, a very good man whom I knew well, wrote a book entitled, Liberté religieuse et règne du Christ (Religious Freedom and the Reign of Christ). He thought that religious liberty, properly understood, was the best way to establish the reign of Jesus Christ in the future. However, without this freedom, clashes between religions or wisdoms are most likely and the Leviathan will prosper by capitalizing on these conflicts. Yet it is by taking into account the dimension of personal freedom in the religious act that a religion can extract itself from a logic of war.
I think a lot of westerners want the leviathan slain as much as foreign peoples do. The leviathan has enemies on all sides... and even if it "wins" this contest, it's already begun to rot. 10% of the working age men in the United States are not working. That's catastrophic. The more the managerial leviathan imports foreigners, the higher that number will rise. If the US survives the coming century it will have to fundamentally shift in national identity.
PS. Confucius' advice to rulers included only utilising peasant labour in service of the kingdom at the right times. "Pagan" observances and "holy (i.e. non work) days" revolve around the rhythms and energies of the Country, internal and external. Protestant infidelity to Country (in favour of personal conviction) is what leads to the capitalist work cult, where virtue becomes based on ignoring such rhythms.
Certainly catastrophic for a liberal market economy based on debt. Aristocracy and priesthood "work" by a different definition, and would have disdained "employment". Indigenous fame for not being reliable employees would be due to similar recognitions at root. Work Ethos is no replacement for loyalty to Country and Lore.
Serious question:
> A threat that utilized by governments, not corporations.
Do you believe that the leaders of Google / Apple / Amazon / Etc have assassinated people:
a) Exactly zero times
b) More than zero times.
Follow-up question: The same question, but with a more liberal definition of 'assassination' which includes political/character assassinations and, in general, and maneuver of power which neutralizes a specific person as a potential threat.
My money's on (b) for _both_ questions
Oh, they've totally had the occasional person assassinated... but assassinations don't keep your warehouses safe from looters or your drivers safe from car-jackers. It's government policing that does that, and without government policing Amazon would have to pay for incredible security to keep warlords from ravaging their supply chain.
what's stopping amazon from doing just that? In, eg, the third world, anyway
Why would they when they can have the state do it for them for free?