Are we heading for another of those periods when society is closed
and intolerant? At first glance it hardly seems likely considering
all the fuss about equal rights, anti-racism and minority rights,
well, the rights of some minorities.
And yet, when looked at closely, a lot of these hopeful developments
look more like fashion and political correctness than real tolerance,
more the imposition of an elite than a real social group contract.
For example, notice how tolerance only extends to certain favored
groups, while every effort is made to discredit and even raise
public passions against others.
Last time something like this happened was, oddly, the second
half of the last century. That time round we had the Victorians,
traditionally the favorite demons of the left, the Greens, feminists,
and all the others who sought to replace the moral system of twentieth
century Western societies with their own.
Interestingly, the Victorians saw themselves (insofar as they
even saw themselves as a distinct group) as enlightened, tolerant,
socially responsible and enjoying a prosperous and fair society.
It is we who see them as intolerant, hypocritical and sexually
repressed, with huge social injustices and a ruling class that
forced its values on the workers.
Of course the Victorians really were enlightened, tolerant and
socially responsible, but only on certain issues. It is only the
merciless light of history that illuminated the dark corners where
they hid their bigotry, self-interest and repression.
The interesting point is that this was not apparent to the people
at the time. They would have had difficulty seeing themselves
as a group, and even more in enunciating that group's ideology
except in the simplest terms of faith in church and nation, let
alone its faults and blind spots.
It was only outside groups such as Marxists who saw them as a
distinct group with its own beliefs, interests and agenda.
Sound familiar? Notice how the political parties, media and the
other core institutions in Anglo-American societies increasingly
share a broad agreement on an astonishing range of issues, yet
would be unable to put that agreement into words.
Notice also, how out-groups are increasingly seeing that broad
commonality of interest as a distinct group, occasionally referred
to as the left-liberal elite, though it is neither left nor liberal.
Notice how intolerant it is becoming of those out-groups.
Looks like a case of here we go again. On the bright side, whatever
is repressed during these periods of intolerance is high fashion
a few decades later, and whatever was the official creed is totally
discredited.
(Thought for the day. It's 2040 and sex is out, [except in VR
of course] God is in, [and if we can't find the old coot we'll
build him] crime is nearly nonexistent,[except among the troublesome
over seventies] and dress pistols are normal street wear.)
Trouble is, that is not really the bright side. Truth is more
complex, parts of the official creed always are good, and discarding
them socially damaging, and some of the things that were repressed
needed to be repressed. A lot of other things turn out to be good
at one level and bad at another, so that what is required is balance
rather than wild swings in and out of fashion.
It will be interesting to see history's verdict on current society.
By then the now dominant ideology will have been given a name,
and it will inevitably be compared with its most recent and most
similar predecessor, the Victorians.
I suspect the comparison will not be flattering. The Victorians
inherited a society where the common people could not live decent
lives. For all their faults, they left one where the common people
could.
Our current elite inherited immensely wealthy, cohesive, egalitarian,
law abiding societies where the ordinary citizens enjoyed better,
healthier and happier lives than at any time in history since
the adoption of agriculture. Since then, wealth has increased
immensely yet its distribution has worsened to the point of regenerating
an underclass, we will not know about health until some very worrying
developments have worked themselves out, and the rest are disaster
areas.
The merciless light of history is unlikely to flatter the Anglo-American
societies of the last half of the twentieth century.
Stephen Heyer, Queensland Australia
E-Mail: sjh@msn.com
Dated: 5 August, 1996
Love Truth; be tolerant; do good where practical. Accept the sin
when you must, or chose, to do evil.
No representation is made regarding the accuracy or even sanity
of the opinions expressed in this communication. They may not
even be those of the author.