ON CIVILIZED EVOLUTION
1. In a truly aristocratic civilization, such
as the early phase of ancient Greece, stoicism is the religious ideal, because
pain tends to vastly predominate over pleasure, and the courageous endurance of
pain is consequently regarded as the noblest posture. Beginning in an absolute phase of proton
domination, this negative civilization proceeds, in due course of pagan time,
towards a more relative integrity, in which hedonism, or the pursuit of
pleasure, comes to be regarded as the chief good. It switches, in other words, from the proton
side of an atomic divide to its electron side, from negative to positive
sensations, as relative to the minority electron content of the flesh. Thus it progresses from a soulful to a
pseudo-spiritual bias, and with this progression comes a more marked
distinction between an elite - formerly stoical - of pleasure-seekers and a
mass of toiling sufferers, in contrast to the more general diffusion of pain
prevailing hitherto. The elite, mainly
aristocratic, switch from their proton origins to a kind of electron-biased
identification, because pleasure pertains to the electron side of the flesh,
which is, of course, its positive side.
Thus, in reflecting the atomic constitution of the flesh, sensual
civilization in its higher phase reserves the pursuit of pleasure for that tiny
minority, who function as electron equivalents, while simultaneously obliging
the vast majority - peasants, soldiers, slaves, etc. - to function as proton equivalents
in a generally painful existence. The
elite are what they are precisely because their lifestyles are morally superior
to those of the toiling, suffering masses - positive and pleasurable rather
than negative and painful. If stoicism
was the moral ideal of the earliest aristocrats, one not widely shared by the
masses, then hedonism became the ideal of their more fortunate successors in
the relative phase of pagan civilization.
2. With the development of Catholic
civilization out of the painful Dark Ages in Western Europe, we find a similar
dichotomy between an elite and a toiling mass, because, for all its moral
progress, Catholic civilization is still a predominantly sensual civilization
and must accordingly reflect the ratio of protons to electrons in the flesh,
with, paradoxically, the upper classes functioning in an electron-biased
context and the lower classes - peasants, artisans, soldiers - remaining akin
to proton equivalents. From being
exclusively autocratic, as in ancient
3. However that may be, the disparity between
refined pleasure and unrefined pain in early Western civilization, between
admiration for the Beautiful and endurance of ugliness, was but a reflection of
the ratio of electrons to protons in the flesh, since Catholic civilization was
essentially sensual. Not so the
proton-biased revolt against this extreme relativity, which took the form of
the Reformation and signified a 'fall' from beauty and pleasure to evil and
hate, that is to say, from the positive side of the flesh to the negative side
of the heart, from the higher side of a sensual plane to the lower side of an
emotional one, the inception of ethical civilization in the Protestant revolt,
the beginnings of a truly relative Christian civilization. For, unlike the flesh, the atomic
constitution of the heart, that seat of the emotions, is, if anything, more
balanced, with a slight preponderance of electrons over protons, if one is
prepared to believe, as many people would, that love is a stronger emotion than
hate; though, naturally, this will depend on the individual, not least of all
in terms of his class integrity as conditioned, in large measure, by
environment. Suffice it to say that, for
a majority of small-town and suburban dwellers, love would be considered the
stronger emotion, if only marginally so!
Yet the emergence of Protestant civilization reflected a progression
from the outer to the inner, from the flesh to the heart, from refined pleasure
to negative emotions, though it didn't, of course, emerge without a bitter
struggle with autocratic and theocratic precedent, not least of all in England,
where a bloody civil war was necessary to shift the balance of power towards
the bourgeoisie.
4. However, if love
was the religious ideal of the Protestants, it didn't automatically follow that
everyone would experience or uphold it.
On the contrary, there were plenty of people more disposed to hate, and
not only among the masses! For if the
heart is approximately balanced between electrons and protons, it follows that
an emotional civilization will reflect this balance, and so divide power or
sovereignty between the bourgeoisie and the (newly-emergent) proletariat, as
signified by the two-party system, with the haters, or representatives of evil,
on one side, and the lovers, or representatives of good, on the other, as
between Liberals and Tories, the democratic compromise of an ethical
civilization, with an emotional Church behind it. What began in evil, as a hatred of beauty and
autocracy, progresses only slowly towards good, as a love of justice and democracy. But this
civilization remains relative, divided between disparate interests, as between
capitalism and socialism, electron-biased Tories and proton-biased Liberals.
5. Since Protestant civilization was centred in
an ethical compromise, so the revolt against it was post-ethical, the
reflection of another 'fall', this time from the positive side of the emotions
to the negative side of the feelings, from the heart to the old brain, from
love to sadness. This Marxist-Leninist
revolt gave birth to a new civilization, with
6. Since a relative
absolutism in hedonism preceded the extreme relativity of Roman Catholic
civilization in the Middle Ages, so a relative absolutism in LSD-induced
visionary awareness will have to follow the extreme relativity of Communist
civilization, if there is to be any real evolutionary progress towards the
Millennium, that post-human epoch in time.
Thus one is speaking of another 'fall', germane to the inception of a
new and, indeed, ultimate civilization, this time from the happiness classicism
of mature Socialism to the visionary awareness of LSD tripping, from the
majority electron content of the old brain to the minority proton content of
the new brain, and the consequent emergence of another elite to lead the masses
in the name of Social Transcendentalism and its concomitance of evolutionary
truth. Just as the atomic constitution
of the old brain signifies an imbalance favouring the electron - if, as many
people would agree, happiness is deeper than sadness - and thus represents an
evolutionary progression beyond the marginal electron imbalance of the heart,
so the ratio of electrons to protons in the new brain may be assumed to far
outbalance anything found elsewhere, including its immediate evolutionary
precursor, and to a degree whereby an antithesis with the flesh may be
inferred. Consequently the era of LSD
tripping will be superseded, in due time, by an era of hypermeditation,
or meditation solely centred on awareness and conducted, via the aid of special
harnesses suspended from overhead pulleys, at a vertical, and hence
transcendental, remove from the ground; an era which will correspond to a
progression from the minority proton content of the new brain to its (vastly)
majority electron content, as religion becomes truly absolute and society, far
from embracing a People’s democracy (as in socialist states), increasingly
comes to reflect this religious absolutism to an extent whereby any degree or
form of proton control or identification becomes both unnecessary and
irrelevant, the need for a Leader, in the first-phase sense, no longer valid,
since society will have become too firmly set on course for the post-Human
Millennium to require any such dictatorial guidance.
7. Just as the aristocracy, including the
monarch, are distinct from the peasantry in a royalist society, so a
meritocracy, including the Leader, must be considered distinct from the proletariat
in a Centrist society (as we may call that which is based around the concept of
the Centre, as signifying the omega-most sensible arrangement of society), and
thus function as proton equivalents vis-à-vis the People, serving their
interests as well as those of the Leader.
If the aristocracy of the Catholic civilization of Western Europe became
electron equivalents, to be served by the proton masses, then the meritocracy
of a Social Transcendentalist civilization in any future Centrist society must
serve the masses and follow the directives of their Leader, in whom sovereignty
would be vested no less absolutely than (it was) in the autocratic
monarch. If aristocracy and meritocracy
are antithetical, then so, too, are the peasantry and the proletariat, the
former functioning in autocratic terms as proton equivalents, the latter
corresponding, in a truly theocratic society, to electron equivalents; the
former serving the aristocracy, the latter being served by the meritocracy. Thus the Leader does not rule the people like
a monarch, but, as his title suggests, leads them. He leads because he is out front, because he
represents evolutionary truth, and this empowers him to dictate. He is no mere People’s representative,
accountable to the People. For he is not of the People but antithetical to them - a proton
equivalent vis-à-vis an electron mass.
8. Where, on the other hand, the people are sovereign,
as in the more emotional context of parliamentary democracy, they are divided between
proton and electron sides, corresponding to proletariat and bourgeoisie, and
will elect a representative to govern on their behalf. Such a representative will not, of course,
represent all the electorate, but solely those to whom he corresponds on
whichever elemental terms. Thus an
elected proton equivalent, or member of the left-wing party, will govern on
behalf of the workers, whereas an elected electron equivalent, or member of the
right-wing party, will govern on behalf of the bourgeoisie, provided, however,
that his party is in office. In either
case, the elected representative will be accountable to his supporters, since
he corresponds to them.
9. Where, by contrast, there is no such
elemental correspondence - of protons to protons or of electrons to electrons -
there can be no accountability, and so the sovereign, be he monarch or
dictator, is comparatively free to go his own way, whether in terms of his own
interests or those of evolutionary progress and, by implication, what is best
in the People - namely, their spiritual potential. As an electron equivalent, the monarch
paradoxically rules a proton mass of peasants, soldiers, slaves, etc., whereas
the dictator, corresponding to a proton equivalent, no less paradoxically leads
an electron mass of proletarians, police, military police, etc. I say 'paradoxically' with some
justification, since it is logically more in the nature of a proton equivalent
to rule, indeed to tyrannize, and of an electron equivalent to serve himself,
which, to some extent, each type does.
The earliest kings, or tyrants, were, of course, almost invariably
proton equivalents; for early pagan society was by no means atomic but, rather,
subatomic, since that which is atomic presupposes evolution to the relative
and, in particular, to a democratic level of society, whether physically or
emotionally. Yet most Western kings,
certainly in the Roman Catholic civilization of Medieval Europe, had
effectively become electron equivalents, given, in conjunction with the aristocracy
generally, to the pursuit of pleasure and to admiration of the Beautiful, and
consequently they were no longer truly representative of the aristocratic, with
its stoical foundations.
10. Doubtless 'rule' is the Western equivalent or
successor to pagan tyranny, just as 'government' appears to be the democratic
equivalent or successor to feudal rule.
A democratic politician, whose party is in office, will both represent
and govern, representing his constituents or, more correctly, his supporters in
the local constituency, but governing the mass of those who did not vote for
him and who are accordingly his elemental antithesis. By contrast, the dictator of a
Fascist/Centrist society will lead, or serve, the People in his capacity as a proton
equivalent vis-à-vis a newly-established electron mass. Yet this leadership will sometimes
paradoxically entail the metaphorical cracking of a coercive whip! To speak of him in this connection as a
ruler, however, would simply be to mistakenly regard him, in cruder terms, as
an autocrat, or someone who rules (tyrannizes) over the masses in his own
and/or fellow aristocrats' material interests.
Quite the contrary, he will have the People's interests at heart, either
soulfully, as in a Socialist dictatorship, or with regard to their spiritual
progress, as in a Fascist and, hopefully to a much greater extent in the
future, Centrist (Social Transcendental) one.
Whereas the first kind of dictatorship eventually leads to a Socialist
democracy, where a particle-biased electron proletariat are politically
sovereign, the second kind of dictatorship will eventually lead to a Centrist
theocracy, where the proletariat, become classless in an electron-wavicle equivalent, are religiously sovereign. It is all the difference between the old and
the new brains, between spiritual politics and political religion. In the Socialist case, one may claim that
dictatorial leadership is by the autocratic intelligentsia, since they correspond
to the minority proton content of the old brain, whereas in the Centrist case
it is by the theocratic intelligentsia, who correspond to the minority proton
content of the new brain. The
governmental representatives of the People, who come in-between this, will
generally correspond, as democratic intelligentsia, to the electron/proton
(neutron?) content of the midbrain. The
collapse of the Soviet Union has already demonstrated the progression from
State Socialist autocracy to Social Democracy, and, hopefully, a future
Centrist revolution in Ireland or elsewhere will demonstrate, in due time, the
emergence of a Social Theocracy from republican democracy.
11. Within the Western Christian framework we can
list the evolution of divinities - primary and secondary - as follows: the
Father, the Blessed Virgin, the Anti-Virgin, the Son, the Anti-Christ, the
Second Coming, and the Holy Ghost. If
the Father corresponds to the autocratic spectrum, then the Blessed Virgin
corresponds to the Catholic inception of the theocratic spectrum, after which the
Lutheran schism gives birth to an heretical
subdivision of the theocratic spectrum in early Protestantism. From being negative in its first phase,
Protestantism becomes positive in its second phase, largely through the
influence of Calvin, who might be defined (in contrast to Luther's status as
the Anti-Virgin) as the Pro-Christ, and thus attains to a classical perfection
in Christianity-proper, as germane to the religion of love, with Christ as its
cynosure.
12. Further along this relative theocratic
spectrum, however, we encounter the Marxist rebellion against the practical
implementation, in liberalism and capitalism, of Protestant theology, which
leads, via Lenin, to the birth of a new religion, based on the teachings of the
Anti-Christ, in Soviet Communism, the first phase of which, under the
dictatorships of Lenin and Stalin, is negative, the second phase, largely in
consequence of Krushchev's subsequent influence,
becoming positive with the attainment - under, first, Gorbachev and then, more
completely, Yeltsin - of a classical perfection in which People’s democracy and
socialism are the political and economic concomitants, respectively, of what
had been Marxist-Leninist theology. This
does not imply, however, that Krushchev corresponds
to a Second Coming, though there is of course scope for various interpretations
and generalizations in this largely speculative sphere of historical
determinism! Neither need we seriously
attach such a status to Hitler, if we are basing our contentions on strictly
Western theological progressions from the Blessed Virgin to the Second Coming,
which necessarily remain sketchy; though Hitler certainly signified a revolt
against Soviet Communism, if in its first, or Bolshevik, phase. The only phase or time during which such a
revolt is historically valid is when it is against the classical phase of a
preceding civilization, so that we get a 'fall', as with Luther and Marx, from
the classical perfections of mature Catholicism and Protestantism respectively,
a 'fall', in the paradoxical nature of evolution, to the negative, or romantic,
side of a higher moral plane. But we
should not overlook the fact that both the Anti-Virgin and the Anti-Christ
pertain to the heretical subdivision of the theocratic spectrum, because no
anti-divinity could legitimately pertain to its main or absolute part, only the
positive divinities of the Blessed Virgin and the Second Coming
respectively. So instead of being a
revolt against classical Communism, the Second Coming, regarded from a Western
standpoint, would be an extension of the truly theocratic spectrum into a new
and final religion, the True World Religion of Social Transcendentalism - a
religion which could only lead, in due time, to the ultimate divinity of the
Holy Spirit, with the culmination of all evolution.
13. The evolutionary
sketch outlined above is not, of course, ideal.
For the Christian framework is limited, and accordingly fails to do
proper justice to the evolution of religion considered in its totality, as a
global phenomenon. I have already used
other frameworks in my speculations, the most comprehensive being that which
extends the theocratic spectrum beyond an antithetical equivalent (Second
Coming) of the Blessed Virgin in a straight antithesis (involving opposite
spectra) between one absolute and another, such as the True World Messiah and
Moses. For, after all, Western
civilization begins on an early-stage grand-bourgeois level with Roman
Catholicism, which is necessarily relative when compared with the absolute
inception of civilization in pagan antiquity.
Similarly, the concept of a Second Coming, pertaining to this Christian
framework, is relative (if on extreme terms) in comparison with the absolute
culmination of civilization still to-come, with the transcendental future. Of what use is such a concept to a person of
Hindu or Buddhist or Moslem or Judaic descent?
He will regard it as applicable to Christianity and to Christianity
alone, and would take umbrage at the prospect of having to abandon his own religion
for the sake of another, no less parochial one.
Clearly, a clean break with all parochial, so-called world religions is
desirable, if people are eventually to come round to an ultimate world
religion. Now this can only be achieved
by reference to a True World Messiah, a Jewish concept transcending everything
parochial, a concept appertaining to Judaism no less than to the historical
desire of the Jewish people for a religion that will transcend all others and
unite mankind in a common faith. I cannot
say that I am particularly partial, in this respect, to the concept of a Second
Coming, even if, in the paradoxical order of things in this relative world, it
may have some value vis-à-vis Christians and, in particular, Catholic peoples.
14. Regarded, then, from a more comprehensive
point-of-view, civilized evolution proceeds from an aristocratic absolutism in
stoical antiquity to an aristocratic relativity, or relative absolutism, in
hedonistic antiquity, that is to say, from a romantic to a classical phase
within a pagan context. Then comes the early-stage grand-bourgeois phase of civilization in
Roman Catholicism, though not before the Dark Ages have paved the way for this
new classicism in a kind of relative absolutism of aristocratic tyranny. Against this we get a late-stage
grand-bourgeois rebellion through early Protestantism,
and this in turn leads to a fresh classicism in bourgeois Puritanism. An early-stage petty-bourgeois revolt against
mature Protestantism is the next logical evolutionary step and, manifesting in
early Communism, this duly leads to classical Communism in a late-stage
petty-bourgeois/early proletarian context of People’s democracy, which, under
the ideological sanctions firstly of détente and then of glasnost,
perestroika, etc., is prepared to peacefully co-exist with the bourgeois
West, just as the Protestant West was prepared to co-exist, if not always
peacefully then at least grudgingly, with the Roman Catholic civilization of an
earlier time. This finally brings us to
the transcendental future, with civilized evolution again manifesting in two
phases - the first, or romantic, phase with regard to the relative awareness of
LSD-induced visionary experience, and the second, or classical, phase with
regard to the absolute awareness of hypermeditation,
both of these antithetical to the equivalent phases of pagan antiquity, LSD
tripping to hedonism and hypermeditation to
stoicism. So just as pagan antiquity was
beneath the Western Christian pale, so transcendental futurity will be above
it, the True World Messiah appertaining to a classless absolutism as opposed to
a petty-bourgeois relativity. In between
come the Catholic, Protestant, and Communist civilizations, as germane to
grand-bourgeois, bourgeois, and petty-bourgeois stages of evolution, their
classical ideals refined sensuality, love, and happiness respectively.
