by system
failure
There is
only one letter that separates these two words [evolution -
(r)evolution], yet how close, or, how far stand to each other? The
term Evolution usually defines the biological progress of species (of
course this is a simplified short definition), however, assuming that
we can use the term Evolution in the socio-political field, both
these concepts can be used to express types of processes which can
drive societies into a more advanced socio-political organizing.
If we accept
the usage of these terms for such a purpose, then we have two
concepts leading theoretically to the same result, but with quite a
different approach. Revolution express the willing of the majority to
change the authoritarian characteristics of a society and build a
more democratic, equitable, balanced and therefore, advanced society.
It is usually violent, has certain leaders and motives, can be seen
directly and brings rapid changes that shape a new society.
Evolution,
on the other hand, is really a very slow process and therefore cannot
be seen directly. There are no leaders, no certain motives and
changes are very slow too. While the big disadvantage of Evolution,
is that changes come very slow, these changes are probably more
stable and permanent than in the case of a Revolution.
Slipping
backwards
Two
of the most significant revolutions in human history, the French
Revolution and the Russian Revolution, brought historical changes in
the socio-political field and set new possibilities for building more
advanced societies. French Revolution brought the nation-state as a
carrier of majority's rights, while Russian Revolution was a first
attempt to erase the class structure of the society.
From
the first moment, however, despite the revolutionary momentum, human
nature apparently prevailed, dragging backwards the societies into a
progressive downgrade.
Although
the urban class had significant contribution to the French
Revolution, ultimately took the place of Monarchy and Feudalism and
became an elite based on the economic power. On the other hand,
Soviet Communism built authoritarian states based on a monstrous
bureaucracy, very far from the theoretical principles of Communism.
Despite
all the progress in human and labor rights all these decades, today
we are witnessing the transformation of Capitalism into a global
brutal Feudalism with neoliberalism as the intermediate stage. After
the collapse of the Soviet Communism, Western societies are going
backwards and people are losing their rights faster and faster. It
seems that revolutions failed to bring permanent, long-term changes
in the societies.
A
powerful system that drowns every resistance
We are
witnessing now a global powerful system that is able το assimilate any
attempt for revolutionary resistance. Many young people lost their
lives in the Arab Spring revolutions, yet what was left are the TV
pictures of the riots in squares and the commercials between them.
It is the
same brutal system that gave birth to the ISIS terror. But even if
it's true what the terrorists want to show, that they build an
anti-Western cultural front based on religious fundamentalism, they
depend on Capitalist processes to survive and operate. They need
money, they buy guns, someone is funding them, they sell oil.
People in
Western countries who suffer from cuts and austerity measures are
only protesting by Capitalist terms. Riots are also doomed to end to
be a TV spectacle with lots of commercials between. There is too much
population these days. Half can go out in the streets protesting,
while the other half can watch the show with lots of commercials. The
big bosses who own the media will just make more money, that's all.
Elites
who have illusions
Despite the
huge power of this system, anything that is fed from a growing
inequality is doomed to collapse, and this system relies on the
growing inequality which brings dangerous imbalance. It looks like
this system is trapped into a spiral trajectory towards destruction.
The
dangerous illusion of the elites is that they consider themselves as
something separate from the masses, as not being part of the society
and therefore they can go away, as always in the past, in case of a
massive, ugly collapse. This illusion is based on the fact that
everyone operates through the same terms. Everyone seeks more money,
either to survive, or, to climb up the social hierarchy.
In reality,
this is the recipe for the perfect destruction. Everyone wants the
same thing, no one is trying a different approach, or even imagine a
different approach, a different society based on different principles
and values. No one seems to understand that this totalitarian,
one-dimensional culture leads to a dead end. There are no dreamers
who could inspire new revolutions towards a different direction and
re-start the system.
The Western
neo-rationalism is the same for all. From the lower classes to the
elites, people are “trained” to believe that there are limits in
human nature, in the way that a society can function.
If there
will be any Revolution in the 21st century soon, it will be done by
those who became statistical figures of poverty, unemployment,
inequality and social exclusion by this brutal system. People with no
hopes and dreams, no better future to seek, no class consciousness.
People who have nothing to lose. It will be bad, chaotic,
unpredictable and rather doubtful that someone could call it
"Revolution".
Is a
Revolutionary Evolution possible?
There are
some signs of hope, however. There is a clear saturation of values in
Western societies, especially during the economic crisis. People
appear to be tired from this culture of economic indexes and
consumerism. More and more try to change their lives and set
different priorities, but it is difficult to make it happen as they
still greatly depend on the present system.
There are
signs of a new evolutionary process in societies. Unfortunately, it's
a very slow process and the catastrophe is much closer. What could we
do? Could we, as societies, artificially accelerate this evolutionary
process in order to retain our hopes to survive? Could we synchronize
our efforts to reverse our downgraded course into an unprecedented
type of Evolution?
Read
also:
Comments
Post a Comment