As we aim for peaceable discussion and principled consensus concerning human flourishing in a pluralistic society, awareness of ideological influences is important for clarity and conversation. So much public discourse is talking around or over one another, instead of thoughtful engagement of issues.
Building a thriving society includes understanding our neighbors. This includes humbly learning about other cultures and ethnicities, philosophical and religious worldviews, and discovering principles we have in common. We must desire for all others the liberties of conscience we want for ourselves. While we live with the differences, we can also forge alliances leading to better neighborhoods and nations.
For social cohesion, we must find some common ground on being human and the ingredients that build a prosperous future. The quest is being undermined by ideological extremism that rejects any consensus outside of its own domination.
In this essay, I am presenting three extremist forces fighting for control and offering three foundations for all people of conscience as we aim for freedom and virtue informing our social cohesion.
Extremist ideology #1: Jihadist Islam. While the vast majority of Muslims are peaceable neighbors in many nations, a significant minority desire a restoration of the Umma, the global Islamic empire that will eventually cover the earth and “liberate” humankind. For some Muslim strategists, this is a long game of a century or more of proselytizing, gradual influence, infiltration of social and political sectors, and eventual Sharia in every nation in which they live. For others, the aims are more immediate with violence accelerating local and global control. Such radicals come in both Sunni and Shi’ite traditions and truly believe that anything short of absolute submission to Islam is unacceptable. Male and female roles are fixed, and an oppressive paternalism is the norm here. Women are definitely second-class and under the rule of the men. Conversion to another religion or any departure from Islamic strictures are met with social ostracism or violence.
A note: there are Muslim leaders advocating for democratic and pluralist societies, with Islam as a partner with other religions. These irenic leaders are helpful and important but find themselves marginalized by the militants. We should expect several inner conflicts as millions of Muslims – especially women – have tasted the freedoms of other societies and do not want reversion to the 15th century.
Extremist ideology #2: Global, Technocratic Communism and Fascism. The collectivist impulse keeps returning, in spite of the historical devastations of the past century. The World Economic Forum, several groups in the European Union, the Chinese Communist Party, and many elites in other nations really believe that a select group of wise experts should be in charge and that the world will be better with less private property, religious belief, and economic freedom. Both communism and fascism have similar roots of control, with fascist ideology more focused on blood and soil while purer Marxism is class-oriented and less intolerant of ethnic diversity. The COVID-19 moment was a rehearsal for how much freedom people would relinquish for security. One other attribute of this ethos: a contempt for and desire to destroy the nuclear and extended family. The collective must control more than the biological or adoptive parents. Nothing is more destructive of the well-being of a person that this mentality.
A note here: There is much room for debate among people of conscience concerning governmental toles in people’s lives. Leaning toward slightly more or less local, regional or national governmental engagement does not make one a communist or fascist.
Extremist Ideology #3: Hyper-Individualism (hedonism and libertarianism). Here the focus is completely on the individual and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. Autonomy is the prime value and minimalism in personal and social morality rule here. While affirming the dignity and liberty of each person, the worldviews within this ideology fail to account for the deep human need for community and for love that unselfishly serves others. “No man [or woman] is an island” remains as trenchant an observation as it was when John Donne first wrote it in the 16th century. Without reference to God or a higher good, such individualism pursues pleasure and power without the restraints of humility and service. Subjectivism and post-truth epistemology offer little hope for civil consensus.
All of these ideologies are antithetical to freedom and flourishing and a different way of principled liberty must be offered. In the three principles presented below, I offer a starting pathway for progress out of the confusion and polarization.
Principle #1: Freedom of conscience and religion is the first freedom, and theocratic coercion will not produce a creative and cohesive society. As a devout Christian, I do want everyone to come to faith in Christ. But such decisions are voluntary, and until the end of this age I will affirm for all others the same freedom of religion I desire for myself.
Principle #2: Totalitarian ideologies bear terrible fruit, with hundreds of millions killed and oppressed in the past century. We do need government, but it must serve the people and not compel an allegiance that belongs to the Almighty and ones’ conscience. Whether called the extreme Left or extreme Right, Marxism and its branches must be roundly rejected.
Principle #3: In answer to the hedonism of our today, we must affirm that we are hard-wired for altruism and personal fulfillment, for pleasure in the transcendent and the mundane. Part of being healthy is a web of supportive relationships, beginning with the immediate family and then extending to our religious and/or local communities.
As I complete these first essays on being human, I pray that we can recover and renew a vision that sees the divine image in each person, while also accounting for our depravity and need of redemption. I pray that families will nourish children well, preparing women and men that use their gifts and vocations for the common good. And I pray that we are liberated from the pseudo-utopias promised by religious and secular totalitarians and the fantasies of hedonism that enslave our souls. Freedom rooted in virtue and unleashing the full potential of each person in the beauty of healthy community are reachable aspirations worth our energy and focus.