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There are truths in religions that are demonstrable.
Religions create a framework of belief and values that enable a productive, prosperous and healthy society to develop- and they have PoW because if they do not foster such a community, they die.
Religions emphasize our responsibility and duty toward others.
The irony is that the greatest religions have all historically fostered strong productive and expansive cultures and communities but ultimately they all fall into decline and decadence- as their success in enabling the best potential of human nature to develop and they achieve material wealth and power they become selfish, arrogant and entitled and forget the humble truths that built them up.
Neoliberalism I see as a selfish amoral ideology- with no basis in faith, love, community, responsibility or the common good of society- in fact Thatcher said it - 'there is no such thing as society'.
So they paint a model of the world as one where the individual is in a constant contest with everyone else and everything is commodified - there is no common good, no community, no society, no shared purpose and values, just an amoral market place where the rich get richer and inequality, loneliness, isolation, division and alienation grow.
We as humans can achieve great things when we work together collaboratively, with a common purpose and set of values- but when we do not have the humility to respect others and work together we are in decline.
The Maori here in NZ have a saying about what is most important- 'It is the people, it is the people, it is the people'.
Religions resonate with this - the way we treat each other defines us and ultimately determines our collective fate.
Agreed. With the caveat that "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". We must act in accordance with the created order. I would argue that the process of hubris followed by decadence you allude to is rooted in people starting to forget they owe their existence to the creator, and thinking they can do away with such "superstitions" now that they are "enlightened". This is when the prophets arrive to try to warn us. And of course, they are ignored, until disaster strikes.
Yes there is definitely truth in that.
As a society we may reach a point of arrogance where only tragedy will awaken us.
The church here in NZ is incredibly weak and compromised- most are dying or mired in materialism.
I practice voluntary poverty from the relative wealth and comfort of New Zealand where the preoccupation of the media and society in general seems to be gaining as much material wealth as you can.
The economy/dollar has become the sole arbiter of value but that is not a sustainable society.
Bitcoin gives me some hope but it is far from a complete solution- it is just a model, an alternative model to centralised power structures and hierarchies.
Something more is required.
Renewed or revived values of community!
Great piece of writing. This is the sort of thing I come to Stacker News for.
Personally I think it’s as simple as neoliberalism failed because it is predicated on false assumptions about humankind—that humans are essentially good, and that with the right mix of systems and incentives we can create a just and equitable society. Of course, all such “isms” fall into this trap.
I believe scripture is very clear that humanity is fallen, wicked, and completely incapable of doing anything but sin, through our own endeavors alone. Man is fallen, self-interested, fearful, paranoid, manic, envious and power hungry. Some are even psychopathic and enjoy to see others suffer. And not just elites—the line between heaven and hell goes down the middle of every human heart.
Maybe people don’t like me bringing up holy scripture to make my point. In that case, I ask you to read Dostoevsky, Machiavelli, Schmitt, Pareto, etc. etc. Bitcoin is not going to save us. There will always be an elite. There will always be a sovereign, deciding the exception. One will always be required to render unto Caesar.
Bitcoin is a useful tool. It might even be part of the “circulation of elites” that Pareto wrote about. Maybe we’ll get better elites (it would be hard to get worse). Maybe we’ll even have a “golden age”. But ultimately we will return to sin and corruption and bitcoin will never fix that.
I think one good thing about the undeniable collapse of the post WW2 order is it wakes people up to the lie that there was any hope for humanity earning its own salvation. Our era has been one of great hubris. The prophets of the OT would blush at our arrogance and rejection of the created order. Perhaps we can return to more “based” cultural values. Family, church, scripture. Almost anything other than worship of the State or “the individual” or any “ism” would be an improvement I think.