Moving the Ancient Boundaries: Class Warfare
Classes: The attack on the individual.
Previous essays on the causes of cultural erosion:
Do not move the ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.
— Proverbs 22:28 —
At the heart of Western Civilization is its emphasis on the individual. The foundation underlying this is the Judaeo-Christian conviction of the nature of man created in the image of God. From this proceeds the recognition of man as a creature with free will, the ability to choose either good or evil. From the understanding of man’s nature under God derives the principles of justice, accountability, personal responsibility, and the societal need for restraints on evil. The erosion of society’s stability, freedom and safety for individuals therefore involves the transition from the individual to a class. The idea of class derives from the notion of tribalism, where membership in the tribe diminishes or eliminates the individual’s importance, independence and freedom. Individual accountability and identity are replaced by allegiance to tribal identity, rules, and mores. Individuality, freedom of thought, speech and action are judged as rebellion and rejection of the tribe, and result in severe punishment, expulsion, or even termination. Ironically, class identity is often framed as freedom or liberty — while effectively a form of enslavement.
Class identity easily evolves into being cultic in nature. As it is a closed system, it often develops its own language idiosyncrasies, imputing new definitions to words understood only by class members, quite different from their common meaning. Unwritten rules are a given, demanding blind obedience and severe punishment for their violation. Such rules can change suddenly and catastrophically to those inattentive or naive, often as a way of redefining who is in or out of the class.
Most importantly, the tribe defines all individuals outside of their members as belonging to another class — and therefore as enemies. Furthermore it proves useful to include as virtual members others who meet their class definition — often without their knowledge, assent, or personal convictions quite distinct from those defined by the class.
Such class divisions abound in modern society. The most widely known example of class warfare is Marxism. This ideology viewed the world as a conflict between the bourgeois and the proletariat. It was aggressively atheistic, and quickly led to totalitarianism. It viewed every other system, especially religion and capitalism, as an enemy, and continues to do so today.
It was all based on lies.
And it remains alive and well.
Modern progressivism has its roots in Marxism, and while it has morphed into a superficially more palatable form, its core ideology has changed little. The target may vary, but the solution remains the same.
This is, by the way, not about politics. Class warfare has many manifestations, despite political orientation. It can be seen in Christian nationalism, Islam, survivalism, gender fluidity, Nazism, UFO and alien belief — and many other groups. Many if not most such manifestations have originated in response to legitimate or perceived evils. Marxism arose in part due to the exploitation of workers and the enormous wealth and greed of the industrial age. Nazism found fertile soil in the retribution against Germany after World War I and the vengeance-focused Versailles treaty. The solutions which these movements instigate, however, invariably prove far more evil than the problems they purport to address. They work to undermine any culture based on the value of the individual, with its resulting freedom, stable civil society, and equitable application of justice. They do so through various means: indoctrination, especially of the young; propaganda; and attacking their perceived enemies - violently, in speech and action, spanning the spectrum from canceling and disenfranchisement to rioting, imprisonment, torture, and murder.
The impact of class warfare on Western culture, founded on the value of the individual, is profound. The nature of such tribalism has much commonality, to be explored in a subsequent essay.
Next: Moving the Ancient Boundaries: Cults & Classes - coming soon.