The Russians’ disastrous “experiment” with communism certainly “delayed” their “evolution.” However, it is actually working to their advantage now, as it has left them (you) somewhere “in the middle” between the Soviet way of life and what is currently manifesting in Western societies.
As a consequence of this, you now have the opportunity to learn from Western mistakes to inform your effort to find a “middle way” in the future.
Chief among Western mistakes, in my view, was the slide into “mechanical capitalism,” which is spiritually empty and ultimately inhumane. Today, Europeans are not far behind, but American society has gone the furthest. It is completely sick – about 1/3 of adults are on antidepressants, despite living in the most nominally wealthy society on earth. Its society today is spiritless.
Commercial propaganda in the United States projects images of very happy consumers, non-stop, 24/7. This is, in a sense, analogous to the old Soviet propaganda newspapers that showed extremely happy workers on every page. But Soviet citizens knew full well that none of this was real. On the contrary, go to any sports bar in the United States and you will see people who actually look like those extremely happy consumers in the ads. Indeed, the whole purpose of “antidepressants” is to make people look like the joyful consumers in the ads. Americans are generally very friendly and attractive on the surface, just like the blissful consumers in the ads. Only, as the “epidemic” of “mental illness” clearly shows, many of them are not happy.
Ironically, it is not the poor who are drugged with antidepressants, but rather the rich.
And even more ironically, in my opinion, this “epidemic” of “mental illness” has its origins in the healthy reaction of trinitarian human personalities to the spiritless environment in which they now find themselves. I suppose their trinitarian essence is horrified by the complete absence of love at the “superorganism” level. Perhaps their conscience resists, calling them to live out their days in peace and trinitarian fellowship, and not in the well-paid, well-fed, drug-addicted slavery of “mechanical capitalism?”
I say of American society that it is nominally rich because its wealth is defined solely in material terms. But what exactly does “quality of life” mean? The experience of peace, repentance and trinitarian communion with neighbors that I have every day here is simply not possible in the USA. For me, this experience also turns on the “quality of life.” Despite the fact that self-proclaimed Christians in the West beat their chests, their political-economic order is irrevocably committed to a “mechanical life” where everyone is for himself. This is the worst “quality of life” imaginable, in my opinion, for a Christian. (50)
Your generation of young people has a precious treasure, the mysterious collective love and sense of community that is “sobornost.” But your colleagues in the United States do not have this in any measure. (51)
I beg you, please, make an active effort to preserve and support this. Otherwise you will surely lose it, and with it the opportunity for your people to develop in ways that are no longer possible for Westerners. Resist the tendency toward “every man for himself” materialism. Unless the scales are lifted from the eyes of your oligarchs, Russian oligarchic capitalism will inevitably contribute to the disunity of society. And people will inevitably accept this as their material “well-being” increases. Instead of being impressed by Western materialism and the “quality of life” it offers, replete with shiny consumer trinkets, be horrified by its anti-human origins and by the spiritual emptiness it entails. Once you accept the hypothesis that “Life is sacred,” turn away and flee from the purveyors of “mechanical life.”
Come to the liturgy. Gather together. Learn to do prayerful work. And take it to the streets, to the subway, to a crowded bus, a minibus, a commuter train – constantly striving to receive and transmit the “love of the Creator.”
Unlike your colleagues in the West, whose societies today have gone far down the path of “transhumanism,” you have a huge resource that will support you in your efforts to preserve and maintain “sobornost” – the Russian Orthodox tradition. It not only survived the communists’ attempt to destroy it, but is now flourishing throughout Russia.
The church apparatus is currently extremely important in Russian society, since it can protect those who take a dangerous step against the “system” for spiritual reasons with the demand to initiate an alternative path of “development” against the path that inevitably leads to “mechanical capitalism.” Let there be no confusion on this point: “mechanical capitalism” = Satanism, with or without LGBT propaganda.
In this regard, I want to propose some “political engineering.” The critical first step is obtaining some formal guarantee from “the system” that our activities will not be construed as criminal “extremism.” In this regard, I want to pursue a letter to President Putin that is supported by the Russian Orthodox Church apparatus hierarchy and by at least one oligarch.
Getting the support of the Church is one thing. But getting the support of at least one oligarch is going to be tricky. I will no doubt be accused of anti-semitism for stating, factually, that the majority of the oligarch clans are Jewish, not Orthodox Christian. But I do not view this as an inherently insurmountable obstacle to “change” in order to preserve “sobornost.”
The second step is to form a “trade union” that I propose should be called simply the “Union of Orthodox Workers” (SPT in Russian). This should secure support of the church apparatus by pledging to “tithe” on its contracts (i.e., give 10% to the Moscow Patriarchate). At first this could be simply a temporary employment agency which negotiates contracts for labor to be provided by its members. This could organize social events (musical, cultural) designed to bring people together in a context in which discussions about “next steps” will organically arise. The long term perspective is to eventually apply for government loans in order to build “means of production,” along with attractive and humane housing for its members (i.e. housing that does not resemble profitable high-rise ghettos). Ideally such construction would be undertaken in currently undeveloped areas of the Russian Federation, where pre-existing corrupt authority that must be “paid off” is kept to a minimum. In this manner, the union members, i.e. the people, themselves become the “owners.” The goal of economic development will then inevitably become a peaceful, stable, “quality” life for the people in such new cities under construction, rather than profit maximization for distant oligarchs or disparate “shareholders” (i.e., thereby avoiding the toxic incentives that inevitably lead to inhumane “mechanical capitalism”).
Will you use your considerable charisma and communication skills and come work with me on this?
Notes:
(50) The self-proclaimed “Christian Right” in the US openly promotes the heresy that “individualism” is a “Christian value” in defiance of the supreme commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” This fundamental heresy is convenient for “mechanical capitalism” in general and is crucial to its success in the US, where the majority of the population continues to identify as “Christians.” They openly ignore the Lord’s maxim, “You cannot serve two masters: you cannot serve God and the power of money” (Matthew 6:24). I think they can rightly bear more responsibility than any other political force for the spread of “mechanical capitalism” and, accordingly, hold them to the refutable assumption that they are, de facto, “Christian Satanists,” whether they realize it or not. By their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:16).
(51) To be fair, although the US “world leaders” have long since moved on, in some other Western societies, such as Denmark, the phenomenon of “superorganism” love still persists.
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