Unexpectedly, I have found my rage at artificial intelligence most reflected by devout Christians, folks like L.M. Sacasas, author of the Substack newsletter, The Convivial Society; the social critic Ivan Illich; and, lastly, the Orthodox Substacker Paul Kingsworth, who wrote the best seller, “Against the Machine,” a searing critique of technology.
Recently, Atlantic Magazine introduced me to another such Christian, Carl Trueman, who writes in his book, “The Desecration of Man”:
“We often experience our world as one that is disenchanted, one that finds implausible the idea that there is anything transcendent to which we can point to find meaning and significance in the immanent. The reasons for this, as sociologists in the wake of Max Weber claim, is that the industrialization and bureaucratization of society over the last two hundred years has stripped the world—and the men and women who inhabit it—of its magic and mystery. Man has been reduced to the latest random entity cast up by a process of evolution that is heading nowhere in particular.”
I agree with Trueman’s analysis but not his cure. Reclaiming the mystery and magic of life doesn’t necessarily mean returning to God as defined by Christianity. Christianity, in my humble opinion, is just one of many interpretations concerning the nature of the ultimate truth. Native Americans, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims have their own versions.
I think we would be safer calling this fundamental truth we all yearn for “the creative impulse of the universe,” which “can be called God, but it doesn’t have to be called God.” That’s according to Jim Rigby, pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Texas.
But the the Atlantic reviewer disagrees, arguing that a return to a watered-down, cultural version of Christianity is a cop out. Instead, we must return to the rigid religious version with all its strum and drang. I disagree. I think political revolutions can do it too.
Social scientists agree that religion is an essential institution, common to all societies; its purpose is to create a shared system of morals and provide a sense of purpose and social cohesion. Government is another essential institution — no matter how often Libertarians tell us it isn’t. Yet, sometimes government institutions go beyond maintaining social order through law enforcement.
Both institutions provide individuals with something to believe in greater than themselves. Therefore, why isn’t it possible for the government, on occasion, to take over religion’s role in building social cohesion and a common sense of purpose?
The best example is our very own revolution back in 1776.
Ken Burns’s 12-part documentary on our revolution shows that the 13 colonies had virtually nothing in common at the beginning except their hatred of the British Monarch. Yet by adopting new ways of thinking and acting, they forged a new unity that Ken Burns calls the most consequential event in human history after the birth of Christ.
Speaking of new ways of thinking, a new study by the World Inequality Lab claims to have found solutions to all the existential problems we currently face. It is the most comprehensive attempt to address climate breakdown, political extremism and ever greater economic and social tension.
“There’s a huge cultural, intellectual, political battle that is going on. And we all have a role to play,” said Thomas Piketty, a co-director of the Lab and a professor at the Paris School of Economics. The report concludes, “A habitable, equal 21st century is materially possible. What stands in the way is not technical impossibility but political choice and the hard but crucial work of building a coalition behind it.”
Envisioning a giant leap for humankind sounds like pie in the sky. Then again, so did our Declaration of Independence before it was written. This study shows, if nothing else, that feasible alternatives exist to resolve our knottiest dilemmas. We are not solitary, hopeless souls floating aimlessly in a rowboat without oars. We have oars. We just need to use them.
Both Republicans and Democrats are disgusted with the status quo, consisting of elite meritocracies, rampant corruption and power wielded by billionaires and dark money. The country is becoming a pressure cooker: something has to give.
We see that fire today in Graham Platner’s candidacy. The messenger may be flawed, but his message is reverberating around Maine, gaining strength every day. It’s a rallying call for regular folks in our country and around the world to confront the wealthy elites and petty dictators who think they are kings, and demand they submit to the Power of the People.
Jean Stimmell, retired stone mason and psychotherapist, lives in Northwood and blogs at jstim.substack.com.