Political Transition #5

It Won't Be All Roses

The Conventionalist ethos will emerge during an era of unmistakable duplicity of the political classes and a perceived failure of the political system. People will say: "it's broken", and yet strive for continuity. After a long period of blaming the politicians, their own responsibility will emerge. The Conventionalist mode specifically enables new norms built around social pressure rather than legislation: see a hypothetical strategy.

Social consensus will be dominated by conventional wisdom, and an insistence on correction of egregious errors. Plain common sense will be trumpeted. See examples.

As the process of positive change unfolds, three core weaknesses of Conventionalism will become increasingly evident:

• Superficiality in choices: The performance of politicians and the government is likely to continue to be rather limited. Choices will often be superficial.
• Tyranny of the majority: Unfair and unnecessary harm to certain minority groups in society will occur based on ignorance and emotion-driven scapegoating.
• Mundane preoccupations: Politicians used charisma and provided a scintilla of inspiration. These sources of idealism will likely be unavailable, given the sense of betrayal associated with all political rhetoric and promises of change.

Spiritual Crisis within Society

Whatever its economic or military state, no society can be strong without a spirit infused with ideals, profundity and sensitivity. The end result is likely to be a spiritual crisis within society.

This crisis will likely take the form of a deep questioning of authority, of social values and of the capability of both the public as a whole and of individuals within politics. Serious doubts may well arise about the very possibility of a people and its government to ever function responsibly. The idea of acting in an enlightened fashion for the good of all will be viewed as a pipe-dream. This doubt is itself the spiritual crisis. People will have doubts about themselves and their own beliefs and actions because these seem to have created the situation.

Spiritual crises are not rare—they have occurred regularly, every 40-50 years in recent centuries, The last spiritual awakening was 1960-1975, peaking around 1967, so another is predicted rather soon. This analysis supports that prediction.
Reference:

A prediction of a spiritual crisis within within 20-30 years is offered and explained lucidly by N. Howe & W. Strauss (1992) Generations: The History of Amerca’s Future: 1584 to 2069. Harper Perennial.

Conventionalist ► Transcendentalist concentrates energy:

Conventionalist awareness that “we were responsible for what our political classes did to us”, diffuses each person's responsibility. Transcendentalist awareness “I am personally responsible for what the political system did to us and how it is working now” concentrates each person's responsibility.

Q: Could the transition go direct to the Communalist Mode?

A: The Communalist mode is more complex and demanding than the Transcendentalist because it applies self-awareness in the service of others. Developing personal convictions and properly valuing self-awareness and responsibility, in principle and for oneself, would seem to be an essential prior step. 

Altering Beliefs

A change in beliefs is often needed when we want to accelerate personal or social change. This was evident in the corresponding Legitimist ► Individualist move up the Y-Axis within the Cycle-1, which produced ideological change. Transcendentalist values link directly to the challenge of change: but now the issue is not belief about something external (e.g. the political system, the politicians) but belief about 'my own views, attitudes and capabilities'.

Our beliefs determine our identity, and affect our integrity and morality. Any alteration in personal identity requires harnessing spiritual forces. So many will be asking themselves simple but profound questions in relation to society and government, like … "Do I think that this recent political choice is right? Should government get involved with this matter? Is this a good idea or am I being bribed? How should I be supporting my local neighbourhood? How can I properly contribute to the needed consensus? Can I adapt to this policy without losing my integrity?"

Transcendental choosing like this can, of course, happen at any point by anyone: but that is a purely personal matter. The time has come for a set of principles derived from transcendentalist ethical choice to shape a new political ethos for society as a whole. This will come as a surprise to many.

In approaching this Stage-6, whenever it may emerge and strange or New Age-like as it may seem now, tapping into our deepest and truest self will be viewed as essential for political life.

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• So, consider now the next step for society in which integrity emerges with the transcendentalist mode.

Originally posted: July 2009; Last updated: 11-Apr-2014.