Philosophy is more vital now than ever before. In history, philosophers have interpreted the world in glorious ways. Modern philosophy pales in comparison to the classics, like Kant, Marx, Hegel, or Plato. Whenever someone thinks of philosophy, they think of them. Philosophy just is not thought about anymore, it has been replaced by growing “activism” in the face of human tragedies. Rational thought has been replaced by mindless consumerism or flat out cynicism. People have become apathetic toward thought. In our modern world, activism has been reduced to simply consuming a product. Rational thought is purely hypothetical, idealistic, or irrational. We cannot believe that consumerist activism or personal changes will save the world. We have to revolutionize thought to save the world; we have to think.
Starting with capitalism. Historically speaking, (and I am saying this as some kind of communist) communism has failed miserably. The fall of the Soviet Union and the Westernization of Communist China signaled the death of communism in the modern world. What is left is some kind of social democratic capitalist economy. Ironically, critics of capitalism have been saying that capitalism is in its last stages since the French Revolution. Capitalism has survived for hundreds of years on its last breath. It thrives on instability, on competition, winning and losing and the social unrest of billions. Is this system good for humankind? Are there any alternatives that work?
There are no easy answers to those questions. The Occupy Wall Street protests are a prime example. They protested capitalism, but provided no solutions. This usually happens when you ask any communist what their solution is. Either you get some sort of moralistic answer or an entirely unrealistic answer. Occupy Wall Street had no answer, and frankly, neither do I. In short, there is no answer, not yet. My only suggestion can be to think. We need thought to solve this problem. That is why philosophy is more important now than ever before. To solve the world’s issues, not just capitalism, we need to think, not act. Philosopher and communist superstar Slavoj Zizek puts it this way, “The message of Occupy Wall Street is, ‘I would prefer not to play the existing game. There is something fundamentally wrong with the system and the existing forms of institutionalized democracy are not strong enough to deal with problems.’ For me, Occupy Wall Street is just a signal. It is like clearing the table. Time to start thinking.” But what to think about? Modern philosophers should be thinking of new solutions to not only the world’s humanistic crises, but it’s economic ones as well.
Most people remember, not too long ago Starbucks put out a campaign that told consumers that their five dollar latte will help the children of whatever Latin American country they buy their coffee from by donating a portion of the profits to that country. This campaign is not only ineffective (money given to countries or charities has a habit of disappearing) but perverse. Not that I am saying it is completely horrific, helping people is a noble cause. However, buying coffee to save people, though, shows that people are not willing to help with issues themselves. Instead they would rather drink their coffee and believe they are doing good for the world. That is perverse.
The most effective solution has not been found, nor will it ever be if we keep up this mentality of “I am doing good because I am donating to this cause or that cause.” Using money to fix a problem has proved ineffective, just look at the US government. What people as a whole need to do is take Marx’s famous Thesis 11, and reverse it. Instead of “Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” We need to say, “We tried to change the world too quickly, it is time to sit down and think.” To do what Hegel did, not to repeat his thoughts, but to repeat what he did with his thoughts. What we need is not left or right, but up or down or sideways or slantways. To solve today’s humanistic problems, as well as economic and political problems, we have to think outside what we know. To explore new territory of thought. Where to start, though?
Frankly, I do not have an answer to that either. I could go to the classics, although their importance on thought as a whole has become historically contextualized. It is no longer what they thought, but what they did with their thought. Maybe we should simply understand exactly what philosophers did in their historical context. Study what they did, not what they said, and work off that. Or maybe we should start with sciences, questioning the facts of life. Or perhaps religion. Buddhism, for example, teaches that everything is an illusion, that we should trust nothing. Should we apply that to the way we think? I say yes. Change how we think and we can change anything.
Let me be clear here, humanistic crises are caused by the global capitalist economy. The majority of people are poor. This usually leads to violence, although most historical revolutions were started by the middle class. The truly poor have no concern with a better life, they simply need to survive. However, the fact that they are poor is a symptom of capitalism’s focus on competition. Some win, get rich and happy; the majority loses, goes poor, and despises the rich for it. The fact that people in one country can and do get rich off another person’s three-penny-paycheck is deplorable. Capitalism inherently promotes greed in the hearts of most Westerners, who then turn their companies toward third-world countries and exploit them for every penny they have. And yet, the moderately rich appease their conscious by donating to charity. A guilty conscious, perhaps?
In short, humanistic crises cannot be solved by the same thing that caused them. We must think in new ways before we can solve our society’s problems. First, we need more thinkers, we need better education, focusing on literature, whatever makes people think. We cannot afford anymore to get caught in the perverted cycle of exploitation and donation. Philosophy is the only means to coming to any solution. It is not time to change the world, it is time to think, to theorize, test, and implement revolutions that can and will work. Do not be taken up by my call to action, the point is to not act. Ignore any call to action that does not require at least a little thought. Do not act, just think.
