Introduction

The patterns of change over time, how to use the past to think with about the present

Epilogue: January 6, 2021

Friday 13, 2019 was the day of the election of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the impeachment of Donald Trump. What has happened to liberal democracy that the leaders of two of the most powerful liberal democracies have, as their leaders, people who are fundamentally opposed to the traditions of the post-World War II order, and use the same overtly racist ideology to frame their approach to government? The rise of the ideology of disruption and surveillance capitalism are connected with economic dislocation that destroys faith in the traditional governing order not only in the United States and United Kingdom, but elsewhere in the European Union. There is discussion of systemic racism, and systemic impoverishment. The question that remains is whether we are facing genuine disruption, or if there are solutions that can restore faith in existing institutions while alleviating the misery that lies at the heart of the widespread loss of faith in institutions

Marx and Spencer

The chapter opens with the exploration of the thought of Karl Marx and of his contemporary, Herbert Spencer, and efforts to derive scientific models of social development. Discussion of Spencer leads to discussion of social Darwinism and eugenics, and then to the way these theories influenced politics in the early twentieth century, especially the behaviors that led to the outbreak of the First World War. The outbreak of the war draws us into the collapse of Russia and the emergence of the Bolsheviks as a powerful force, able to take over the state (aided by the massive errors of their political adversaries and the transformation of Marxist thought by Lenin). Social Darwinism and eugenics return with the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany, stressing both his ability (like Lenin) to dominate media and make his movement seem acceptable to German political society.

Popular Sovereignty

Chapter 4 explores how the same set of ideas about ideal constitutions resulted in two radically different outcomes: the American Constitution, and the French Revolution and its numerous, failed constitutions. The chapter traces the development of constitutional thought from the fifteenth century to the eighteenth, focusing on the work of Bodin, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau. Again we explore the importance of media for the spread of ideas and then the adaptation of those ideas by practical politicians to very different ends.

Constantine and the Christian Church

Christianity develops on the fringe of Roman intellectual society, gradually drawing new converts, into the fourth century. Constantine transforms Christianity from a fringe movement to the central intellectual movement in the Roman Empire when he converts as part of an effort to provide the empire with a new governing ideology. A crucial aspect of the conversion of Constantine had been the collapse of the ideological core of the imperial system in the previous century, which undermined faith in existing institutions and created space for radical redefinitions of imperial power which, even before Constantine, has stressed a reimagined connection between emperors and the gods.

The Rise of Islam

The chapter opens with the youth of Muhammad, on the fringes of the Roman and Persian empires, then the environmental catastrophe that weakened the two empires, followed by immensely destructive wars which weaken both powers. Muhammad’s movement is initially a reform movement directed at other Arabs. After Muhammad’s death, his followers begin a series of wars which result in the destruction of the Persian empire and the radical diminution of Rome. After the initial period of conquests there is a need to discover a governing ideology, which is achieved by the use that ‘Abd al-Malik makes of the teaching of Muhammad.

The Protestant Reformation

The chapter opens with a discussion of the social and political order of 15th-century Europe and the Catholic doctrine that provided the ideological core of the system. The next topic will be the development of a new technology, printing, which is crucial to the reform movement initiated by Martin Luther, who made unique use of the printed word to spread his ideas. The next topic is the political use of the Reform movement first in Germany, then in England and the Netherlands. The impact of the Reformation is the development of the nation state and the growth of reasoning based on science.