From Barbarism To Prosperity

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: After World War I, a crisis led to unemployment. The mass of unemployed, who were at the animate level, did not care to discover the purpose of life, which probably served as the perfect breeding ground for the Russian Revolution. At that time there were many unhappy, disgruntled workers, tough labor conditions, and starvation.

At this time, we are facing a similar situation in which masses of people have lost their jobs. It is not clear whether the people of Middle Eastern countries have enough resources to live on. One match is enough to light them up; any fanatic can become their leader. How likely is it that huge masses of people will choose the path of enlightenment and education instead of making the same mistake that was made at the beginning of the twentieth century?

Answer: Unfortunately, this scenario is quite possible. I do not deny that the bloody way is feasible, that the world may plunge into a terrible catastrophe much worse than at the beginning of the twentieth century. We may find ourselves in a terrible meat grinder so much more sophisticated that humanity will show examples of unprecedented barbarism.

During the time that we now call “barbaric,” invaders threw food over the sieged city gates so that the besieged could survive and the warriors could fight them in an honest combat. Even during the dimmest Middle Ages, as well as later in history, it was considered “noble” for knights or samurais to battle with each other openly and decently. There is nothing like that nowadays!

The twentieth century became a turning point; everything went in a different direction. It can continue like this, or there is also a chance of changing it. We are now at a crossroads.

The world may come to war, not just a nuclear war, but a war with terrible biological weapons, and humanity will die from horrible infections. In the end, only a small part of humanity will remain alive; it may only be several million people who will remain. They will acknowledge the necessity to rise to the next level of existence and will certainly attain it.

So, we are not talking about a specific number of people transitioning to the next level, but rather about the certainty of humanity attaining this level at any price. About a hundred years ago, there were only 3 billion people on the face of the Earth; prior to that, there were even fewer people living on this planet. Subsequently, on one hand, it’s not about the quantity of people.

On the other hand, humanity advances as the result of modifying human desires. If this development were only influenced by external factors, then of course we would have nothing but the pure material law of “negation of the negation”; however, in some sense it is the spiritual law that works here. The thing is that our desires change. So, no matter how fanatical our society is, even if they are led to demonstrations, propaganda, and revolutions, they will suddenly lose interest in this. The desire to exist in such a way will disappear; people won’t want to live like this.

Unexpectedly, they will feel disgust. They won’t want jobs any more since they will have lost the incentive to work. So many people in the world will feel depressed. Many won’t feel the need to work, and they will no longer have a desire to scream “Give me a job!”

People will become aware of the fact that there is sufficient scientific and technical potential accumulated in the world, and that we all can provide ourselves with everything we need without applying physical efforts. It will depend solely on the correct interaction between us.

We toss away 40% of our food supply. If we distributed it correctly, then nobody would have a shortage of food. We throw away up to 90% of “consumer goods” instead of allowing them to find their way to all customers. If we could distribute them correctly, then people would no longer have these needs unsatisfied.

Almost, as if by printing them on a copy machine, we can build houses, cities, and provide everybody with everything they need. There’s a solid foundation for this since we’ll have an internal sensation that we should not be working only in order to purchase things and throw them away; our lives should not be wasted. The sensation of life’s worthlessness should not lead us to destruction, but rather to the realization of life’s basics, its roots and essence.

I hope that we can find a group of powerful wise men in this world and create a forum that will be supported by the general public, by the scientific community, by government, and even by billionaires. If they understand that the alternative route is associated with enormous sufferings, then they will turn our society toward an alternative goal.

For that, we need integral education to become widespread and understood by all major manufacturers, the banking industry, and all financial sectors, the highest segments of society.
[108916]
From KabTV’s “Through Time” 3/18/13

Related Material:
Humanity Stands Before A Choice
Integral Society: Is It A Utopia Or Reality?
The Cure For The World Is In Integral Education

One Comment

  1. If we are to change anything, it first has to do with function, status, and purpose. The so called government ought to be more approprietely called administration and take its appropriate place in society which is to serve, manage conditions, infrastructure, acting according to the necessities of the people it represents and, definetely, carry no power, but that which was meant to have.
    No politicians, no game. Service!

    When men start talking on these terms I believe it will have turned in the right direction, and that does not mean New World Order mind you.

    Thank you!

Discussion | Share Feedback | Ask a question




Laitman.com Comments RSS Feed