The Material Tradition
This question deserves far more attention than I have time or resources, and I shall do my best to give a reasonable attempt and offering a broad solution to the question. The main contradictions that exist within society today are those created not by materialism, but liberalism. As Chairman Mao Tse-Tung state, “liberalism stems from petty-bourgeois selfishness…” This is more prevalent now, than ever before. Liberal ideology has vulgarized materialism to justify individual acts of seflishness and decadence, such as recreational drug use, promiscuous sex, and other abnormalities that contradict socialist thought.
Nowadays, most people mistakenly associate the phenomena of the “New Left” with traditional socialism. These vulgar, cultural Marxists have deviated from the traditional stance of socialism, outlined and perfected by Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin). The “New Left” is comprised of upper-middle class whites whom don’t seek to establish proletarian dictatorship, but find justification for their own acts of social subversion, i.e. recreational drug use.
The one thing religion has provided for society, ever since its conception by man, was a social authority that provided human beings with a moral presence, far greater than their own. Yes, it is true that religion is the “opiate of the masses,” and it runs in complete contrast to all rational thought, logic, and scientific progress. However, materialism in the West has turned vulgar, invoking the question of where a new sense of moral traditionalism may arise? The answer, as unfortunate as it may sound, lies in the man-made institutions that have helped create loyal, moral, and obedient citizens as long as civilization has existed.
Socialist states (once they are established in the West) will have be forced to grapple with a problem that has not existed in previous socialist states. Whereas most countries must deal with a harsh reactionary presence (particularly amongst the peasantry), the material conditions of the West (and for the rest of my argument I shall refer specifically to the United States) hands us a situation entirely different; one not plagued with feudal tendencies and social relations, but rather, those based on liberal democracy and advanced capitalism. These material conditions have created a lack-luster society incapable of culture, serious thought, and maintaining virtue. While this may be a genreralization, it’s no surprse that the most integral staple of American life is profit.
How can socialism counter-act such liberal complacency and selfishness? True, the dictatorship of the proletariat must react with its own instutions, and socialist law can be quite compelling in thwarting counter-revolutionary ideas and behaviors, but in order to ingratiate a new society based on new virtues will require help from an old enemy: orthodox Christianity. You will be hard pressed to find many socialists/communists who see the Orthodox Church as a viable partner in the creation of a socialist state in the West. There is, however, no point in kicking a dying horse. Not to sound cliche, but this is true. Liberalism has destroyed the moral fiber of the West, and the party and the state simply cannot exhaust itself in attempting to redoctrinate the majority of the population by itself.
This is where religion, the IDEAL, must step in. Religion is dangerous, and its association with the state must always be viewed with caution. Once a state associates itself with orthodox religion it takes upon itself a serious risk to its own legitimacy (as religion/idealism are illegitimate social institutions anyhow). The socialist state has an opportunity to utilize the ideal, and help create a system in which the state and party become the new “higher authority” of society. The social conservatism offered by orthodox religion offers no contradiction to my own socialist views, or that of my party. Our “paleosocialist” line could quite easily adopt a number of Orthodox Christian views, implant them as our own, while using the Church as the mouthpiece of the party and the state.
This is based on a simple, yet unchallenged premise, that the public is inherently ignorant – -and ought to remain so until adequate conditionng, priming, and framing have done their proper jobs in the creation of a collection of idealogues en masse. Of course, the leadership must maintain materialist views, but the public is weak, and needs the “fear of God” to inspire them to act as moral beings, and to help spread the sense of conformity. As an atheist, I’ve always recognized and respect the power of religion to act as a collective institution in promoting a backwards ideology. The new socialist state of the West must deal a devastating crush to the individualistic culture that acts as the cesspool of nourishment for capitalism, globalism, and imperialism.
In my short assessment I have offered a solution that will require much further research and development. This by no means should be an end, but a pragmatic means in which a virtuous public can be established out of the ruins of civilization. Socialists cannot be so dogmatic in their value judgments of religion, as it may act as an integral cog in the agitprop socialization process. Is there room for the ideal in a material philosophical world view? It is exactly the current state of materialist values that have degenerated into what we call “western culture” that demonstrates a valid inclusion of idealistic religion as a viable tool of the socialist state.
