Choosing a Society

What does the society of your dreams look like? An Islamic state? A communist collective? A Christian theocracy? A liberal democracy? You can think what you want, and you can believe what you want. You can even fight for another society, but that society must be a liberal democracy. You can do whatever you want without limits, as long as you stay within our limits. That’s what the leaders of the West are saying today, that’s what the rulers of all countries of the earth are saying, and that’s what kings and princes have been telling their subjects at all times in history. You can do what you want as long as you do what we want.

Isn’t that what you are being told at home in your comfortable union of Europe and America? You don’t think it is? You only hear the phrase “you can do whatever you want”? Well, maybe you don’t want to do anything against your leaders anyway, so much the better for you. But suppose you were not satisfied with the state you live in, and you would prefer an Islamic or a communist one. Do you think your government would allow you to fight for that state of your dreams? Well, if you are alone with your devious thoughts, they may see you as a joke and ignore you, but if you and your friends became a perceived threat to the existing order, you would surely be stopped. An Islamic state protects Islam, and a democratic state protects democracy. Is there a difference?

You may reply that democracy is not a social system but only a system of choosing the government and that it doesn’t promote one particular form of society. But then, why do all Western democratic countries look relatively similar? One would think that given the diversity of cultural and historical differences each country would get its own unique social system once the people were granted a free choice.

No, your choice is not free. You can only bow to the inevitable forces that are pouring over you. An invisible spirit, modernity, demands that you follow voluntarily and accept the limited menu that is being offered to you.