The good news is that there’s No Way Back

My overwhelming impression is that in response to the recession, most people are still trying to ‘go back to normal’ or ‘restore the financial system’.

Not only is this impossible, it would be madness.

The collapse we’re seeing currently, not only of the markets but also of the environment and the old world order, points to something much bigger: the collapse of the Modern Age.

That statement may seem to take us back to History Class, but it’s worth taking a closer look.

It was around the 1700’s, the Age of Enlightenment, that science and independent thinking took off, and a bit later the Industrial Revolution. This was the flowering of the Modern Age which so radically changed our thinking. Before that time, we were shackled by our ignorance, the Church, feudalism, our warring empires and fiefdoms. Most of us didn’t go to school, didn’t live beyond 40, and in fact it’s fair to say that one didn’t think one’s own thoughts, but those of the establishment. It really is a very recent event that we all started thinking as individuals. The Universe is 14 billion years old, and individualism is only a mere 300 years old.

When we walk through the City of London, do we ever consider that the first money market, started in a coffeehouse somewhere in the Square Mile, was a radical leap in evolution? I tend to take it for granted, but opening the world of money to any individual willing to play the game was a huge accomplishment in human development.

Eager to throw off our shackles, we embraced critical thinking and science. After more than a millenium under the tyranny of a Church Empire controlling our hearts and minds, we found freedom in evidence, critical reason, facts & figures. We didn’t buy the myths of the Church anymore and claimed our maturity. We observed the planets and worked out how they related, ditching the Creation Story. That literally blew our minds and we established Reason as our mode of thinking, not Belief. We took a newfound delight in this, pushing away the old order, and so, in our well-meaning zeal, we threw out the baby with the bathwater.

We entrusted interior principles such as morality, compassion and honesty to the exterior field of science and observation, where we thought them safe from Church manipulation and monopoly.  Not realising that that’s exactly how they fell prone to massive manipulation.

Why? Because they’re interior phenomenon, not exterior. Our endeavour to measure everything objectively in facts & figures was fundamentally flawed because we didn’t understand the differentiation between the realm of facts & figures (the exterior) and moral values (the intererior). You can’t see moral values, you can only measure them by interpretation, and that’s where the catch is.

And so the phallacy of scientific materialism was born. That’s a tired mouthful but it means that Yes, we have unprecendent freedom and power, space to be creative and develop, all things that are extremely positive. But No, we lack in moral values, compassion and honesty. And risk being ridiculed as an oldfashioned C of E sissy when saying that.

Laws meant to regulate the Free Market have bred a generation of lawyers and accountants who specialise in abusing laws for purposes they weren’t intended for.

Corporate values meant to bring morality to large corporations are more often than not used as marketing tools for attracting investment and, what’s even worse, pushing employees back into a feudal structure of ruthless productivity (‘Our Core Value is the Customer’).

The free market was deemed the most reliable tool to govern derivatives. Facts & figures were intentionally made so complex that nobody understood them, and were then used to justify the immoral practice of selling money that didn’t exist. And back we went to the Church-run business of superstition and indulgences (all in Latin).

We want to be inclusive of everyone and nurture diversity. So we invented countless forms with tickboxes, creating obstacles for immigrants and making any normal person feel like the loneliest person on the planet.

And on and on. Now we wonder what went wrong, and point fingers at the government, bankers, corporations. But the issue is much larger and we should rise above our blame.

I’m saying this is not the collapse of government, banks and corporations. Look around – it is the collapse of the Modern Age. And the good news is that Grand Old Ages only tend to collapse when we’re ready for the next one. So rather than looking back and pointing fingers, we need to look ahead and scrutinise our own thinking.

Because our own thinking is the key to the way forward, not the government, not the bankers, not your employer.

Human existence contains an Exterior as well as an Interior – call it matter and values. You can’t singularly measure one through the other. I can’t do my bookkeeping by thinking alone, but equally you can’t tell what I think by looking at the figures. To observe your child’s development you don’t only look at their school markings, height and weight, but also their behaviour, happiness, willingness to say ‘goodmorning’ and help someone in need.

We must apply this to all of society. We must end our binge-objectification. Use the legal frameworks we established for their rightful purpose: as a guideline for moral behaviour. Interpret facts & figures through our morality: depending on the context, a massive profit could be a blessing or pure evil. Balance rewards with intentions – rewarding for leadership is healthy, but buying greed with greed destroys the very aim of the enterprise.

This is the beginning of the Integral Age, in which our values and performance are integrated to one balanced whole. Our interior world validated by external facts & figures that reflect our moral values. And our exterior world of facts & figures interpreted through our values and intuitions. So that we build a balance we’ve never managed yet, and can truly take a step forward.