False Dichotomies

IN a philosophical sense, at least, the large-scale polarisation that is presently affecting American society is a symptom of dualist thinking and may be defined as “the division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects”. The opposite to dualism, on the other hand, is monism, itself described as “a theory or doctrine that denies the existence of a distinction or duality in a particular sphere”. Ordinarily, both dualism and monism are applied to areas such as science, morality and theology, i.e. matters concerning whether mind and body exist separately or are one and the same, or if good and evil are independent of one another or stem from the same source.

Turning now to politics, the preoccupation with Donald Trump has led to a marked division between those who support him and those who find themselves in opposition. Now, regardless whether Trump himself is actually a ‘fascist’ or not, if we are to move beyond the current obsession with a single governmental personality, it is important to stop looking at things from a dualist perspective altogether. Trump is just a figurehead, a distraction, and for those of us who yearn for lasting change the safeguarding of our future must not concern the dualist notions of Trump vs. Anti-Trump, but the monist reality which tells us that behind the man with yellow hair there remains the monolithic structure of the U.S. Establishment.

Once we have made the step from dualism to monism, however, another form of dualism appears: that of us against them, or the people versus the state. This, without doubt, is a far more preferable way of viewing politics, but in order to avoid falling back into the dualist trap we must look to create a sense of balance within our own lives whilst viewing the System as a perverse aberration and a form of imbalance. Not interpreting the rise of the nation-state as something which represents the total opposite of ourselves, mark you, but as a sociological outgrowth of human affairs which has increasingly gravitated towards one of the polar extremes.

We must therefore dispense with shallow conceptions of left-right, either-or and this-that. Remember: All is One. Diversity is a glorious thing and must be retained in all its forms, not as a uniform homogeneity, but as a dynamic interconnection between separate parts and those things which threaten to upset the scales of this perfect equilibrium must be prevented from dragging us into their calamitous orbit. See beyond the man and you see one System. See beyond the System and you see true harmony and true order.