The ”I hate myself” Ideology

Recently a representative of the Green party gave a talk in Sweden; the environmental problems we face result from the actions of men (more specifically, white heterosexual men).  This exemplifies an ideology that divides the world into two; Western, Christian/ Jews male white heterosexual patriarchy on the one side and women, non-whites, LBTG, Muslims on the other. The ideology of the “new left” comes from neo-Marxist interdisciplinary studies where the white, heterosexual, western men replace the bourgeoisie and women, non-whites, LBTG, Muslims replace the proletariat. Class struggle then becomes a struggle between these two groups and the “white privilege” results from one group oppressing the other. The revolution will come about when the women, non-whites, LBTG, Muslims groups work together to over throw their oppressors.  

A bit simplistic in summery but the above gives an overview of a large and complex subject.  As a group of white western men originated this ideology it essentially becomes an “I hate myself” ideology. If it falls into the category of being “Western”, “white”, “male” then, by default, it is wrong and must come under attack regardless. The “new left” counters opposition as “racist”, “sexist” or “islamophobic”, especially if comes from white heterosexual males rather than directing criticism at the counter argument. Although, opposition to the “new left” also comes from non-whites, women and non-Christian/Jewish religions.

This “new left” ideology has many problems; the first and foremost has to do with the splitting of the world into two sides. Complex entities, such as societies, do not allow for such a split. People compose societies and they interact with each other following simple rules such as human nature or informal social rules to laws and rules on how to break the rules. Through this social interaction we produce institutions who also interact with their own set of rules. All these interactions produce the societies that we live in, for better or worse. Groups do form that do come into conflict with other groups but also groups as well as individuals cooperate. The relationships and interactions between groups and individuals can change over time. Former enemies can become friends and friend become enemies. Boundaries between the groups can have a fuzzy nature; a person that should fall into one group, by definition, will fall into another in reality.  So, the problems of the world result from the way we all interact, not one specific group.

Another problem has to do with its attack on the West as a whole. No society ever has a perfect nature and we can always find fault if we look; the West forms no exception and we can certainly criticise it. So, we can find cases of racism, sexual harassment against women and discrimination in the West (serious problems that we need to do something about but the creating of divisions in the “new left” just adds to the discrimination). However, just because one group has problems does not mean that other groups automatically become “better” in some respect.  At this point in time, the West represents, despite its imperfections, the best civilisation humans have produced on the planet. It has far greater freedoms and respect for individual rights than probably any other civilisation to date. For the “new left” to attack the West also means to attack the science, freedoms as the liberties of the West as well as the negative parts. Here in lies a danger; for the “new left” has no idea what to replace the West with and what alternative we have on the planet can create something far worse in terms of scientific advancement, human rights and liberties.

We can proposes something different to this “I hate myself” ideology of the “new left”. The West has achieved many great trumpets, science ranking high among them. We can aim to take the best of the West and advanced forward to a new civilization with its roots in the application of science to society. A hi-tech, moneyless, sustainable society.  A society that aims for equality without having to divide it into “them” and “us”. A society where we each have an equal share of the Earth’s resources.  We can build up a society where we treat each person as an individual not as a representative of one group or another. We can build a society where each person has the freedom to be themselves, without prejudice and without discrimination.