Changing the world

Archemedes famously said “Give me a lever long enough, a place to stand, and I shall move the world.” The blurb of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” reports “…the astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world - and did”. The reason I include these quotations is because, just as Archemedes and Rand did, I firmly believe it is possible for one person to change the world, not in the sense of the physical power he possesses but through the idea he represents. Whichever greek philosopher we attribute ‘democracy’ to, there is no doubt that it has changed the world. Newton, Einstein, Gutenberg, Darwin, Jesus(?) are just a few examples of people whose ideas changed the world. There was nothing ‘special’ about them apart from the fact that the idea came to them first. It is possible that others may have thought it of subsequently. However, the point is, their ideas changed the world.

Bear with me, the point is coming soon. I was talking to someone in the pub about my misgreivances with the World Cup and how I believed it promoted racism and hooliganism. At first he argued against me strongly and only after a lot of shouting (mainly due to the loud music really) I managed to win him over and get him to say “yeah, but you can’t get rid of the World Cup so you might as well just accept it.” I was shocked to say the least! I facetiously commented to him that Lenin didn’t say “let’s not bother eh? revolution won’t do anything anyway”. It so happened that his ideology didn’t work in the long run, but his ideas of a revolution (credited a lot to Marx) shook the world. Why is it, that in this day and age, we seem to accept the status quo a lot more and assume our passive existence because it is impossible to fight the system? Why are the university student unions of today a lot less active than a few decades ago?

I want to change the world. However, I am naive and it is possible that the ideas I have the world currently are misguided and foolhardy. But the point is, I am not going to resign myself to saying it is impossible to change the way things are, I will fight it whenever I do not think it is right. Of course, changing the world is not for everyone, but I think it is important to start somewhere. You may not be able to change the world, but maybe you can change the society you live in, or the town, or the street, or the family, or maybe even yourself? We will all have different ideas on how things should be but if we continue to accept things they way they are we will find our lives being controlled totally by society and ultimately by whoever controls society.

So, the discussion can go in a few ways from here. What do you think about my ideas that individuals can change the world? What are the advantages/disadvantages? Is it a realistic proposal? Secondly, how would you change the world? That’s not a “if you were President what would you change?” question. How would you, the person you are now, with the ideas you have, the power you have, go about making changes to the world and what idea/s would you put forward?

It might be to your advantage to reply, because if you don’t, it just means less competition for me, when I change the world

Yeah, ride on brother.

"How would you, the person you are now, with the ideas you have, the power you have, go about making changes to the world and what idea/s would you put forward? "

My power to do what I really want to do is so limited, it’s painful. Last Easter, when my theory of perfection:an extension of socialism
was starting to dawn on me, I had to forcefully stop the activity in my head. If I was entirely free (i.e. didn’t have my exams coming up) I’d have certainly developed the ideas, and written a mammoth thesis on the subject. With my beliefs/assumptions axis, I’m merely trying to find a more accesible way of communicating my ideas which could potentially spell the end to conflict.
I’ll get there in the end, then I’ll spew it out all over you.

The important thing about those names you mentioned (Jesus, btw, should have no question mark), is that they’ve been credited with their ideas. Yet many (famous or not) have ideas and actions which have shaped the world without even noticing. If a 16 year old girl named Mary had not lied when asked whether she was a virgin 2000 years ago, I’m sure history would have taken an markedly different route. Less the world, more the UK (though the influence spread to Europe), if Lord Michael Young of Riverside (RIP) had not lived, it is unlikely that consumer capitalism, widened access to education, and free healthcare would be quite like it is today. Hitler did stuff, too. Maybe Don Cupitt, in years to come?

One thing I’d say to anyone who wants to change the world, is that there is absolutely no point being anti-establishment, if you are not a liberal. Even if trying to create an ideal environment, remember why borders exist.
Also, if a person is driven by ideology, it is worth understanding, to the deepest point of human nature, why other ideologies exist, the good reasons, and the bad.

Ben, how do you want to change the world? You don’t want to eliminate football, I hope.

Nice to see such towering ambition, Ben!

Can individuals change the world? In a word, yes. If individuals do not change the world, who will? Of course purveyors of change need to convince ‘the people’ that there is credence to their ideas; so it will usually occur when a large group of ‘followers’ or ‘disciples,’ call them what you will, embrace some free thinker’s plan. But at the centre of revolution, there is always an individual who has the idea first. You need more than just good ideas though: crucially, you need to be able to persuade other people that your ideas are worth making sacrifices for - and since people are inherently resistant to change, this can be the hardest part of the task.

You mention that people today tend to be less inclined to activism and generally more passive than they might be. I think this is because we are currently living in a state of prosperity and relative tolerance (in the UK). Change those two things, and people will start to react. Most major social revolutions throughout history have occurred in reaction to economic deprivation and/or excessively authoritarian tendencies in government. And until our current cosy status quo comes to an end, mindless conservatism will rule the day. Our current environment is not a revolutionary one.

However, this does not mean you can’t change things, Ben. I’ve found myself thinking in a similar way many times in the past. I want to make a difference of some sort…but how? After lots of thinking, I came to the conclusion that, if I am ever to achieve anything significant in this country, it will have to be within the framework which already exists.

If your interest lies in changing the political profile of the country, the only way to do this, realistically, is to get into party politics. I am a member of the Lib Dems…who knows, maybe one day I’ll decide to try to become a Lib Dem MP. Maybe I’ll be that individual at the centre of a mini-revolution that puts them in power against the stale trends of British politics…or maybe not. But it doesn’t hurt to be ambitious: how can you convince other people to agree with you if you do not believe in yourself (excuse the corniness, I couldn’t resist)?

Anyway, I don’t it is possible to revolutionize this country - socially - in any way other than through mechanisms which exist already. Once you are in a position of influence in the eyes of society, you can then begin to change the way things are.

Does that seem overly pessimistic?

That will, without doubt, centre on one individual. It could only be populist, and I am utterly convinced that populism will be easier in the future. I am also a Lib Dem member, and looking into my crystal ball, I can see a Blair-Brown style feud between the two of us!

Although I didn’t really believe in much of what the man said, Pim Fortuyn was definitely a clue as to what that mini-revoultionist will be. Of course, it takes luck, and timing, but someone with a similar style of politics will be needed when the concensus finally snaps. I’d happily volunteer myself.

Looking hard at this generation though, it seems that a future electorate brought up in an atmosphere of such tolerance and prosperity will be demanding a very different type of politician to get them interested again. Though I know more LibDem voters my age than for any other party, the trend of complacently voting with parents is alarmingly prevalent. The demographic time bomb (high tax, big state?), the Euro, and environmental and religious (Islam, in particular) will force people to sit up and take notice. We cannot fall into the habit short-term selfishness of Thatcherism again. If it happens, I’m active. Simple as that.

What other big issues look likely (immigration/culture clash apart) to crop in the future?
How will the Lib Dems relieve themselves of their embarrasing similarity to New Labour?
Have Labour listened to Hegel and become the ‘establishment’?

The way I see it, Marx got it right…

…but of course its more than 100 years since his death.

He said society goes from/will go from
Monarchy/Aristocracy-------->Educated Middle Classes--------->Mass of people/Proletarians

Plainly, the last bit didn’t go too well. Thats because INDIVIDUALS like Lenin, or Castro, decided that it was too cruel to wait for the mass of people to rise up (understandably), so decided to lead minority revolutions by themseves, which plainly wouldnt work.

So then the next stage, which was impatient Majorities deciding they would make society perfect…i.e. Fascism. That plainly didn’t work.

So then we all accepted a comprimise society, where a few people have what they want, a fair amount have enough, a lot of people can realistically hope that one day they will have enough, and a lot of people, who have no power, have nothing, and no/little chance of having either enough or what they want…i.e. capitalism.

The next stage? Can surely only come when the vast majority of people realise that the current system is a comprimise, and doesn’t work for the vast majority of people on the planet. See worldsocialism.org

Plainly we have to learn the mistakes of the past. Can an individual change the world (for the better)? Yes. But only by convincing others to the next stage, not by implementing his/her own version on others.

Being the ambitious youth I am, thats what I plan to do, or try to do. But I’m not divulging my masterplan.

Ben,
as inspiring as your thoughts and ideas are, the world makes it incredibly hard to go through with such altruistic habits and behaviours. You seem like a good person at heart. I wish to share with you my view of my life and the world around me.

…I believe the world can be changed. I believe the world can be changed within the span of a single human life. I believe this person cannot do it alone. I believe this person needs many resources. I believe that this person needs to help open people’s eyes from a principle, not a specific situation in order to grasp the hearts and souls of all, instead of the few whom the specific situation may apply to. I believe the world needs and will be changed into a better place of peace and prosperity. This person and those in collaboration with this person must be good people that will work together to help ALL people despite the hate and anger present in those people for the world and others. Sometimes the greatest power can be found in those with the worst intentions, all they lack is the proper inspiration to do good, and more importantly lack the understanding of why one should do good and how.

I’ll have to continue this later, I have to go…

What’s your take?

heh mabye im just boaring. or mabye im just too content with the world it is… but i dont think i would change anything.

Then how dare you display the symbol of Anarchy! Unless its some kind of ‘ironic statement.’

Did Osama Bin Laden ‘change the world’?

Frighter,
I don’t mean to bash your views, but I think that train of thought is very dangerous. Before I explain I want to share a quote with you…

~Theodore Roosevelt

You sound like a plump old buddhist monk, who sits around content with himself and the world around him. Quite convenient when the full wrath of the negative energy in the world is everywhere but where you are. There is so much suffering on our world, not just for us, but the world itself and all the creatures, plants, and elements in it. People say it is hard to be happy, I disagree, I believe it’s just as easy to be happy as it is sad. So many people I know are happy because they become so saturated with negative energy that they choose to ignore it. They would ignore a man beating a women senseless if it meant they could go on living happy. To me, this is the worst thing we could be doing. The world is in turmoil, economic upheavel, with genocide, murder, rape, stealing, abuse, etc. Imagine you are in a room with many bad things happening around you, you can choose to help, or you can choose to sit back, close your eyes and act like nothing is wrong. Well, I choose to help.

As I stated in one of my previous emails that without people actually caring for one another, we can have whatever morals we want written anywhere we want, and as many agencies to enforce these morals as we want…nothing will happen if people don’t care for one another. If we care about one another than we can’t stand idle while others suffer.

What’s your take?

After some years of existence and travel in this world, I can say that every individual has his/her own duty to do what he/she ought to do. I believe that everyone is given that chance to live out something for a given amount of time and within that span influence the way the course of human life thrive and evolve in the “real” world. This timeline bestowed by this supreme being, somewhere out there, must/need be used to its maximum potential, either to inspire or innovate the human race.

interesting you should say that ben. i was just talking to my friend about that exact same thing the other night and he said the same thing as the guy in the pub. i talked about how corrupt and horrible our government is and he says “nothing you can do, just accept it.” i was horrified. that is exactly why the world is the terrible place that it is today. nobody wants to do anything about it. theyre willing to accept the fact that millions of people are dying of hunger and disease as long as they themselves are in good health and well-fed (i dont know about other countries but here in america were grossly over-fed.) its only a problem when it happens to us. i hate the world.