When Biden came to power, some people who once supported Trump‘s “siege of China to save Hong Kong” turned to praise Biden; some anti-Trump people advised those who continue to criticize the Democratic Party not to be stubborn and at least see what Biden has done before criticizing. With the Democratic Party in power, what good is it to Hong Kong to call out Biden now?
After the crimes of Nazi Germany were revealed, some people questioned: When the Jews, who claimed to be God’s people, were slaughtered, God did not help them, is such a God worth believing in?
The philosopher Wittgenstein said: If God does not give any benefits, such as survival, wealth, or status, then he does not believe in God, but in benefits. If he believes because of the benefits, then he is actually determined by external material things.
This is also true of the “reason” and “momentum” taught by Chinese Confucianism. The late Confucian master Xu Fuguan on “reason and potential”, pointed out that “reason is only right and wrong without size, potential is not only obedient and negative but also has size.” If we do things for people only by the potential, then encounter the potential is less than their own bullying, and encounter the potential is greater than their own will be frustrated, lost. He believed that we should act according to the values and beliefs in our hearts, according to the “reason” rather than the “trend”.
The Epidemic that has been sweeping the world for a long Time has shifted both the “time” and the “momentum” from the West, where individual rights are maximized, to an authoritarian system, where the power of the state is maximized.
Is Western civilization in decline? Is America in decline? Why is it declining?
Russell Kirk, in his 1953 book The Spirit of Conservatism, gave a unique answer: “The one clear thread running through the decline of the United States has always been the foundation of its nation – the spirit of conservatism. The spirit of conservatism is becoming more and more fragile, and the source of living water that is the foundation of prosperity is drying up.”
Looking back at American history, it is easy to see that when the spirit of conservatism flourishes, America prospers, and when the spirit of conservatism dies, America declines.
What is the spirit of American conservatism? Kirk’s classic work points out that it is the spirit of nationhood that was originally established by a group of Puritans in 1776 with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Kirk summarized six principles: First, the belief in some transcendent moral order or body of natural law that rules human society and conscience. The so-called transcendental is those beyond experience and reason, the divine moral order.
Second, respect for the diversity and differences of human beings and the imperfections of human nature, and rejection of radicalism, narrow egalitarianism or homogeneity.
Third, a civilized society requires the rule of law, where all are equal before God and just laws, and all other equal pursuits are damaging; to accept the inequality of economic outcomes and reject a society without distinctions.
Fourth, no private property, no freedom: adhere to the system of private property, and the vigilance and restrictions on public power.
V. Respect for principles, traditions and norms that have been honed through the ages, respect for history, recognition of the limited wisdom of human beings, and rejection of abstract top-level designs and imaginary utopian blueprints.
Sixth, emphasizing the continuity of society, advocating prudence and natural, spontaneous improvement, and opposing radical and fanatical “big break” changes.
The basis of conservatism is the pursuit of maximum individual freedom, supported by faith and self-discipline. Self-discipline means that in the pursuit of freedom, one must be alert to the evils of human nature and must exercise restraint. It is not a freedom without borders and without faith.
When Kirk published his book The Spirit of Conservatism in 1953, he was already aware that conservatism was subject to the constant onslaught of human evil, and even intended to call the book “The Fall of Conservatism.
Since the 1960s and 1970s, the American ideology of anti-discrimination, anti-discrimination, and the pursuit of equality has been running wild in the Education system. Generations of university-trained leftists have entered government, media, university research institutions, NGOs, and the legal profession, and the leftward shift in society seems irreversible. The globalization of the burgeoning nation, in collusion with the high-tech companies and financial oligarchs of the United States, is even more unstoppable.
Should we go with the trend? Or should we fight the trend with reason? As much as management is often no match for momentum, it is important to believe that freedom is the value of one’s existence and that might can never replace truth. Today, when the spirit of American conservatism is in retreat, its value is rather more obvious.
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