David Brooks, in Atlantic magazine, recently offered a cogent description of how our society became crueler. He acknowledges that in the past it was education and social pressure that kept people on better behavior, and now, for reasons he cites, moral education and social pressure has dissipated.
What Brooks doesn’t say is that all of that education and social pressure didn’t, at root, change the ego-orientation of human beings. There was no real evolution.
For example, throughout the times that Brooks cites as being exemplary, war was a constant — for the United States: the Civil War, WWI and WW2.
Perhaps Eckhard Tolle would say that detectable in our present society is discernible spiritual advancement, even revolution, and at the same time (as Brooks observes) society is collapsing.
Tolle might see this collapse as a sign of true evolutionary progress, a collapse of the old structure, and the beginning of the new.
Assuming I’ve accurately interpreted Tolle, who is right? Brooks or Tolle? Not really sure, but hoping it’s Tolle.
Brooks has my vote.
GJR