manifests itself as selfishness, which when combined with dominance, produces social feelings of superiority, and hence class distinctions arise for the group who no longer perceive their fellow men as equals. This is the plight of Western nations today.
Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.

PLATO

Logically, the natural reaction to class distinction and dominance is an appreciation for cooperation and brotherhood which manifests clearly in the symbiotic relationships so prevalent in nature.

Humanity's first serious attempt to design a symbiotic society, which would eliminate the social inequalities that result from social and economic class distinctions, led directly to the social ideals and principles upon which Communism and Socialism are based. Both systems put much emphasis on brotherhood, cooperation, and equality.

Consequently, humanity's need to control the abuses of selfishness and greed, was an evolutionary inevitability. The Communist reaction was as destined as the abuses of freedom.

Conversely, suppressing man's individuality and freedom excessively while striving toward unselfish cooperation and brotherhood, is as predictably a potential extreme of Communism, as greed is within Capitalism. Imperialism, practiced by any belief system, is an intolerable affront to the free will in man.

The benefits of resolving the duality of these ideologies remain to be sufficiently appreciated as a natural step in humanity's social evolution. A free spirit excels in pioneering and discovery; a cooperative spirit is the spirit of the hearth, ...a necessity for quality in every day living.

Humanity as a species is characterized by the need for the "virtues" of both Capitalism and Communism, ...without the "excesses" of either!

Although the hybrid system would manifest itself more as present day Socialism than either of the parent ideologies, Socialism is still in the developmental stage, but its potential as a framework from which to develop mankind's symbiotic potential is undeniable. Sweden's success with Socialism points to a middle ground solution that has already brought the Swedes a higher standard of living than America's. In fact, Socialist countries in general enjoy higher standards of living than either strictly Communist or Capitalist countries.

In reality, we are all symbiotic parts of one entity, and the challenge is to emerge with all of us pulling together, instead of in opposite directions, as we are blindly and uncontrollably doing now. As responsible members of the planet, it must become our goal and responsibility to work toward symbiotic cooperation by recognizing the value of the individual as well as the brotherhood of mankind.

Global harmony can be achieved not by choosing Capitalism, Communism, or any other "ISM", but by eliminating the extremes, the excesses, and the lack of cooperation in whatever system we are living in.

A more cooperative relationship must be worked out. However the time involved for this may be greater than the planet can afford, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and our headlong race into the field of genetic engineering draws urgent attention to the fact that unless we slow down our scientific progress and begin concentrating on a holistic perception of the part we play in the larger scheme of things, we may regress the planet to where our blue-green algae communities begin their second childhood.

While we all ought to be thankful for the diversity of culture and cultural skills that have developed over time as a result of isolating one group of humans from another, we can no longer afford to allow the darker side of mankind to use nationalistic pride and patriotism to motivate humanity into remaining as warring tribes.

In the meantime, and for the want of a small mid-course correction, the whole planet will continue to live through the agony of poverty, hunger, and all the other unnecessary social abuses we are inflicting on ourselves, and on the rest of the plant and animal kingdoms.

Because religious differences also appear at present to pose barriers to international cooperation and harmony, no discussion of what constitutes the ultimate social order would be complete without facing the problems that arise due to the existence of varying religious beliefs.


Rising Above Religious Differences

The social desirability and value of religious freedom is as equally valid as the existence of any other form of freedom. Throughout time, men have acknowledged their own as well as society's moral, ethical and spiritual needs as a basis for quality of existence. Unfortunately, the issue of religious freedom itself stands as a barrier limiting cooperation between the opposing ideological systems of Capitalism and Communism; but I think only through a lack of understanding.

It must first of all be fully recognized that religious freedom encompasses not only the freedom to believe, but the freedom not to believe, and the freedom to express uncertainty as well. Unfortunately, many well-meaning missionaries have been guilty of attempting to force their particular religious beliefs on other societies. Knowingly, or unknowingly they have been guilty of religious imperialism, which is a forceful suppression of religious freedom.

Despite obvious contradiction with the concepts of Christianity and brotherhood, churches used to be filled with slave owners. In fact, racially and economically segregated congregations still persist in America today.

It was not surprising then that when Communists first discarded the dominance of an elite minority, they also chose to discard the hypocrisy and oppression of the church. A resurgence of religious activity and freedom within the Communist countries could be ironically pointing to the fact that Communism may have too hastily thrown out the religious baby with the economic bath water.

People in all countries have traditionally looked to their spiritual leaders for guidance in finding a path out of their social problems. The expectation has not been unreasonable, and the role of the church as a conscience guiding social evolution is certainly valid. However the churches have been guilty of confusing their congregations by periodically displaying behavior that appears hypocritical of the values they traditionally purport to uphold.

It would do well to remember that the merits of a religion should not rely on how its clergy or congregations interpret and manifest the faith's religious dogmas, because social forces are capable of creating a substantial gap between the ideal behavior aspired to by a religion, and the conduct of the humans presently in charge of passing on the traditional beliefs to future generations.

Excesses and shortcomings can occur within religious systems as easily and surely as in secular systems, so it should therefore become an equally important responsibility to recognize and eliminate them in our religious systems. The administration of church wealth has played a detrimental role in the growth within the churches of an economically privileged elite who have been running their churches as Feudal empires, with economics playing an inordinate and inappropriate role. The conduct of our society's latest religious offspring, the TV evangelist, has brought the problem sharply into focus.

The need to address the shortcomings of religious administration becomes unavoidable in order to dispel the hypocritical behavior caused by the mismanagement of wealth within the churches. We can certainly recognize the shortcomings of church administration without casting any aspersions at the dogma of the religion itself.

The quest for spiritual awareness still plays a vital role in the planet's development. Not surprisingly, spiritual values remain an integral aspect of many cultures. However our regrettable lack of social harmony has occurred due to the fact that our focus on advances in science and technology has been at the sacrifice in growth of our spiritual tolerance, awareness and development.


Gandhi's Contribution

Mahatma Gandhi's contribution to humanity has yet to be appreciated by many outside of India. His living example of altruistic motives and personal self-mastery were focused into his lifelong activity of seeking world peace and harmony through non-violent methods. His dominant message was that change, no matter how urgent and necessary, must be achieved using non-violent methods only.

Gandhi gave his last breath without malice and with compassionate understanding, to an assassin whom he realized had not yet acquired freedom from compulsive instinctual behavior. He sought to enlighten those who in frustration see no alternative to overthrowing economic violence than an equal and opposite physical violence.

Violence for whatever reason fuels retaliation.
Dictators and selfish rulers have kept many people on the planet impoverished throughout time. Without even a rudimentary democratic framework to work from, many have taken the only path they could see to regain freedom, ...violence. They too were compelled into action because each extreme breeds its opposite.

Feudalism has no place on a shrinking planet any more. Before it is too late, a ray of hope must be given back to those who now feel abused and dispossessed. The problem is systemic and worsens with each new piece of legislation that facilitates either Feudal or neocolonial exploitation. Frustrations are manifesting more and more in the proliferation of violent and self-destructive behavior. The exploding alcohol and drug problems are symptomatic of an emotionally disturbed nation. Some are turning to drugs as an economic means of survival, but an increasing number are using drugs to try to at least temporarily escape the realities of a deteriorating society.

Fundamental changes are now urgently required.
Let's get started.