People are perpetually heading towards dissolution of society.
But what is society? I present my working definition here:
A group of people.
So perhaps we are not headed towards dissolving society, but rather towards dissolving civilization. Some call this liberalization, but I will use the word dissolution because referring to it as liberalization brings to mind the perpetual conflict between liberal and conservative.
But maybe that's what this is about. The struggle between the two can be pared down to a short metaphor. Conservatism is the arms of the man Civilization holding fast to the rock Tradition, because it is a sturdy place to build, and Liberalism is the man's friend attempting to pull him from the rock because perhaps over the next ridge are greener pastures. Over the years the rock has moved, has crumbled, but the struggle appears to be in the same place. Some observers have seen chips of the rock crumble and fall away; some swear that they saw the rock move. Half of them have cheered, and half have decided that then was the exact point at which society went wrong.
But who is right?
The answer is neither. Each one is one half of the dichotomy which dictates social norms. If you are between the two ends, you are normal.
Just as the rock inches towards the ridge, however, civilization increasingly departs from its traditions. This is why I say we are headed for dissolution of civilization - because we consistently do away with what once made us civilized.
On the other hand, maybe that is what makes us civilized. Because we accept more of what people naturally are, we are more civilized rather than less. Perhaps our traditions make us barbaric. Perhaps that is why there is still violence in the world - because we fight for ideals rather than people, because we believe in impossible standards, because we make people choose sides.
Perhaps the best option is to give up the struggle and just go peek over the ridge and see if there are indeed greener pastures waiting.
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