Regimes, consciousness and smarts
By Adam Borowski
What do regimes have in common with consciousness? Bear with me. Let's start off with the fact we do not know what consciousness actually is. Is it merely an emergent property of the brain? Perhaps consciousness uses the brain as a way to interact with the world? Nobody in the history of humanity has managed to solve the consciousness conundrum. As a result ― going back eons to Plato's cave allegory ― humans have been wrestling with what reality actually is.
The way you see yourself, the way you see the world ― depends on how you view consciousness. Each of us goes through a socialization process ― depending on your gender and nationality, your experience on Earth differs vastly; we are akin to mini-parallel universes, running concurrently with each other. Some are similar; some are nothing alike, but both are equally real.
Our stance on the crucial civilizational issues, such as: abortion, evolution, free will and the afterlife is inextricably intertwined with how we see self-awareness. Most people accept a religion (salvation versus perdition), or a scientific-atheistic view (we cease to exist upon death) as satisfactory answers to life's mysteries. False dichotomy, anyone? Worse yet, for many across the world, there is no freedom to choose at all.
Back to the consciousness-regime link. If you are a dictator ― the scientific-materialist worldview works best. People are reduced to machines, who serve the state. The state is you. People mean nothing on their own, there is no greater purpose in life. Sometimes, the ones at the top are apotheosized. The divine mandate absurdly legitimizes the regime.
It is no accident that regimes throughout history frequently target the intelligentsia and spiritual beliefs first; spirituality leads to questioning of earthly authority ― potentially undermining the regime.
The masses are to be hard-working; disciplined; unquestioning; always on the lookout for potential enemies. Keep your populace in a constant state of fear; Maslow's hierarchy of needs dictates people are not going to care about philosophical issues if they do not know where the next meal is coming from. Conversely, billionaires can invest in consciousness research: solving the consciousness conundrum is what ultimately matters.
Fortunately, the regimes never took over the entire planet. There is always a place one can escape to, where freedom of thought reigns supreme.
But what if it were to change?
Stephen Hawking warned us that the wealth gap could turn into the genetic gap. A new race of humans could emerge. The race ready to eradicate the defective humans. A common sci-fi theme, but ―- surely ― it could never happen here? Let's see.
Cryonics lets us freeze our bodies, in hopes of coming back to life centuries later; our understanding of the ageing process is just a matter of time; microchips could decode our thoughts soon; social credit is a reality. Given the recent technological advancements, is it really so difficult to see various sci-fi scenarios come to pass? For all intents and purposes, we are already living in a global surveillance state. Believing otherwise is naive.
Stalin purportedly said that one death is a tragedy, but a million deaths is a statistic. If individual voices cease to matter, people are going to be just that: statistics on a random bureaucrat's laptop screen.
Adam Borowski (adam.borowski1985@gmail.com) teaches English to students at all levels of advancement.