Time, power, and politics is an immutable river. What I mean by immutable river is that there are certain patterns within human history that are meant to happen. Those patterns being strife, war, and conflict. We can throw a pebble in to the river and disrupt the flow or we can try to build a dam to stop the flow altogether, but the water, aka, life will course correct and continue on as if nothing had disrupted it in the first place. As Dr. Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park commented, “life finds a way.” The sooner that modern politicians realize that these patterns exist and can not be permanently stopped due to our flawed nature, the more smoothly our civilization shall run. Such thinkers like Heraclitus, Plato, and Socrates will be utilized in this essay to demonstrate that time, power, and politics is an immutable river, and that despite knee-jerk reactions, is a good thing for civilization and our seemingly never-ending quest to get better.
As we begin our dive into the metaphysical world of power and time, we as a species should realize that certain events and patterns our beyond our control. Modern physics support the claim that time is immutable. “Our common sense tells us that we have no control over time, and our cultures are full of sayings like "time marches on" which suggest that the inevitable flow of time is independent of all other aspects of our existence.” In modern times, during moments of peace we claim to be calm, rational beings. Yet, in times of distress we see that this certainly is not the case most of the time. Greek philosopher Epictetus wrote in his manual, “The Art of Living”, about the value of admitting that some things are beyond our control, which enables us to be more happy and effective in our actions. “ Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.” So what exactly is beyond our control? Do we not have control of politics and power and what becomes of the world? Well the things we can not control, or at least hold very little sway over, is time, power, and politics. Slightly ironic when one reflects on that statement. The things that cause the most consternation and grief in our world yet we hold no control over it.
Opponents to my thesis could point to the rising democratic nations sprouting up around the world, the declining homicide rates, more people becoming educated and treated better by their regimes, and of course less devastating wars. Certainly valid arguments to make. Maybe, we as a species are becoming so enlightened, we are learning to control our more animalistic tendencies, and in doing so, exerting ability to shape our future in spite of patterns of strife and war that have been present since the dawn of mankind. As Socrates would argue, perhaps humanity is finally achieving his virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.
Famed military strategist Sun-Tzu wrote in his book “The Art of War” that “The General must be possessed of wisdom, honesty, benevolence, courage, and discipline.” He essentially echoes what Socrates virtues are. Recent statistics as illustrated above, seems to support that our leaders and the people are becoming more virtuous and enlightened, since strife and war seem to be on the decline.
Yet, if we are to look out into the world now, we don’t see our society on the edge of world peace. Maybe, complete chaos however. We know that our leaders are not perfect, because humans are inherently flawed to begin with. But if recent statistics show that the world is getting more peaceful, why is that not the general feeling? If we are becoming more virtuous and able to control our destiny, and shape reality to our will, why does it feel like life is becoming more chaotic, not peaceful?
To exemplify this, let us look at the United States of America and their political situation. Donald Trump, the current President of the United States, is facing daily criticism and protest. His regime is labeled as inhumane and unethical especially in regards to their treatment of immigrants. As one site determines, Trump has made himself the victim. “He has created around himself an aura of unfair persecution — by the nation’s elites, Democrats, the media and law enforcement — that inspires sympathy from and solidarity with his aggrieved supporters.” It seems like at least in the case of Trump and America, the virtues espoused by Socrates and even Sun-Tzu are violated daily. Seemingly, it feels like our civilization is becoming more uncivilized. We may think that this is just an American phenomenon, and yes their political arena is more like a circus than anything else. But through research, I have discovered that there is not a country today where virtue and rational foresight rules the day. Chaos, instead runs rampant.
But, this chaotic nature is in fact necessary and an essential part of our society. Heraclitus made an analogy of a bow when it relates to chaos. The tension is necessary for our society to effectively function. Too little or too much tension, and the world is in uncontrollable chaos. Just the right amount, governed by a sense of justice, and strife becomes a beautiful concept that allows us to flourish and improve ourselves in so many ways. Heraclitus also says that “if strife were to be abolished, then nothing could come into existence.” Time, power, and politics are uncontrollable, but a sense of justice pervades each. For example, if something is unjust for a long period of time, say the Nazi concentration camps, it is only a matter of time before those unjust regimes are toppled. For power, it is only a matter of time before the powerful are toppled from their perch because they are unjust or the people are unjust. For an example, let us look to the final years of Pericles. Through a calm, far-sighted demeanour, Pericles was able to gently guide Athens into a golden age. He had curbed the Athenians emotions of greed and hubris, however he lost control near the end of his life because the people of Athens wanted more and more. The people had become too just. They finally gave in to their animalistic tendencies of greed, and disaster followed. Finally, in politics, we can always see a toppling of leaders and governments too feared and hated, and despite Machiavelli’s claims, sometimes it is not better to be feared than loved. like Tzarist Russia. Again, Heraclitus’ sense of justice governs over this concept. The river of time, power, and politics will course correct to a state of tension where life constantly lives in between a state of just and unjust.
Strife then, as Heraclitus would argue is a good thing to have. It keeps up constantly struggling to improve, always toeing the line between being unjust or just. Such tension is necessary for humanity to get better. We may think that strife and war are completely unnecessary but where would we be as a species without it? Strife, especially if it is unjust, tests our resolve and our determination to succeed. It helps us change and evolve into something awe-inspiring. And since evolution is in the DNA of all living things, that means strife is necessary for humanity to achieve virtuous status as Sun-Tzu and Socrates opined. War, even though it often brings out the worst that humanity has to offer is a part of our being. In this imperfect world, conflict is just ingrained in our DNA. We live to fight. But war can also bring good things in humanity. It brings innovation, courage, resolve, and often times we fight to restore justice to a lawless or unjust land. War, despite the amount of people it kills, is valuable and like strife can not be stopped. It is an everlasting river, which despite modern politicians claims, necessary for us to progress as a species to a higher plateau envisioned by Socrates, Heraclitus, and Sun-Tzu. As a civilization, we should not actively seek our wars of aggression as that would be unjust, but instead of recoiling of potential conflict and strife, embrace the opportunity to better ourselves and test our mettle. Humans are built like a muscle. The only way we shall progress to a more virtuous level is to rip ourselves up, find out what does and does not work, what is just and unjust, and move forward.
We can not stop time, power, and politics. It is an immutable river to which we have no control over. There is a sense of justice that infects all three, and all three are necessary for humanity to improve. The sooner modern politicians realize that to go to war on an ethical claim is in fact a just act, and one we should commit to. We can not avoid certain patterns like war and strife. In fact, the more humanity represses such patterns; aka throwing a pebble into the river or building a dam if we are to utilize the river analogy again, the larger and more devastating that conflict or strife will inevitably become. So in conclusion, we should be aware of these patterns of time, power, and politics, and that strife and war is necessary for us and that we should seek out to confront such chances to improve ourselves, not run away.