The West, in short, was Christendom. But Christendom died. If you live in the West now, you are living among its ruins. Many of them are still beautiful — intact cathedrals, Bach concertos — but they are ruins nonetheless. And when an old culture built around a sacred order dies, there will be lasting upheaval at every level of society, from the level of politics to the level of the soul. The shape of everything — family, work, moral attitudes, the very existence of morals at all, notions of good and evil, sexual mores, perspectives on everything from money to rest to work to nature to the body to kin to duty — all of it will be up for grabs. Welcome to 2021.
You're viewing a single comment thread. View all comments, or full comment thread.
Comments (24)
sorted by:
No but the builders who built their houses did. The tailors who made their clothes did. The merchants who sold them their food did. So did the printers who copied their novels and treatises and the workmen who put their ideas into practice.
None of those great minds would have achieved anything without the physical and social infrastructure that enabled them to do so. That infrastructure is rooted in community, which in turn is rooted in religion and family.
Most men, who aren't geniuses, are motivated primarily by their desire to provide for their families. It's always been that way, and it always will be.