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One of the big lessons of the Muqadimmah is that there is no Great Reset. There is no retreat into the desert that can lead to the creation and imposition of a fundamentally new paradigm.
The desert tribes swoop in on civilisation and capture it, imbuing it with their non-urban virility. But they too over time succumb to its decadence and become much like the former people.
The old cannot simply be swept away. On the contrary, you may sweep over it like sediment but much of the old remains there, underneath, continuing to drive things. Only evolution can break things, not revolution.
This is why thoughts of retreat are dangerous; one goes in with the wrong intentions and becomes trapped in the maze of their mind, realising but refusing to accept that true revolution is impossible.
We're still carrying the dead weight of ancient civilisations.
We're still carrying the dead weight of ancient civilisations.
We have to remain in tune with society and the needs and battles of the day.
Lower order policy making and implementation still matter because people still need to eat and work, sewage systems and food supply chains need to be maintained, and society rumbles on.
Lower order policy making and implementation still matter because people still need to eat and work, sewage systems and food supply chains need to be maintained, and society rumbles on.
Some retreat is good.
When Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia Lee Kuan Yew was unreachable for 6 weeks. He had retreated in despair, and then re-emerged with a plan. A very short retreat missed by most but possibly one of the most consequential 6 weeks of Singaporean history.
When Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia Lee Kuan Yew was unreachable for 6 weeks. He had retreated in despair, and then re-emerged with a plan. A very short retreat missed by most but possibly one of the most consequential 6 weeks of Singaporean history.
LKY wasted no time in re-entering society to grapple with the issues of the day. Likewise, we cannot afford disengagement for any extended period or we simply become lepers and hermits in semi-permanent exile.
Likewise, Prophets were never hermits.
'The Prophet's return is creative. He returns to insert himself into the sweep of time with a view to control the forces of history, and thereby to create a fresh world of ideals.'
- Muhammad Iqbal, The Reconstruction...
'The Prophet's return is creative. He returns to insert himself into the sweep of time with a view to control the forces of history, and thereby to create a fresh world of ideals.'
- Muhammad Iqbal, The Reconstruction...
Moses and Muhammad, God's peace and blessings upon them, did not have time to run and hide to think. They stood in the middle of the fray and built a new world as they fought.
