Yesterday’s seminar at the Jungmann National Academy was devoted to Karl Marx. The main session was led by Ivo Budil, but as so often happens, perhaps the most penetrating insight came in the form of a seemingly casual remark. It was made by Josef Skála in response to a question about why the socialist bloc had been defeated in the Cold War.
Josef Skála is a wise old gentleman who was once a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee. We invite him to our seminars, and the students love him because his knowledge of Eastern European Marxist socialism is second to none. His answer was simple: “It had no civilizational alternative of its own.”
That is absolutely right! It is almost unbelievable that no one had noticed this before (myself included), or had done so only in passing.
From the 1950s or 1960s onward, the socialist movement had no vision of its own concerning the ideals of life. All it could do was imitate the West. It had no idea what else it should be striving for. Factories, modern technology, cozy suburban homes, recreational sports, and harmonious family life—in short, the bourgeois ideal was to be made accessible to workers in capitalist countries and to the inhabitants of socialist countries alike.
But when you imitate someone, adopting their culture and their view of the world, it is difficult to beat them at their own game.
This is a general rule.
Alternatively, both sides may share the same ideas and ideals and compete over which can fulfill them better. But the two types of regime never converged to that extent, either.
The ability to define ideals is an important source of power. It is not the only source of power, but it matters. It is often closely connected to control over the media, since whoever controls the media is also better positioned to spread their ideals. But if you have no ideals of your own, even media dominance will not help you.
The same applies to major class conflicts. Whichever side sets the ideals of how people should live has the upper hand. And today, this presents a problem for everyone involved.
It is difficult to present yourself as an attractive model when you simultaneously make a conspicuous display of suffering from depression, anxiety, and every conceivable psychological problem. Or when you conspicuously present yourself as a victim.