Question for my occultist and leftist friends at #witchsky and #esotericsky:
How do you reconcile your spiritual metaphysics with a political theory that has historically promoted Atheism and relied on a strict materialist ontology?
I’m asking as an esotericist grappling with that contradiction.
Most people are, frankly, wrong about Marx’s intent on spirituality:
“Our programme must be: the reform of consciousness not through dogmas but by analyzing mystical consciousness obscure to itself, whether it appear in religious or political form.”
www.marxists.org/archive/marx...
“The reform of consciousness consists entirely in making the world aware of its own consciousness, in arousing it from its dream of itself, ... Like Feuerbach's critique of religion, our whole aim can only be to translate religious and political problems into their self-conscious human form.”
Too many leftists take "religion is the opiate of the masses" to mean "religion is bad and evil and addictive."
Opiates are pain-killers. They make you feel good. Sometimes *too* good, to the point where you ignore pressing issues, but the opiates aren't the problem; the pain is.
Precisely - the image that should be conjured isn’t the family member who stole your TV. It should be someone with a broken arm getting proper treatment and the only analgesic that actually works in that situation.
It’s crucial to remember that the materialism of the socialist movement is one signal in a dialectical (actually multilectical) system, and arose as a pruning response to an overgrown hierarchy of mystic bureaucracy which produced entire monasteries of parasitical elites
The materialism there isn’t a denial of culture, spirit, or awe; it is a corrective approach to remove (from society / government) artificial privilege and capricious power.
Good civic leaders need neither write good poetry nor believe in a particular deity
Depends—are you asking because your involvement in leftist politics has made you overly-skeptical of the metaphysical, or are you asking because you're worried that you may be ostracized in leftist circles because of your beliefs? Or something else? Either way, I might have some tips!
I’m not skeptical at all! I’m an animistic process-idealist with a deep love for mystical traditions. I’ve even had mystical experiences. My concern is the latter you mentioned: how does an active spiritual practice look like if I have to worry about that ostracism from leftist circles?
It's unfortunately true that some leftists have taken an anti-theist stance, but religion and leftist politics aren't inherently at odds with each other. For example, MLK Jr.'s liberation theology and religious pluralism were at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement.
I'd suggest rolling in leftist circles that are either neutral or supportive of religious expression. Thankfully, leftism isn't a monolith, so for every anti-theist leftist group you encounter, there will also be an inclusive one.
