Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization: The Age of Masked Gods and Disguised Kings – VII

NEWS CENTER – In a new series of articles, the English Nûçe Ciwan will be publishing the 3 English translated works of the Manifesto for Democratic Civilization by Rêber APO (Abdullah Ocalan) chapter by chapter every 2 days.

Today we will start with the first work:
“Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization: The Age of Masked Gods and Disguised Kings”

1. Introduction

2. On Method and the Regime of Truth; Section 1
   2.1 – Continuation
   2.2 – What constitutes the Human Being?
   2.3 – Continuation
   2.4 – Moral metaphysics
   2.5 – Continuation

1. There is a relation between the methods of Roger Bacon, Francis Bacon and Descartes —the scientific paradigm— and capitalism of which we should be critically aware.
2. The intensification of the distinction between subjectivity and objectivity and its reflection in various dichotomies allows the individual (the subject) to utilize society (the object) as a source open to all sorts of
   exploitation.
3. This results in the distinction between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat being perceived as natural and thus paving the way for the proletariat to be used as an object.
4. The realization that “knowledge is power” lays the foundation of the union of science and power. Hence, the union of knowledge and power was turned by the system very early on into its fundamental weapon.
5. Science has been turned into a new religion in the form of positivism, capitalizing on the exposed absurdities and obsessions of religion and metaphysics. In the name of a struggle against religion and metaphysics, the new religion has been formed to ensure domination.
6. The most powerful ideological hegemony has been realized by declaring liberalism to be the official ideology of capitalist modernity. This is then used on the one hand as a tool of immense compromise and on the other hand as a weapon to assimilate and integrate all opposing ideologies.
7. Liberalism and positivism are officially sanctioned to discredit many other schools of thought and  ideological movements. This will continue until all the opponents of the system are integrated.
8. Philosophy and morality are discredited to reduce the chances of opponents developing their own perspectives and taking a stand against the system.
9. The internal unity of science and its power of meaning is fragmented through its division into a multitude of disciplines. This excessive fragmentation makes science dependent on the power structure and thus it can easily be turned into profitable technology. The aim of knowledge is no longer the discovery of the meaning of life but making money. This enables the transition from the unity of science and wisdom
   to the unity of science, power and money. The unity of science, power and capital is the new sacred alliance of modernity.
10. In capitalist modernity, in addition to the completion of the housewifization (the most advanced form of slavery) of woman, the housewifization of man —after his castration through citizenship— has also been achieved. As a result, the society’s control has been attained through housewifization.
11. In modernity, political power has meant continuous war both within and between societies —a “war of all against all,” in Hobbes’ words. Genocide is the extremum of these wars.
12. In the system of capitalist modernity, the period of center and periphery expansion has been completed; damage to ecology has reached  unsustainable levels, unemployment and poverty are at its worst levels,
    wages are low, there is an excessive bureaucracy, religious society is collapsing, going through the age of the global finance hegemony, which is the most parasitic form of capitalism. However, the fact that networks of resistance are established in all areas and amongst the majority of society generates a structural crisis.
13. In periods of structural crisis, revolutionary and counter-revolutionary movements, democratic-libertarian movements and totalitarian-fascist groups all vie to shape the future. Those who develop their methodology and scientific systems the most competently and make it the basis of their actions have the best chance of determining the new social system.
14. Thus, during such periods of structural crisis and chaos, the democratic, ecological, libertarian and egalitarian movements may be able to form the establishments needed to determine the far future through small but effective moves.

To this end:

1. Sociology should be used as the blueprint for action —but a sociology embedded in the historical and geographical dimensions of society.
2. Capitalist modernity should be seen as the malignant structure that it is and (keeping in mind point 14), a solution should be sought outside the boundaries of this system.
3. We have to ideologically overcome all the vulgar dichotomies based on the subject-object distinction, such as idealism-materialism, dialectics metaphysics, liberalism socialism and deism-atheism. Instead, we should
   apply the art of interpretation that takes all scientific gains into consideration.
4. We should constantly and critically develop a human metaphysics based on goodness, beauty, freedom and truth.
5. Democratic politics should be the norm.
6. Based on democratic politics, thousands of non-governmental organizations should be established in areas where there is a crisis of power.
7. A new social nation should be constructed as the democratic nation. It can be separate from the nation-state but one should not disregard the possibility that these two can also exist next to each other or within each other.
8. The political administrative model for the democratic nation should be developed on the basis of local, national, regional and world democratic confederalism. Different nations can be organized in a single democratic nation. The same nation can be organized as both a nation-state and a democratic nation. Regional democratic confederalism and World Democratic Nations’ Confederalism are quite essential and can be more effective (much more than today’s UN) in the resolution of local-national problems.
9. Democratic society should be anti-industrialist and economy and technology should be ecologically sound.
10. The defense of the society should be ensured by people’s militia.
11. A new family system, based on deep-rooted freedom and the equality of woman, should replace the system based on the deep-rooted slavery of women. Such a system will help to abolish the male-based hierarchic and statist order.

The era of capitalist modernity is also the period in which the ideal of a utopia of freedom and equality has revived. Much blood has been spilt for this ideal: there are numerous cases of torture and inflictions of pain. It is unthinkable that this suffering has been in vain. On the contrary, we have to attain a proper historical interpretation of our problems and let that illuminate our future. Then we should be able to make the transition into a life where love reigns. However, the transition to such it utopia requires a serious effort.

I am not so insolent as to re-initiate the quest for method and regime of truth with myself. But what I tried to demonstrate in all the topics examined was that there is something terribly wrong that is fundamental to our world perception. I emphasize that my analysis should be seen neither as an effort to construct a new system nor as the total rejection of that which I criticized. After all, it is important to criticize the system of capitalist modernity that has led to millions of cases similar to my own, to countless massacres, genocides and wars. This is especially true of the people and region of which I am part —the Kurds and the Middle East— who are going through the most brutally tragic period. The least contribution I can make, as an intellectual, is to examine all of the factors that are responsible for this terrible situation. I am being tried as the head of a comprehensive and effective organization and my primary duty is to look for solutions to the questions with which we are faced. If, at a given place and time, that oppression, exploitation, dissolution and deadlock is so profound that to live is worse than being dead, then there is no alternative but to replace the existing world-view with a profoundly new approach, Hereafter, I shall advance such an approach.