The flickering torch of civilization has always been threatened by the howling winds of barbarism. Our prehistory and history paint a sobering picture – a canvas splashed with the crimson hues of violence. From the brutal competition for scarce resources in our hunter-gatherer past to the mechanized slaughter of the World Wars, humanity has displayed a chilling capacity for savagery. Slavery, a testament to our predatory instincts, has cast a long shadow, denying millions their basic humanity.
The Crusades, fueled by religious fanaticism, witnessed horrific bloodshed in the name of God. Genocides, from the Holocaust to the Rwandan genocide, stand as stark reminders of our capacity for organized evil to quickly reduce whole races to death. Even within apparently less martially inclined societies, barbaric practices like Sati pratha in India, where widows were forced to immolate themselves on their husband’s funeral pyre, reveal the darkness that lurks beneath the surface.
These acts of violence are not random occurrences; they are often fueled by a constellation of primal forces that scholars identify as the “Five Inner Demons” – Predatory Violence, Dominance, Revenge, Sadism, and Ideology. These demons, like malevolent spirits, possess us, twisting our desires and warping our perceptions.
Predatory violence
Predatory violence is the most basic demon, manifests in the primal urge to dominate and exploit others. This is evident not just in the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, but throughout history, from the rise of empires built on conquest to the brutal subjugation of entire populations.
Dominance
The demon of dominance thrives on the desire for control and hierarchy. The rise of fascism in the 20th century, with its emphasis on racial purity and national superiority, is a chilling example. Today, far-right movements across the globe exploit anxieties about immigration and cultural change, promoting a divisive “us vs. them” narrative. The toxic notion of “sigma masculinity,” a recent internet trend that glorifies dominance and aggression as essential traits for men, and feeds into radical politics, exemplifies how these demons can manifest even in seemingly innocuous ways.
Revenge
Revenge, the demon that feeds on grievances and yearns for retribution, perpetuates cycles of violence that can span generations. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a seemingly intractable web of violence and retaliation, exemplifies this demon’s destructive power. Social media, with its echo chambers and confirmation bias, amplifies grievances and fuels a thirst for revenge, making it harder to foster forgiveness and reconciliation.
Sadism
Sadism, the demon that derives pleasure from inflicting pain, is perhaps the most unsettling. While seemingly rare, it fuels acts of horrific violence, from mass shootings to terrorist attacks. The rise of violent extremism, often fueled by a twisted ideology, preys on this inner demon, warping individuals into instruments of terror. For example, the Islamic State (IS) seeked to inflict maximum torture on it’s enemies – by for example, burning alive, boiling alive or quartering it’s captives.
Ideology
The final demon, Ideology, often acts as the unifying force behind these inner demons. Ideologies can provide a warped sense of purpose, justifying unlimited violence in the name of the goods to be achieved by noble cause. Religious extremism, nationalism, and political ideologies like Communism that promote exclusion and scapegoating all exploit this inner demon. The horrors of the Stalinist regimes of the twentieth century serve as a grim reminder of the destructive power of ideology when unleashed.
The ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza are stark examples of a collective moral failure, a regression to barbaric tendencies driven by our inner demons. These conflicts highlight the urgent need to confront these demons head-on. However, amidst this darkness, there glimmers hope. History is not just a chronicle of violence; it is also a testament to the ‘long arc of the moral universe’ as Martin Luther King called it. The decline of violence in recent decades, as documented by Steven Pinker, shows that we are not inevitably doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.
However, there is no ground for complacency – as in this age of polarization, we seem set to replay the errors of our ancestors. Our salvation lies not in denying these inner demons but in recognizing and taming them.
This requires nurturing what Pinker calls our “better angels” – Empathy, Self-Control, The Moral Sense, and Reason. Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, is the antidote to the demon of violence. By cultivating empathy, we can break down the walls of prejudice and build bridges of understanding.
Secondly, Self-control, the ability to regulate our emotions and impulses, is crucial in resisting the siren song of revenge and sadism. The teachings of great philosophers and spiritual leaders throughout history have emphasized the importance of self-control in achieving inner peace and fostering peaceful relationships.
Jesus Christ, one of the greatest moral teachers, emphasized on reacting nonviolently to any attacks and provocations. In our own country, Mahatma Gandhi taught the doctrine of ahimsa for spiritual and physical liberation. We need to follow the footprints of these masters.
Thirdly, Moral Sense, our innate capacity to distinguish between right and wrong, is the foundation of a just society. By nurturing our moral sense and holding ourselves and others accountable to ethical principles, we can create a world where violence is not the norm but the abhorrent exception, to be punished and ostracized. Our moral sense calls us to oppose war, violence and persecution in all it’s forms, even if done to an enemy.
Reason, our ability to think critically and solve problems without resorting to violence, is the key to dismantling the ideologies that fuel conflict. It leads us to move to a collaborative society, founded on liberal democracy, in which all individuals and groups can pursue prosperity in harmony with each other. Human interactions need not be a ‘Zero-Sum Game’, in which one person’s gain is another’s loss. Rather, we can work together to make it a ‘Positive-Sum Game’ in which we all gain from each other.
Education that fosters critical thinking skills and encourages open and honest dialogue across cultures and ideologies is essential to foster liberal values . Importantly, social media platforms that play a key role in this extremist surge around us, have a responsibility to curb the spread of misinformation and hate speech, creating a virtual space conducive to peaceful discourse.
Thus the crisis that humanity faces today is the survival and in recent times, even an increase in bloodshed and hatred – our Inner Demons rearing their ugly heads again. And we have to fight them back for a better future for all humanity.
By: Aniruddha Aloke Banerjee
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