Solving The Riddle of History, Simplified

People are feeling that the world is going mad. Clashing sets of values and ideas are causing anger and outrage. But no one seems to be able to make this situation intelligible. Most theories that try, such as Critical Social Justice Theory just make people confused and angry.

Books are published on topics as wide-ranging as the climate crisis, overconsumption, the perils of affluence and the absence of love or community. These issues are all associated with the present state of the West and, by implication, the state of the whole world.

A world of vastly different wealth and social and economic expectations will give rise to different ideas about what is wrong and what should be done.

In Classical Marxism, consciousness is what people think and, most importantly, why they think it. For Marxists, consciousness is determined by the nature of our economic circumstances and the level of scientific discovery upon which our attitudes are dependent.

Why for example, do we accept women's freedom and autonomy and some other cultures do not? Why do we value freedom of speech and other nations have blasphemy laws? Why do some people who newly arrive want to change western society so that it better reflects their social expectations? What makes violence acceptable to some people to achieve ideological outcomes? It is all about consciousness; theirs, ours, yours, and mine. Let us decode this riddle properly.