Fitna is an Arabic term that denotes a condition of chaos and upheaval. It is usually used to describe warlike conditions during which normal operations of a society are overturned and a condition of extreme uncertainty and fear exists. I use this term because there is no proper English equivalent for it and this term accurately describes the condition of the world and of humanity at this juncture.
For approximately 300 years, a paradigm of ever increasing "progressiveness" has been taught in our educational institutions and propagated through the media. The story this paradigm tells is by now very familiar. It is a tale of steady "progression"; of ever increasing prosperity; of increased sophistication in our world views. It describes a world in which each generation is healthier, happier, longer lived, more knowledgeable (and I can keep on talking in the same vein for quite some time) etc. etc. than the poor benighted souls of previous generations. In this story, the world is safe, secure and in many respects even predictable as compared to the past when life was generally speaking nasty, brutish and short. Each generation is thus more "human" than the previous one.
However, behind the shining, glittering facade of this progressive paradigm story lies a much darker reality. There is a state of chaos and uncertainty at all levels starting from global, drilling down through national right into local and personal. Everyone's lives in all corners of the globe have been touched by this chaotic and uncertain state, this fitna. There is massive income disparity and an even more massive opportunity disparity between different nations and different classes of people within nations.
These disparities have deep historical roots. Before discussing these roots, let me tackle an issue: why is the "progressive" story mentioned above so powerful and seductive? All paradigms need to be built on a kernel of fact. Without this, a paradigm is built on foundations of sand and will be quickly swept away even though it may seem to have a seemingly permanent hold over its proponents. The kernel of fact around the progressive paradigm is that it does describe a massive disruption that industrialization caused in the lives and mentalities of people. This disruption caused a sharp break from the experiences of past generations thereby resulting in a massive re-evaluation of old certainties and moralities. Over time, it also resulted in a massive improvement in the material condition of all citizens. Coupled with new philosophies and new concepts of morality and ethics, there was a conviction that humanity had reached a peak starting from a savage past. Viewed from this lens, all of prehistory and history becomes a march towards ever greater physical prosperity and new ideas about the human condition that render older thoughts obsolete. This was a wonderful new world and the benefits of the resultant civilization needed to be spread to all corners of the world. This provided part of the later impulse towards Empire in the West. Partly because of the factors discussed above, Western imperialism was unique in at least one respect: it sought to undermine local traditions and customs that were deemed to be "barbaric" and instead impose Western style institutions and customs that were deemed to be "civilized". So the whole process of industrialization resulted in massive disruption both locally and abroad.
So what does all of this have to do with fitna? Quite a bit. There were two major ideas that became increasingly associated with the process of industrialization. One was the idea of the inexorable march of progress highlighted above. The other was an ever increasing belief in the power and efficacy of "Markets". The second idea was kicked started by Adam Smith's seminal work The Wealth of Nations and was cemented by the obvious material prosperity engendered by industrialization. The two ideas combined over time and resulted in a third idea: that we can have infinite material growth despite living in a world in which many essential resources are finite in quantity. However, there is a problem with the third idea that was the child of the first two ideas. Where is the material growth going to come from? Ultimately, every economic activity (and indeed every non-economic activity as well) needs to serve some kind of need at an individual level. There are only two basic ways to ensure continuous material growth. Either increasing number of people participate in the "Market" or the same number of people buy ever increasing quantities. The usual solution is to have a mixture of these two.
The problem is that while the machinery of industrialization needs to churn incessantly. For this to happen, individuals need to be kept in a state of constant dissatisfaction and tension with their current condition and if people are reluctant, then the appropriate change needs to be forced on them. This type of thinking results in attempts to mold the individual into a particular stereotype. This is where fitna comes in. The consequences of this type of thinking will be explored in a later post.
So what does all of this have to do with fitna? Quite a bit. There were two major ideas that became increasingly associated with the process of industrialization. One was the idea of the inexorable march of progress highlighted above. The other was an ever increasing belief in the power and efficacy of "Markets". The second idea was kicked started by Adam Smith's seminal work The Wealth of Nations and was cemented by the obvious material prosperity engendered by industrialization. The two ideas combined over time and resulted in a third idea: that we can have infinite material growth despite living in a world in which many essential resources are finite in quantity. However, there is a problem with the third idea that was the child of the first two ideas. Where is the material growth going to come from? Ultimately, every economic activity (and indeed every non-economic activity as well) needs to serve some kind of need at an individual level. There are only two basic ways to ensure continuous material growth. Either increasing number of people participate in the "Market" or the same number of people buy ever increasing quantities. The usual solution is to have a mixture of these two.
The problem is that while the machinery of industrialization needs to churn incessantly. For this to happen, individuals need to be kept in a state of constant dissatisfaction and tension with their current condition and if people are reluctant, then the appropriate change needs to be forced on them. This type of thinking results in attempts to mold the individual into a particular stereotype. This is where fitna comes in. The consequences of this type of thinking will be explored in a later post.
