Members Only Post #81 – Warhamer 40k Or 1984: The Only Two Viable Futures?

This is an article that I’ve been wanting to write for awhile but never got around to it and figured now was a good time. I write these articles generally months in advance so I have no idea what current events are going to be transpiring when they come out. Yet trends seem to hold the same. One thing you’ll notice about human nature is that humans tend to work in extremes. They’re usually all one way or all the other way or at least trend towards those things. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, I’m just pointing out that it is a thing.

People like absolutes. Which again isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. However it makes for interesting predictions about where things are headed as a world as a whole and what that means for you and me. Above I’ve listed two works of fiction. One a novel and one a world with a board game, video games, novels, short stories, and a whole lot more. Both are run by totalitarian governments (I think the natural state of man, and not necessarily a bad thing) but expressed in very different ways that reflect the societies and ways of thinking that we have around us.

By looking at these two works, 1984 and Warhammer 40k we can study some impulses in man and impulses in political thought and the world around you. I’ll be first the admit I haven’t read 1984 in a good while and I don’t have an exhaustive knowledge of Warhammer 40k. I’m working of the big general impressions that these two works give out and the “seed” of what they’re about. So apologies if I get minor details wrong but that’s not what’s important here. It’s the overall effect these works have and the essence of them. Let’s dive in.

Warhammer 40k & 1984

To give the gist of Warhammer 40k it’s a militaristic hierarchical society where mankind is beset on all sides by ferocious beats and alien races that want it destroyed. It is focused around the God Emperor who serves as the center of life in Warhammer 40k. The God Emeperor’s forces go out and do battle with the forces of chaos and evil to slay them and purge the world for mankind. Reminds me sort of like an accurately interpreted Christianity. Essentially militaristic, fascist, and devotional.

On the other end we have 1984 where the state also controls the people but does so in a different manner. I’d say that a Brave New World could fit in this as well. 1984 is essentially the “communist” version while Brave New World is the capitalist version. But both are very similar and work off of one another. The people are controlled by fear and pleasure. Numbed to a state of stupidity and beat down whenever they question the narrative respectively in each work. For our purposes here we’ll combine them as that is the trend that we’ve seen. The synthesization of capitalism and communism for something else.

So to put it in a larger scale essentially we have “right wing” totalitarianism and “left wing” totalitariansm. We have Fascism on one side and Capitalist-Communism on the other (those two go hand in hand). Two very extreme views of society, the goals of man, and what is good in life. Right now we’re trending towards the Brave New 84′ version. Again I’m painting broad pictures of these works but it’s not about the minor details it’s about the big picture that each presents. The overall impression that each gives.

Human Nature & The Shifting Pendulum

Like we talked about before humans like to think in extremes. One side has to be all right and the other all wrong. That’s not to say the grey areas are right of course, right is right and wrong is wrong. So let’s look at some lines of political thought we know. We have fascism on one side and communism on the other. Sure we could do the whole anarchy on one side and fascism on the other but I don’t think that serves much good right now. A four way axis works better but again beyond our talk right now.

So we have little fascism, a lot of Liberalism, and a lot of communism. Liberalism is about the rights of man and all that noise. But I don’t think it’s going to stay around very long. It’s losing and it’s losing badly. It might work in sheltered homogeneous societies but when everything gets swirled together it starts to break down. And communism is winning. I’m not saying this is a bad or good thing, just a thing. Look at the ten planks of the Communist Manifesto. The Western world has implemented most if not all and most people on the left or even the right anymore would say they’re good things.

The West is essentially communist but with capitalism thrown in for added control and distraction. Or maybe vice versa. Not saying this is a bad or good thing, just a thing. Both the left and right in America are essentially communistic. Liberalism is essentially communism for softies. We’re used to be told communists are the bad guys but when you take another look aside from old extreme style communism the neoliberal order is communistic. And most Americans are communistic. Not saying that’s a bad thing, just a thing.

Communist essentially beats Liberalism, if only because Liberalism is communism-lite. But communism can be seen as the natural outgrowth of Liberalism. They’re synthesized, not opposed. Sort of like communism and capitalism. If this seems crazy and confusing I’d recommend reading the works of Kerry Bolton (especially Revolution From Above & Babel Inc.) as well as From Aristocracy To Monarchy To Democracy as well. The division you’ve been taught is wrong, they’re joined at the top.

So What Happens?

Essentially communism (even if it goes by different names) beats Liberalism (which includes light Liberals, Republicans, Libertarians, and a good swath of Americans as well as Westerners as a whole). It just doesn’t hold up to it. We all see it fail every day and we’re being led away from it. You might say well the reason it’s “failing” is because we’re being led away from it but people aren’t listening. Liberalism had its day in the sun and as is failing. The question is what replaces it?

This has happened many times in history. Communism or whatever it’s been called through the years beats Liberalism but Fascism beats Communism at least in the ideological struggle. Germany after WWI is an interesting study in this. Essentially what it seems will happen is we’ll either become more and more communistic as the years wear on or we’ll have the rise of a Napoleon/Ceasar/Hitler who will use the military to try to take it all on and we’ll end up with fascism. Like I said in the intro we’ll end up with Warhammer 40k or 1984 depending.

Don’t get too caught up in the terms communism, liberalism, or fascism they’re describing ways of being and thought processes and have gone by many names throughout time. But the battle remains the same, it’s the outcome that’s unknown. I know the middle ground won’t last long. You could say this is a good or bad thing. I don’t know, I just know it’s a thing. You’ll have communism/capitalism on one side and fascism on the other.

Crazy Future

If you want to avoid such things I’d suggest moving to the mountains. The mountains through wars and regime changes are generally the least affected. Whether it’s the Russians in the middle East the British in North Carolina and so on and so forth. Rural places tend to fare better. They’re closer to God and further from man. But again who knows. These are just trends that seem to repeat themselves throughout history. I’m no political genius that’s for sure. I could be completely wrong.

But I do know people drift towards extremes and that things are heating up more and more. The old god of Liberalism is failing and in many ways that could be seen as a good thing but what will it be replaced with? Is there any good options or are they all bad? Who knows, I don’t. But it’ll be interesting to see how things unfold in the grand scheme. Anyways do what you’ve always done. Grow, read, fight, expand, learn, and become more. No matter what the future holds you’ll be the better for it.