Moral Disarmament

Discussion

Frank Furedi on the Moral Disarmament of the West

Frank Furedi:

"Moral disarmament is the outcome of the crisis of normativity and a refusal to confront this problem. It implicitly and often explicitly rejects that values that have historically played a central role in helping society deal with the difficult challenges it faced. Moral disarmament has eroded the willingness to fight for principles. from freedom to national sovereignty. In the vocabulary of the post-heroic West there is little room for terms like courage, risk taking, patriotism, duty and responsibility.

The moral disarmament of the west has acquired its most striking expression in the sphere of socialisation and public education. Many educators self-consciously questioned the desirability of transmitting their nations historical legacy. In the United States there has been a veritable crusade designed to de-authorise the status of Founding Fathers and the very act of founding the nation. In British schools too there is a discernible tendency to avoid public expressions national pride.

...

Human civilisation emerged through recognising the key role of the family, drawing a clear mora distinction between children and adults, understanding the centrality of the biological distinction between men and women and the moral difference between humans and animals and the necessity for drawing a boundary between public and private life. All these ideals are now called into question. Freedom itself is often culturally negated by the censorious attitude promoted by our cultural and educational institutions.

We must not give up the fight for our civilisational values. The alternative to these ideals is a form of high-tech barbarism: one that is already gaining support in parts of the western world."

(https://frankfuredi.substack.com/p/civilisation-or-barbarism?)