The Failure Of Western Ideologies

IT IS EVIDENT that the deteriorating situation of the Western society is a cause for deep concern among their intellectuals and political leaders. The various ills that contaminate the society involving the individual, family or daily affairs life from commerce, education, cultural to political and foreign affairs, will eventually become a calamity unless there is a perfect formula to end it. However, it is evident also, that after all measures were taken, have not produced the desired result. Instead, they develop further complications. For instance, the legislation on marriages between men and between women, is not without severe repercussions. The purpose of such marriages is to escape from the countless, tedious and court tussle, between husband and wife. Lesbian and homosexual marriages do not entail claims and alimony if dissolved. Marriages between men are mutual and they do not result in legal divorce if both decided to break up. However, the society at large is subjected to the unceasing fear of AIDS -- the most contagious epidemic of the century. And AIDS has been declared a menace to human generation which the West directly responsible for its origin.Apart from that, homosexualism will affect the growth of human population because they cannot give birth. This will eventually cause the extinction of the human generations. And so, the social problems in the West has become more complicated, like a maze with no end.

Either they try to find ways to solve those problems or leave them to generate more problems.Most knowledgeable Westerners are aware of the unsuitability and impracticality of all the human ideologies, but, are unable to reason out why these ideologies have failed badly. They fail to understand that, its real cause of failure is that the objectives of those ideologies do not correlate with religious belief — that the ideologies themselves are man made and therefore contain many shortcomings. Only God, the Almighty can decide on the success or failure of any solution to man’s problem. They are not aware that man and his Creator are inseparable. Any ideology that is not correlated with God is intended to separate man from his Creator. Man will then be lost in wilderness and fears no one. Under such circumstances, even a well-organized social system could not prevent from defying the system. Also, a man separated from his Creator is similar to a senseless animal which is unable to know its Creator. Could you discipline animals by the principles of democracy, communism, socialism and liberalism? Surely the answer is no. Similarly, it is impossible to discipline anybody with rules that do not correlate with religion. It is also impossible to discipline anybody who has detached himself from religion. That is the reason why communism, socialism, liberalism, capitalism and others, have failed to discipline the Westerners.

Now, let us take a look at communism as a political ideology in countries like Soviet Union and East Germany. As I have said, communism is a man-made ideology that is clearly intended to separate man from his Creator. As a result, people in those countries do not believe in God. This is akin to animals. How could then communism advocate tolerance among such people? Surely, animals know no tolerance. The lack of tolerance within such society disrupts its social structure and workings thus leading to its failure. For that reason, Communism in Soviet Union had been declared dead and East Germany is now history while many other countries will soon face similar fate in the hands of their people.

All these indicate that communism has been rejected by the people. They no longer trust their leaders who on the one hand advocate equal rights, justice and equal distribution of wealth but on the other hand do not practise them. As such, in these communist countries, the poor becomes poorer while the rich gets richer. And the rich fearing that their wealth would be robbed by the poor, decides to protect it through all means. Somehow, the people manage to discover their treachery and corruption which in the end resulted in widespread discontentment.
The people’s uprising in East Germany started when they began to know about the misappropriation of the country’s wealth by the political leaders. The general populace felt that they have been deceived by the communist ideology which does not permit all its leaders and supporters alike to live in material abundance. However, only the people live on meagre food and are paupers, while their wealthy leaders own luxury cars and mansions. The East Germans then furiously turned against their leaders finally uniting East and West Germany.

With that unification, the East Germans hope that they could live like their brothers in West Germany, who under different political ideology are assumed to be in better living conditions and have fewer social problems.
The question is, why did the communist leaders deceive their people instead of protecting them and sincerely implementing their ideology? Why do they violate their own ideology by acquiring as much wealth and worldly comforts as they could? The answer is, they, being human, could not overcome the crave to acquire wealth and worldly comforts which is apparently the driving force that led them to cheat the people. And being leaders, they feel safe because nobody could obstruct their doings. Since they do not believe in God, the Almighty, they do not feel guilty. They cheat as they like. On the other hand, if the communist ideology is correlated with the belief in the Supernatural power of God, the Almighty, and advocate its leaders and followers to fear God, these leaders will then be discouraged from deceiving the people, because God can see all the deeds of man, hidden or exposed.
But the communist leaders do not believe this since there is no such correlation in the principles of communist ideology. Instead it is strongly against the belief in God. So, they fear nobody, not even the police, the people or the state. As a result, people under the rule of communist ideology are always at the mercy of their leaders. And their society is perpetually plagued by numerous problems.
Let us look at some of these chronic social problems of the West. This will further enhance my previous arguments on the Western social problems.

1. Disorganised Family Institution

Convinced about the uselessness of ritual marriage, the present Westerners reject it. The social ideology that they have adhered to since, also fail to enlighten them on the significance of a systematic marriage being the core of a harmonious social system. Besides that, the family institution that evolved from the implementation of those marriage procedures, again fail to justify the benefits of marriage. In fact, the supposed to be happily married couple never turn out to be happy after all.

For instance, the high divorce rates, the birth of children who later turn obstinate and the lingering quarrel between husband and wife, are common features of the family institution in the West today. This discouraging situation has made the Westerners see the ugly side of marriage. They prefer to remain single. As for their sexual desires, there are various ways and means to satisfy them, obviously through illicit means. As a result, the birth of illegitimate children has reached an alarming rate. So are cases of unmarried couples living together, their percentage has risen to an exceptionally high level. In 1988, there were one million unmarried couples cohabiting in France. In 1990, the figure has increased and records in the same year show that one third of their women population were involved in this illicit activity. Why do women choose to live this way? Simply because, separation will be easy — without all the tedious and lengthy court proceedings. And for that reason I think, unmarried couples in France are permitted by their law to live together since it will help lessen the court’s burden of dealing with the endless proceedings of divorce cases — 31 out of every 100 couples. While the birth of illegitimate children has increased to 25 percent of the total.

I am now under the impression that the Western institution is in a real mess and to those who can feel the sufferings endured in a Western family, would definitely agree with me. Would it not be a torture to live in a home of quarelsome or broken family? Imagine being an unwanted child in the family, how would you take it?
Another situation in France is where their women refuse to conceive children although, the government offers quite a substantial amount of money as incentive to mothers who give birth to curb the declining birth rate which have affected population growth. For that matter, Sweden is among the countries that is particularly concerned about the declining birth rate. Judging by the increasing number of their women who choose not to have children, they foresee the country having zero birth rate in the year 2000. There are two reasons that I can give.

a) Swedish women are not prepared to face the difficulties and sufferings of bringing up children.

b) They lack the knowledge and understanding to bring up their children to be obedient and faithful. Most of their children often grow up otherwise, thus creating a fearful and frustrating situation that obviously discourages pregnancy.

These two factors have caused mothers to raise dogs instead of children. These dogs then become their loved ones as well as their companions in times of loneliness. Of course, dogs are easy to raise because they are faithful and obedient. Under the above circumstances, most wives are gradually turning down the sexual desire of their husbands to avoid pregnancy. They are happy to be in the company of their dogs. They are never lonely because they have dogs to talk to –peculiar but true. Western women are now turning to dogs for love. They can be heard talking to these animals with love and affection. In one instance in front of a departmental store London, I met a lady apologising to her dog. “Forgive me darling! I should not have taken such a long time,” she said.

However, there are some women who do care for their husbands but if they ever conceive a baby, they will abort it immediately. In France, there are a number of women association that strive for the right of women to abort their baby at their own free will, without the interference of their husbands. Probably, this could be the answer to the thousands of abortion cases there. In 1987, there were 160,679 cases including the abortion of illegitimate children. Today, the number could have doubled or tripled.

The Westerners do not seem to be concerned. Instead they have been prompted to introduce measures to prevent pregnancy among women. Today, it has been reported that almost 70 percent of the women in France between the age of 18-49, are using the various contraceptives which are easily available, even in the campus of some universities and colleges. Subsequently, one prominent professor successfully formulated a pill that could induce abortion. In my opinion, that professor has misused his intellectual capacities by formulating something that could bring an adverse effect on the population growth.

These are some of the adversities of life caused by atheistic ideologies such as socialism, communism, liberalism, capitalism and democracy. What will be the future of this human race? Is life not becoming a very painful experience for man in particular, since when they reach old age, they are bound to be left alone until death? Are there no better solutions that can dignify the life of women according to their proper role other than to force them into aborting their babies? Would it not give happiness and satisfaction to every woman to conceive children? In the later part of their life they will enjoy the gathering of children and grandchildren.

Evidently, Western ideologies are unable to give Westerners a reasonable solution to save their society from this terrible situation, indicating that they are impractical and incorrect. All the ideologies are just too good to be true and are only theoritically intriguing. I believe that the Westerners have made the wrong choice, as far as their way of life is concerned. I can equate it to a man who has wrongly chosen his life partner. He regrets it all his life but is too ashamed and arrogant to admit it. As a result, more and more problems crop up as the day passes by.

However, the Westerners are just too ashamed to admit that they have been misled by their own political and social ideologies that misled to the downfall of their family institution.

2. A Disorganised Educational System

The present education policy based on the Western ideology is becoming more precarious. In England for instance, the shortage of teachers is very obvious. It was reported in the daily TODAY, Monday 27 August 1990 that, there were several serious problems in the teaching staff of most schools at the beginning of every term. They are:

a) In a number of schools, students have to face different teachers almost everyday because of the frequent transfers and resignation of teachers.

b) Most teachers are on temporary basis. Nobody seems enthusiastic and interested on permanent teaching although the salary scheme offers an annual income of more than 9,000 pounds plus other allowances such as housing, travelling and medical. As an added incentive, they are even given solicitors fee in the event of any legal action.

c) The shortage of teachers is very obvious. On the first day of school, students have to be dismissed early because there is no teacher in charge.

d) James Hammond, a member of a Parent-Teacher Association in London said, it was difficult to foster love and friendly relations between teachers and pupils due to the frequent change of teachers.

The Sunday Times Daily in London of August 26, 1990 wrote about the case of under-qualified teachers in secondary schools. Among other things it reported:

a) Thousands of students in England and Wales are being taught by unqualified teachers. For instance, it is ridiculous for an untrained teacher with only an A level academic qualification teaching students of the same level

b) About 47 percent of the teachers in England have only the minimum qualification. Only a few have degrees and are specialised in the subjects they teach. A large number of the teachers are unqualified to teach in important subjects.

Subsequently, the paper added, a number of teachers and education officials have made frequent criticism at the Government Education policies and suggested the formation of a committee to look into the prerequisite of the teaching profession and to conduct in service courses for the teaching staff in order to boost their professionalism. In fact, the situation that arise in the educational system of both England and Wales, is a cause for concern of all Westerners which indicates that it has to be reorganised and reoriented.

It is difficult to comprehend why the Westerners do not want to be teachers which is the most important tool in achieving the aims and objectives of education. Obviously, it is envisaged that their educational policies based on their ideologies would be able to produce citizens who could lead a happy and peaceful life, well disciplined and helpful. But when the whole system failed to attract potential teachers, they are short of achieving their objectives. Of course they could not expect the students to progress by themselves.

One possible answer why the Westerners do not want to be teachers is, they are just as frustrated and disgusted as the mothers who refuse to have babies. They dread to face the rebellious and perverse behaviour of the students. They are unable to motivate the students to love studying, to be obedient and industrious. In fact, they do not know how to inculcate the instinctive goodness in man. So, they turn a negative attitude on the demands of the educational system to recruit candidates for the teaching profession. Thus they refrain from being involved in educating those frustrating students.

My final argument is that, the whole Western educational system is badly organised and if allowed to persist, the whole system will collapse. Judging at the quality of students produced, it is a strong proof that they have reached an abyss of educational decline. Schools, colleges and universities have produced graduates who seem to allow themselves to become easy victims of materialistic and hedonistic aims of the education. This indirectly motivates them to be white collar thieves, swindlers, adulterers, rapists and so on. They become cruel, arrogant and shameless. They do not have any respect for their parents, teachers and elders and if they become parents themselves, they have no love for their children. Wives disrespect their husbands while husbands themselves are irresponsible. The populace have no regards for the higher authorities. Political leaders do not show any sympathy towards the people except when they need the peoples’ votes during election.

These are the people produced by the Western educational system. Their materialistic and hedonistic approach has driven their people to become spiritually impoverished. As a result, they are unable to face the realities of life. They also fail to recognize their physical limitations. Eventually, when they cannot be steadfast, their last resort will be suicide or total retreat from social life. They took to the remote mountains and forests, and wander aimlessly, in deep frustrations all over the world in order to find solace.

It is sad to say that the West had laid too much emphasis on materialism and hedonism and measure life happiness in terms of how much one can achieve them. But the truth is, happiness cannot be measured in terms of materialistic and hedonistic achievements only. They should incorporate the holistic approach towards achieving eternal happiness because in its real sense happiness is a spiritual attributes. For instance a mother will lose all her happiness even though she has all the material comforts in life, if she is despised by her son and gains no respect from him. A husband will not be happy even though he has wealth and material, if his wife is unfaithful and always awaits for the opportumty to seek divorce. So is the case of a teacher who is beaten by his students in retaliation for his classroom punishment. The teacher will never be happy anymore even though he has a very good income.
The price that the Westerners have to pay for advocating an education policy which gives emphasis mainly on material development, is the eroding of individual ethics and goodness. While ethics and goodness are a heart’s nourishment and the source of one’s happiness, material gains and achievements are only superficial and does not measure true happiness. It is but a prerequisite to life neccessities. For a heart that suffers from instability and insecurity, all the life neccessities are reduced to meaningless objects.

I believe, Western sociologists and all their intellectuals are aware of the above facts. But they are unable to find the exact way out. They realized that their ideological prinhciples on education have failed but they could not replace it with something new. And it is unfortunate if they persistently failed in their endeavours to find the right solution. A badly organised educational system will produce weak and unproductive people. This spells total destruction for their future generations.

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The Wall Street Ticking Time Bomb That Could Blow Up Your Bank Account

Derivatives turn the financial system into a casino. And the House always wins.

April 9, 2013 Cyprus-style confiscation of depositor funds has been called the “new normal.” Bail-in policies are appearing in multiple countries directing failing TBTF banks to convert the funds of “unsecured creditors” into capital; and those creditors, it turns out, include ordinary depositors. Even “secured” creditors, including state and local governments, may be at risk. Derivatives have “super-priority” status in bankruptcy, and Dodd Frank precludes further taxpayer bailouts.In a big derivatives bust, there may be no collateral left for the creditors who are next in line.

Shock waves went around the world when the IMF, the EU, and the ECB not only approved but mandated the confiscation of depositor funds to “bail in” two bankrupt banks in Cyprus. A “bail in” is a quantum leap beyond a “bail out.” When governments are no longer willing to use taxpayer money to bail out banks that have gambled away their capital, the banks are now being instructed to “recapitalize” themselves by confiscating the funds of their creditors, turning debt into equity, or stock; and the “creditors” include the depositors who put their money in the bank thinking it was a secure place to store their savings.

The Cyprus bail-in was not a one-off emergency measure but was consistent with similar policies already in the works for the US, UK, EU, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, as detailed in my earlier articles here and here. “Too big to fail” now trumps all. Rather than banks being put into bankruptcy to salvage the deposits of their customers, the customers will be put into bankruptcy to save the banks.

Why Derivatives Threaten Your Bank Account

The big risk behind all this is the massive $230 trillion derivatives boondoggle managed by US banks. Derivatives are sold as a kind of insurance for managing profits and risk; but as Satyajit Das points out in Extreme Money, they actually increase risk to the system as a whole.

In the US after the Glass-Steagall Act was implemented in 1933, a bank could not gamble with depositor funds for its own account; but in 1999, that barrier was removed. Recent congressional investigations have revealed that in the biggest derivative banks, JPMorgan and Bank of America, massive commingling has occurred between their depository arms and their unregulated and highly vulnerable derivatives arms. Under both the Dodd Frank Act and the 2005 Bankruptcy Act, derivative claims have super-priority over all other claims, secured and unsecured, insured and uninsured. In a major derivatives fiasco, derivative claimants could well grab all the collateral, leaving other claimants, public and private, holding the bag.

The tab for the 2008 bailout was $700 billion in taxpayer funds, and that was just to start. Another $700 billion disaster could easily wipe out all the money in the FDIC insurance fund, which has only about $25 billion in it. Both JPMorgan and Bank of America have over $1 trillion in deposits, and total deposits covered by FDIC insurance are about $9 trillion. According to an article on Bloomberg in November 2011, Bank of America’s holding company then had almost $75 trillion in derivatives, and 71% were held in its depository arm; while J.P. Morgan had $79 trillion in derivatives, and 99% were in its depository arm. Those whole mega-sums are not actually at risk, but the cash calculated to be at risk from derivatives from all sources is at least $12 trillion; and JPM is the biggest player, with 30% of the market.

It used to be that the government would backstop the FDIC if it ran out of money. But section 716 of the Dodd Frank Act now precludes the payment of further taxpayer funds to bail out a bank from a bad derivatives gamble. As summarized in a letter from Americans for Financial Reform quoted by Yves Smith: