The fight for moral truth is harder than ever: but we must not give up

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Searching for moral truth within societal norms and contemporary economic / technological frameworks feels tougher now than ever – but we must keep trying or the future (while it lasts) will be owned by those who deny and abuse its very existence.      

A friend of mine decided as a young child not to tell lies – otherwise nobody could separate truth from fiction, but since truth finding is effortful we don’t have to proactively tell lies for falsehoods to prosper – laziness will do much of the ‘work’.

I pursue a Platonic prosperity in which philosophy (the love of truth) is paramount.  My growth as a noetic (thinking) being is more important than stuff. I also align with an Aristotelian version of happiness, which pivots around human potential – not emotion. 

Billions of people lie daily (to themselves and others) in pursuit of consumerism and emotional gratification. In our dysfunctional society, lies are a life skill: thus we live under co-created tyranny that obstructs noetic growth and potential. 

Concepts like prosperity and happiness are not subjective. I take a broadly Platonic view that such goods (or forms) have an objective reality. By contrast the contemporary  paradigm is ruthlessly materialistic: prosperity and happiness are commodified and assigned dollar values.

If one believes as many (most?) do, that morality (like everything) can only be measured in material terms and that happiness is purely subjective…then goodness can only exist as an expression of material commodification and subjective preference. 

Utilitarianism attempts to rescue morality from this absence of transcendent value via calculations of optimum ‘happiness’ for the greatest number: oft expressed (inevitably) in material terms. Alas utilitarianism cannot supply any categorical moral imperative against selfishness: it has no moral authority of that kind.  Much of what passes for morality in public life purports to be objectively calculated for the common good, but in truth most political power is wielded by people who cheat: they profess to be selfless facilitators of the common good to gain power – then ruthlessly play the game for themselves.   

Where is the moral authority to restrain our rapacious desire for material ‘goods’ and emotional gratification come from? Where is the concept (so alien to capitalism) of ‘enough’ to come from? In the context of climate vandalism and ecological collapse these are key questions indeed.

Thus I look out at modern battlegrounds of morality. Since for many (most?) prosperity and happiness are conflated with materialism,  life is seen as a brutish battle over material resources, human labour and the means of production. Of course our political and moral landscape is not so straightforward – many believe that morality transcends materialism – but few explore the philosophical implications therein.

Many opponents of capitalism and neoliberalism assert that morality is objective and transcendent (so there is such a thing as moral truth after all)…but simultaneously assert that moral truth is subjective and rooted in material measures. Obviously it cannot be both! Small wonder that supporters of subjective materialism shrug their shoulders at such intellectual chaos and reach for the new BMW catalogue, reassured that even their hypocritical opponents are tacitly on their side.

Contemporary moral norms may be more chaotic than older religious certainties, but they retain great societal power . Those with material agency are keenly aware of this and see the proactive manipulation of moral dynamics as both opportunity and threat. This is why the corporate media patrol all boundaries of moral inquiry: ensuring that moral discussions remain seamlessly conflated with the commodification of value. This is how wealth and power protects its privilege and hides its sins.

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Far from correcting this problem social media has worsened it. Facebook and Twitter are purposely addictive barrages of white noise and useless for dialectic. Social media is a system of chaotic mass transmission and passive reception. The computer algorithms that power this world purposefully inflame outrage and entrench opinions. Polarised sub groups are deliberately set against each other for profit and spin ever further out of orbit from reality. Energy and time poured into Facebook is mental energy that won’t be spent in search of the truth or fighting for justice on the streets – it’s all spent tapping away on smart phones. We all know who that benefits.

It is extraordinarily difficult in the prevailing paradigm to even begin a dialectic about moral truth. What passes for education adds technological utility and fosters societal obedience but eschews critical thinking and philosophy. The gatekeepers of the media portals are too numerous and powerful to be easily bypassed. Social media thrives on division and faux certainties – not humble searches for the truth. Lost in the daily races of raw survival, addiction and distraction – billions have no time or inclination to stop and think.

In such bleak times and with the consequences of our sleepwalking multiplying daily, it begs the question (for me) of why I continue with Sodium Haze – not least because most of our audience arrives (hilariously) from Facebook. I persist because there is always hope. Big changes can come quickly as the Covid-19 pandemic has proved. I know I am far from alone in thinking my heterodox thoughts and I still have hope that somehow, someday it will all knit together. 

Mostly I persist because I can see no moral justification for giving up – too much rests on the rediscovery of moral imperatives…and I have a beautiful seven year old son who deserves so much more than the world I have dragged him into. 

I welcome your input about how to make SH more of a learning community – that has always been my ultimate ambition for it. 

Since 2013 I have worked between 4-6 hours a day on this Ad-Free site: trying to give a voice to those without the power or agency to speak out for themselves and uncovering truths that well paid journalists in the corporate media dare not utter.

I am a home schooling parent on a low income – paying for the domain, web hosting and security entirely out of my own pocket.  

If you found this article useful and could spare us a few shillings to help keep our lights on, it would be very much appreciated.

Thank you in solidarity with all our readers. John Lynch, Editor.     

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