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Economics, Science, and Religion 5

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Up to the event of industrialization, a rigid, albeit slowly changing world view had prompted a mitigated hierarchy just as rigid:

  • Man was the image of God upon this world, but dependent on the whims of both; he was lord over the animals, but ultimately depended on them, and plants as well.
  • Man had to work hard for his daily bread, but without God's grace there would not be even that.
  • Man was the crown of Creation that had taken place some time ago, but still dependent on it like an infant.

And so on.


Despite these and other paradoxes, this world view, as a whole, was coherent - and still is.

But with the advent of mechanized, industrial mass production, this perception changed fundamentally, though not completely.

In the relevant areas of religion, economy and science, new and fundamental questions arose:

  • Is man in the image of God or just a whim of nature?
  • Is man the worldly creator of all values or just their consumer?
  • Is man dependent or free? (And from what?)
  • Is the universe nothing but an accumulation of randomized events, or, combined with universal evolution, a purposeful, irreversible affair?

And again, so on.


Without the frame of the prior rigid order, which found its justification in limited resources, man was thrown back on himself; he could only, temporarily, choose one of these alternatives and regularly lose the other.

But the result of such a choice is still only on the mind; nothing changes in reality, except perhaps one's own behavior. This could indicate that these alternatives, in reality, are not alternatives at all; and that an "and" may apply instead of an "or", sometimes.



Until about 1850, and in ancient religious systems even today, the general view could be described as follows:

The universe is static and eternal; it has an external source, God, who through Creation is the source of all things, such as resources; and therefore the distribution and allocation of the same is the responsibility of his worldly deputies and agents; and it is up to the people to prove themselves worthy of this allocation. Etc.

The result is coercion and oppression.


After about 1850, something like the following applied in the "West":

The universe is dynamic, temporary, it has no external source, God exists solely as an internal construct for one's self-orientation; the origin of all things is unknown, and therefore their distribution and allocation can rely solely on collective decision, while it is up to the individual to manufacture the necessary goods, etc.

The result is forsakenness and panic.

Even worse, overwork and exhaustion - and as a result, severe depression and mental derangement.


One could refer to the areas of religion, economics, and science as the "Three Sisters" of society, a seafaring expression - as the three areas of fatal, cardinal errors inundating the

Philosophy of Modern Man:

Evolution, Revolution, Entropy


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