Disorder and chaos

Fifty-five years ago this month, Martin Luther King, Jr published his fourth and final book: ‘Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?’ In it he described the turmoil then engulfing American cities as representing a new phase in the struggle for freedom: as a shift from a primary focus on dismantling Southern apartheid to a broader grappling with racism and economic inequality nationwide. Extending his analysis globally, Dr King called for an end to the madness of the Vietnam War, for an eradication of global poverty, and for a recognition of nonviolence as the only sane path forward.

Dr. King’s ideas and words resonate today, but it is the last phrase of the title, ‘chaos or community’, that speaks most sharply to our time.

The word ‘chaos’ is understood as meaning ‘disorder’ and ‘confusion’, and when it flourishes, it becomes increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to achieve socially desirable goals. Chaos grows when powerful economic interests dominate the public sphere – and when democracy is impaired both by that domination and by institutional barriers such as the filibuster. It grows when conditions grow ripe for the emergence of demagogic leadership.

Community, on the other hand, is rooted in a recognition of the interrelations of all persons and living beings, and in a sense of responsibility toward the thriving of those beings. It manifests in pro-social behaviors that can range from participating in a beach cleanup to more extensive and sustained forms of social and public service.

Inasmuch as we recently passed the grievous milestone marking the death by Covid of one million Americans, it merits a brief review of our recent history to see how both chaos and community continue to contend in our nation.

To its credit, the Trump administration authorized the development of vaccines that have done much to blunt the lethality of the coronavirus. And yet, as many analysts have noted, the lies and inconsistent messaging emanating from that administration did much to exacerbate the crisis. Early on, when information about the seriousness of the virus became available, Mr. Trump acknowledged its lethal nature when he was interviewed by journalist Bob Woodward. Yet soon after, and in many subsequent messages, he said that the virus would “miraculously go away” in a few months’ time, that it was “like a flu” and was “very mild”.

Mr Trump falsely claimed that the FDA had deemed the anti-malarial drug chloroquine as effective against the coronavirus, and he disparaged the mask wearing that was deemed as essential by many health experts, going so far as to hold large indoor, and largely unmasked, rallies in Nevada and other states, flouting local public health rules limiting such gatherings. After the November 3, 2020 election, Mr Trump checked out of any personal involvement in the fight against Covid, focusing instead on the false and destructive search for votes that could overturn that election. By January 20, 2021, more than 400,000 Americans had died from the virus.

By contrast, other nations, such as Australia, benefited from relatively high levels of interpersonal trust, concern for others, and trust in public agencies – all reinforced by generally well-coordinated and rational public health measures.

Excerpted: ‘Chaos or Community’.

Courtesy: Counterpunch.org