LAL #049 — The Taliban and the Failure of Western Monism

Law and Legitimacy

The Taliban erased the work and struggle of two decades of Western influence and state building in Afghanistan this week. It was a collage of what I call globalist monism — the assumption that there can be a universal agreement on global norms capable of governing the world. The collapse carries a warning to the West: Rekindle the traditions that brought you to the world power, or welcome your own version of the Taliban to your shores. Momism is the vision of a world in which one set of values or beliefs are regarded as superior to those of others. Thus, the best version of society can be known, and imposed on others for their own good. In the words of Jean Jacques Rousseau, people can be forced to be free. Pluralism, by contrast, holds that there are competing visions of the good — that individuals should be free to find their own way, guided by their own vision of the good. We’re all closet monists, making the best choices we can for ourselves. But we recognize pluralism as the best means for creating a good life in common. Hence the power of liberal democratic societies, especially in the post-World War II world. But a funny thing happened on the way to the 21st century. The bottom fell out of pluralism.

We used to take for granted unstated assumptions about the value such things as truth, beauty and objective reality — bedrock principles that form the core of the Juadeo-Christian tradition. Now, everything is up for grabs. There is no center. Hence the failure of globalism. The universal vision of a global citizen, of global norms, denies the truth that all politics are local. We crave efficacy and significance in our own lives. The Taliban understood that. It’s vision of the good rejects western monism. The danger? Globalism is right in theory but fatal in fact: Yes, there are answers to what is best for all. The trouble is now of us want what is best for all. We all chose our own imperatives before adopting those of others. When individual imperatives are shorn from their base in a grand tradition, nihilism becomes the norm. We’re on the road to nihilistic disintegration in the United States. Identitarians and the Taliban may look different, but they are the same. We crave significance. We need ideals as large and grand as our aspirations, We’ve lost sight of these goals and visions. Afghanistan shows a civilization, a way of life, that has exhausted itself. Behold, the New Barbarism.

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