Table of Contents Intruduction

The Sacred End of History

Ali Akbar Rashad
Abstract

The present article is an attempt to discuss three kinds or three stages of globalization: Prophetic globalizing; philosopher's globalizing; and authoritative globalizing.

Although globalization or globalizing are normally discussed within the framework of such disciplines as political sociology, international relations, sociology of technology, etc., the present article is an attempt to study this issue from a philosophic, intellectual aspect. The present article concludes that authoritative globalizing is impossible, while on the basis of the theory and philosophy of awaiting (expectation), a scared globalization is doomed to happen. Finally attempts have been made to depict a picture of the sacred end of history by enumerating twenty indices of the "development and evolution of man's life in the period of expectation".
Keywords: Globalizing, globalization, philosophy of awaiting, end of history, philosophy of history, prophetic globalizing, philosopher's globalizing, authoritative globalizing, rejection of secular globalizing.

Prelude
It is pertinent here to mention a few points as a prelude to the main discussion.

Globalizing: process or trick?
Is globalization a "process" or a "trick"? Is it a "process" or a project"? Is it merely a deterministic outcome of the process of history that will inevitably grow without any deliberation or objective behind it, or is there a process and a trick behind which the great powers probably want to impose a specific ideology on the world and follow a specific objective through it?

There are two absolutist viewpoints regarding the answer to this question.

1 – Some of the experts conceiving that this phenomenon is merely a natural historical process (or rather a deterministic and inevitable) process that should happen and will happen inevitably conclude that we should not and cannot take a negative stance against it, for this process will hot happen on any body's will and shall not stop by anyone’s will. Therefore there is no way but to surrender to it.
Some of the thinkers of this trend state that this natural, deterministic process besides having some negative aspects enjoys some positive aspects as well. If we are able to globalize our culture, economy, polity, and major policies, we have contributed to the establishment of peace and the disinherited regions of the world will enjoy the advantages of the developed world. Instead of considering technology as an exclusive local and national facility, it will come out of the monopoly of its owners and will be globalized. Science will be globalized and the poor regions and have-not regions of the world will enjoy the scientific findings of the developed world. Information will be globalized and above that the flow of information will become two-way transaction and the world will become a connected vessels in which the deprived and poor regions of the world will enjoy the material wealth and spiritual wealth of the developed countries. Besides maintaining that the globalization is a natural and deterministic process, this approach considers it a positive phenomenon and states that the materialization of this process will be in the interest of the entire world.
2 – Another trend maintains that this event is not something deterministic, but is a project and a calculated and deliberated trick. The advocates of this trend state that basically the nature of this phenomenon is negative and imposed and there is an economic, political and ideological power behind it. The dominating powers of the world want to uniform the world, but after the dominating economy and polity of the world. As a result the nations will be diluted and the cultures, customs, religions, borders, and the power of the local governments will be eroded in the interest of the dominating powers and the major issues of the world should be decided in one place and by the will of the great powers.

It seems that none of these two trends, that are common in their absolutist approach, are precise nor have they grasped the entire truth. Both are relatively correct is stating that globalization is an event in a specific historical stage. In the past too, tribal structures were replaced with rural structures and the latter gradually gave its place to the urban lifestyle. In our time, during the past three, four centuries, the nation-state emerged, the geographical borders were defined and ratified by international organizations and gradually the nation found a new meaning and manifestation. Then regional and international organizations emerged and some kind of transnational nationalities were formed. Hence this aspect of globalization is not under the influence of anybody's will or any collectivity's will. In fact, when modern technology and information technology grows in an amazing manner and the societies and individuals find a power of choice, naturally some thoughts and cultures that are superior to others are chosen and become globalized. This is the positive and natural, deterministic aspect of globalization.

From anther angle it may be stated that the dominant authoritative wills that try to spread a specific ideology and literature in the world and have some measures to conquer the world, focus on a single social engineering to be able to deliberate the world in a manner that would lead to their exclusive domination of the world. The contemporary dominant wills try to employ the deterministic process in their own interests and materialize an imposed globalization.
The ultimate goal of the imposed and deliberate globalization is to make the life this-worldly and to spread secular liberalism in the globe, but liberalism is an spectrum which occurs with political, cultural, religious and economic liberalism. However, the contribution or role of the economic powers, that is, wealth, in this process or trick is much more than that of the political power of the political figures.
We call the role of wealth more than that of power because today the economic powers control politics and even knowledge. The politicians are apparently at the helm and on the surface the theoreticians and thinkers theorize, but the reality is something else, for the economic powers conduct both the minds and the consciences (that is, they theorize and ideologize) and control the world managers. In my opinion behind such theories as the Clash of Civilizations, which are very much talked about in the world today (and one feels that both the theory and the theorizer have been unnaturally aggrandized), and will finally be materialized, lie the hands of the wealth tycoons! It is the masters of wealth who popularize the theories and theorizers through different tricks. Also it is the economic powers that organize the mindsets of the masses and through superficial votes of the masses get their wills approved. This is why I state: while the politicians because of their hunger for power try to globalize a specific ideology and literature in the arena of power politics, more than them and before them it is the economic powers and the rich that even control the politicians through the fingertips of their deliberation and influence the process and events of the world in order to control the sources of wealth.
In other words, in our time two events have taken place parallel to each other. Although these two are completely related (in a manner that the expansion of one facilitates the occurrence of the other), it should be borne in mind that these two events are two “realities” not a “truth”. These two events included: one, the expansion of culture and information technology among various nations and regions of the world and consequently the expansion of conflict and interaction among the ideas and cultures on the world level; and two, the emergence of a dominant, exclusivist power and consequently the probability of the emergence of an apparently indisputable powerful exclusivist global power that propagates the invading ideology.
The first phenomenon is a deterministic-historical and cultural-technological process. Talking about this phenomenon is talking about the “is”, for this phenomenon has imposed itself on man’s life and the relations of contemporary human beings as a reality. It is so clear to be denied. Without any doubt, in our era, time and space have been condensed and the world has turned into a global village, where the inhabitants of this small village inevitably are increasingly in interaction. However in this interaction the maximum advantage has gone to the Western neighborhood (or to the North) of this village, for they have given less and taken more.
The second phenomenon (the emergence of exclusivist global government) is an ideological-political project and is controlled and deliberated by the will of great wealthy powers.
During the last decade, all of a sudden a wing from the West (that is, the United States), claiming the exclusive mandate and tutelage of the world, has risen against the other wing (Europe). But the US move in the world is just like the move of a rebellious military group that through limited military operations claims to have taken the power through a coup and should be recognized as the new government. However it is merely an illusion. In the arena of power politics, the US through violating international rules and regulations and norms claims to have dominated the world and all others should obey it. Even the international organizations should either follow its dictates or face dissolution. It should be borne in mind that in the quagmire of Afghanistan the US neglected the international organizations and international community.

Of course some quasi-philosophers are in charge of defining the bases for such currents, as Huntington did in the case of recent expeditions of the United States! However, the bases designed by the theoreticians have posteriori functions and are not the bases of these edifices.

 

Three, What Should and Can be Globalized?

 

Globalization is the doomed destiny of human beings and it is not possible to evade it. But the question is: What should be and can be globalized? What kind of world a globalized world will be like? Will it be a secular liberal world, which is reckless and exclusivist? Or a just, spiritual and redemptive one?

I believe that the secular liberal ideology, particularly the American model cannot be expanded (more than what it has done till date), rather the countdown of the supremacy of the American imperialism has already begun and it is on the decline.

 

The main hypothesis of this article is sacred globalization on the basis of fundamentals and outcomes of globalization of the other kind. The sacred globalization is the ultimate goal of Prophetic globalizing. Such a globalization may be considered an aspect and consequence of the Shia notion of faraj (opening, salvation as a result of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi). However some of the reasons for the impossibility of the liberal, capitalist globalizing are briefly given below.

Western and secular globalizing faces serious challenges and obstacles. There are numerous bottlenecks, hurdles, and obstacles in the way of imposed, deceitful globalizing. Some of the reasons for the impossibility of the materialization of this kind of globalizing are:

 

1 – If globalizing means universalization of liberalism, the lack of materialization of this phenomenon is stronger than its materialization. (I don’t want to state something in absolute term nor do am I predicting; I just guess). Absolute liberalism with the philosophical foundations and the structure defined by its advocates is impossible to occur. In fact, absolute and unbridled liberalism or unlimited permissibility is self-destructive and negates its own self. This is the very secret of the failure and crisis-riddenness of liberalism in the contemporary world. Hence, today, instead of looking for the reasons for the lack of its materialization in the liberal societies, liberalism through externalization points fingers of accusation towards other societies.

  

The advocates of this ideology, consider the beliefs and ideologies of the adversaries as well as external obstacles as the main reasons for the failure of liberalism, or pretend so. The liberalism, whose scientific fundamentals lead to nihilism, has not been able to solve the problems of the countries that have not accepted it. The objective, scientific aspect of liberalism too has turned to its antithesis. In the liberal countries it has led to white despotism and at the global level to black despotism. Today, in the name of liberal democracy, a latent, complicated despotism is going on in the countries claiming to be liberal. In other words, practically, the citizens are not the ones who make the real decision. The power politics in these countries is a complicated labyrinth. At the surface it is the people who cast their votes, but virtually it is the economic powers that make the real decision and bring the masses to the ballot boxes. It is the economic powers that in advance cast their desired votes in the ballot boxes of the people’s minds. Therefore the legitimacy, based on the rightful rule of majority, does not really and truly take place. Indeed there are rare countries claiming to be liberal where 50 percent of the eligible voters go to the ballot boxes. Therefore, in the liberal countries it is the minority that rules. The party or the faction that comes to power through the votes is always in minority in proportion to the total population or the total number of eligible voters. The minds of the masses are just like a borrowed womb or a host womb for the growth of the fetus of power and practically the economic powers are the makers of the father. Of course, apparently people are given a role to play and they are satisfied and feel that they have cast their votes and had a determining participation. But in reality, the people instead of being allowed to play their roles have been played with! Through expedition to other regions, liberal democracy tries to impose black despotism on the world at a global level.

 

2 – Taking into consideration the contending will of the competing poles, the unipolar world order is impossible, for such powers as the European Union, the emerging economic tiger like China and above all the Islamic World which is on the verge of awakening and self-identification, each have their own claims and will not allow the American global government to take shape.

 

3 – Globalizing is not possible without integration of the religions, semi-religions and cultures in the context of a single religion and culture. Neither it is possible to obliterate the diverse, multiple religions and cultures that exist in the depth of the being of nations and regions and are just like souls for the bodies of the nations.

 

4 – The undesirable beginning of the imposition of secularism and Westernization by the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq has displayed an unsuccessful experience. The expedition of the United States and Western countries to the Islamic World heralded the exclusivist global dictatorship. Invasion and domination of the destiny of nations is not justifiable. The historical experience of the Third World, particularly the Islamic World, of the Western colonial period has been a bitter one whose impacts are still fresh in the memory of the peoples. The issue of globalizing too is considered a kind of neo-colonialism in the viewpoints of the undeveloped countries.

 

5 – Today different kinds of religious and cultural fundamentalisms are rising in various parts of the world and increasing resistance and opposition to the Western or American globalization are getting momentum among the peoples in various parts of the world.

 

In the Islamic World, anti-American, anti-Western waves are rumbling and getting depth by the day. These waves threaten the life of the United States just like an uprooting cyclone. Anti-Islamic globalizing will never be able to stop the said storm.