The Wes Cecil Podcast

The notion that resistance is doomed and only violence or resignation to the status quo are viable options actually belies the historical reality. In the cases of marijuana legalization, gay marriage, socialised medicine or gay marriage, joyful, even celebratory resistance has often led to dramatic and even rapid change. Joy has a proven track record as a winning strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Taoism offers a surprisingly powerful critique of the modern world - a world of which it had no conception. Fundamental principles that inform our societies - Rationality, Power, Wealth, Individuality, Rationality - play little or no role in the key ideals of Taoism. Hence, it offers an amazingly refreshing critique of our lives and our world.

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AMERICAN CALVINISM
In this lecture I explore the deep and abiding influence of Calvinism on the American cultural outlook. Whether Christian or not, Americans believe in purity, the centrality of moral judgements, visible signs of success and more. These attitudes are rarely traced back to their true origin - the specific beliefs and social forms developed by John Calvin. America is a Calvinist country par excellence.

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What of violent resistance? This is one of the most vexed questions surrounding the ethics and viability of resistance. What constitutes violence? When, if ever, is it justified? Does it actually work? It is clear that it often takes the application of some kind of force to get states to change, yet states claim only the state can deploy force. This fundamental disequilibrium between citizens and states creates a difficult and confusing challenge.

"A state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory."— Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation (1919)

"Hereby it is manifest that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man."— Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)

"Covenants, without the sword, are but words and of no strength to secure a man at all."— Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651
"Political power, then, I take to be a right of making laws with penalties of death, and consequently all less penalties, for the regulating and preserving of property, and of employing the force of the community, in the execution of such laws..." — John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (1689)

"The state is an organization of violence for the suppression of some class."— Vladimir Lenin, The State and Revolution (1917)

"Power and violence are opposites; where the one rules absolutely, the other is absent. Violence appears where power is in jeopardy."— Hannah Arendt, On Violence (1969)
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Re’, Li, Wei, and Qi are types of power explored in Taoism. However, the types of power Taoism emphasizes is very different from, perhaps antithetical to the types of power generally promoted in Western civilization. Rather than control and authority, Taoism seeks harmony, effortlessness, ease and vitality.

The Chapters cited are Re’ 38, Li 33, Wei 72 and Qi 10.

Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions.

Starting at $2/month: https://www.patreon.com/wescecil

Image credit: Thanato, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.