A brief history of addiction, inequality and exploitation
And why collective consciousness is the only way out
An understanding of history is a form of mindful self-awareness because it enables us to grasp how the present slots in between the known past and the unknown future. I studied History at Cambridge University and I have always been interested in the big picture of the past — trying to understand the common social and psychological threads which bind human generations over time. My view is that addiction, inequality and exploitation have served to maintain the patterns of human behaviour which have determined the course of history. Moreover, the history of ideology and spirituality represent the two somewhat warped, rusty keys which can enable us to forge a future in which everyone has an equal shot at true happiness.
From the perspective of global development, the world is “progressing” faster than ever. We live in a world of relative world peace, some degree of freedom and tolerance, a global life expectancy of 73, a literacy rate of 86.3%, and a decline in extreme poverty from 70% in 1950 to 10% today.
But at the same time, across much of the world, consumerism and technological progress are spiralling out of control, and the world we live in is actually no more equal. Overall, living standards have improved, but the gap between rich and poor is wider than ever. Westernisation and tourism threaten to uproot traditional cultures in the non-Western world with one whose toxic by-product is shallowness and excess.
Fostering collective consciousness through education could be the only way out of this mess.
An unequal history
The ancient civilisations of Greek, Rome, Egypt, Persia and China produced the first innovators in human history. Individuals within these civilisations forged alphabets, histories and new systems of communication, as well as mathematical, medical and philosophical theories. The role of individual pioneers— such as Thucydides, Pythagoras, Galen and Confucius, to name a few — were of supreme importance in guiding the course of history.
These theories and ideas provided a solid cognitive foundation for the development of human civilisation. However, in the West, the period from the fall of Rome in 476 to the Renaissance era (c. 1500–1750) was dry in terms of new ideologies and ways of thinking. Christianity dominated Western civilisation, producing a collective moral code and paving the way for deeply entrenched patriarchy. Some scientific advances were made, but the powerful Catholic Church suppressed the potential of new ideas and theories. The monarchy always had the moral high ground and the rest of society had no choice but to submit.
Meanwhile, across Asia and Africa, many cultures were thriving. As Europe was plunged into the ‘Dark Ages’, he Islamic world underwent a Golden Age. Moreover, Africa — the oldest inhabited and most genetically diverse continent — was a hotbed of culture. Pre-colonial Africa was made up of perhaps as many as 10,000 different states and polities. The Kingdom of Ife, the first of the Yoruba kingdoms, established government under a priestly ‘oba’ (the Yoruba word for ‘ruler’), and was a major religious and cultural centre in West Africa. Before the colonists arrived, despite some conflict between tribes and polities, many parts of Africa were thriving.
The seventeenth century marked the beginning of what we might call modernisation in Western Europe: the long transition from absolutist monarchy to representative democracy. England had their revolution first, in 1688, and France followed a century later. Adam Smith enabled the transition from mercantilism to capitalism. The accumulation of capital by pioneering merchants and bankers enabled and justified the European colonisation of Africa, the Americas and the Middle East across from the eighteenth century up to World War One. This period also marked the advent of the individualistic, liberal philosophy which is now spreading across the majority of the world, thanks to globalisation. The growth of this ideology was facilitated by the anti-spiritual Enlightenment and justified Christian missions in Africa and Asia.
Islam appeared in Yorubaland in the mid-eighteenth century and Christianity in the nineteenth. Christianity itself came to be seen as part of a larger order, comprising Western education, colonial administration, commerce and industry. Thus, the West came to dominate the ‘Rest’, via exploitation of resources, peoples and connections.
The twentieth century was marked by intense, bloody conflict as the Western world turned on itself. However, despite this, capitalism and the liberal philosophy of individualism managed to survive, and the world we live in today reflects that.
Addiction in the past and present
So where does addiction come into this narrative? Well, addiction is certainly not a new concept — humans are naturally susceptible to the temptations posed by substances found in nature which offer temporary pleasure or relief from stress. Chiefly, these are tobacco, sugar, alcohol and coca. The beginning of colonialism in the seventeenth century also marked the arrival of caffeinated products to Europe: tea and coffee. The profitable triangular trade enabled Britain and America to exploit scores of Africans via sugar and tobacco plantations, so that wealthy Americans and Europeans could enjoy fleeting bursts of pleasure.
Caffeine also facilitated productivity; by introducing coffee breaks, factory owners could keep their workers feeling awake and focused. Moreover, with the rise of capitalism, alcohol became a branded commodity, and sugar cane could be processed into all sorts of sweet products. Drinking cultures are now part of life in the Western world, and sugar consumption is deeply entrenched in people’s lifestyles. Obesity and dental problems, particularly among young children, are fast becoming the norm.
In general, since the Enlightenment era, the dominant paradigm values materialism, tradition and money. The fixation on material growth manifests in homes, schools and workplaces, programming us to be in constant competition and stuck on autopilot as we overspend, overthink and overwork ourselves. Many of us experience a simmering frustration about our inability to simply be content.
Addiction is endemic as people search for quick fixes: wine, cigarettes, skin-picking, masturbation, Valium, workaholism, TV, sugar, marijuana, Instagram, cocaine and shopping, to name a handful. Yet what everyone is searching for, even if they are not aware of it or wouldn’t admit it, is human connection and love. Everything else is distraction or practicality.
A brighter future?
We are all aware that our natural environment is chronically decaying as we use up the world’s resources to sustain our unsustainable culture. I studied environmental history, a discipline which seeks to recognise the role of the natural world as an agent in the course of history, not merely a setting for human interactions and human-led change. This module helped me to understand that colonialism and capitalism resulted in not only the exploitation of peoples, but also of the earth’s resources.
In the twentieth century, fascist and communist leaders recognised the problems inherent in the liberal ideology, but became blinded by their desire for power to the point that they couldn’t recognise how destructive their grand schemes had become. Karl Marx believed society would eventually ‘wither away’, and perhaps this is true, but not via a programme of violence and repression led by a man with a huge ego like Lenin or Stalin.
So what can be done? It seems to me that the only way out is to avert the trap of capitalism and of endless attempts to separate and classify, and to re-conceptualise spirituality. If we all start to recognise our place within broader ecosystems and see ourselves as part of nature, we may be able to unshackle ourselves from modernity.
In my eyes, the only way to upturn the dominant ideology is through education.
Perhaps being ‘modern’ isn’t necessarily for the best. We have learnt how to be conscious and aware via modernisation, but in my view, we have gone too far. Addiction has always been a significant problem, but never more so than in the present day. The capacity for personal spiritual enlightenment lies within every individual, and it’s the youth who hold the keys to change — we just need to recognise our own agency to make that change happen.
