Preamble
The short answer to the quetsion What are princples? is that principles are the foundational propositions of a belief-system.
With that out of the way the next question, or questions, becomes:
What are your principles? Do you have any?
Do you practice your principles on a consistent basis?
These aren't questions we ask our partners, readers or friends of PRC. Since PRC is a question-based consultancy, it's a question we ask ourselves.
After all, how could we presume to be able to offer our services if we didn't ask ourselves the question What are your principles?
In what follows we will compare and contrast our principles with that of the dominant ideology of the West today, Identity Politics.
That's another way of saying the dominant explanatory system.
One reason for doing this is to show that PRC is operating out of a tradition that attempts to expand the study of the Humanities into Cultural History and subsume both under the Behavioral Sciences, while placing all of them under a general theory of Human Behavior so as to satisfy the human drive toward reality.
Whereas Identity Politics is operating out of a very old tradition (and arguably the oldest profession) of severly limiting any and all responses so as to reduce them to one overrriding explanation that is closed from both sides, that of theory and that of data, while also ignoring, attacking, misrepresenting, or, if possible, eliminating any alternative responses it doesn't approve of. That is, all alternatives. And it does this by eliminating choice itself.
In so doing they are acting out the human flight from reality. In the case of Identity Politics it is a massive flight from reality.
Given the fact it is in deed the dominant explanatory system in the West today, given the fact that, since it sees itself as the final word and ultimate truth that must be blindly obeyed, or else, in other words, given that the fact that it aggressively prohibits any feedback and correction, and given the fact that the process of feedback and correction is the one thing that any culture in general or organization in particular must engage in for its survival, succes and growth, Identity Politics is having a devastating effect on our social institutions - all of them.
But there's more.
Since Identity Politics is the dominant explanatory system today, ie; in The Age of The Internet, and the Internet is in the hands of the most poweful people in the world, and since virtually everything in the world, every natural and human resource, is controlled by those who control the Internet, that makes them the most powerful people in the history of the world, thereby making Identity Politics the most dominant explanatory system in world history. And that means that Identity Politics was able to acquire the power it now has exactly because its claims are not true.
And it continues to make those claims because it doesn't know what to do with that power, except of course to demand more of it, while destroying anyone who stands in their way (and if, in fact, no one is standing in their way they'll find someone who is).
That's why the two greatest and most devastating consequenes of having Identity Politics as our dominant explanatory system, one that requires for its very existence blind obedience to its authority, are Cultural Impoverishment and Societal Collapse.
The only surprising thing about these two consequences is that some people seem surprised by them (it's no surprise that many are blissfully unaware of these consequences, since hiding one's head in the sand is an ancient and universal human practice).
Of course these are the consequenes! Since every group protected by Identity Politics is placed above criticism, there's nothing for them to learn. With nothing to learn they're incapable of growth.
Make no mistake about it, despite its claims, Identity Politics is neither diverse, inclusive, or equitable. On the contrary. It's primary purpose is to enforce sameness and eliminate difference for the benefit of a power hungry and hostile elite. As anyone who cares to look can see, those consequences are immense.
The difference between what we offer and what Identity Politics imposes by force is that between Dogma and Pragma. And as we have stated elsewhere in our Culture blog, the difference between Dogma and Pragma is that Pragma is willing to expose its ideas to a process of feedback and correction for the purpose of continuous learning, change and growth - and Dogma isn't.
For all of its superficial pop culture glitz and postmodernist pose, Identity Politics is at its core old-fashioned, pre-modern dogma, nothing more, though certainly a lot less, given its many claims.
Namely, it's claim to be the final word - on everything. Nothing could be further from the truth. Speaking of which, the reason Identity Politics claims to know, speak, and even own the truth, is so it can obstruct the search for it - forever. How progressive (though it'd be even more accurate to say, How maladaptive).
But it can't own the truth. No one can. All it can offer is all that anyone can offer, and all that PRC is offering - an exaplanation of behavior. An explanation that may or may not prove beneficial to the survival, success and growth of our social institutions.
Which is another way of saying us, since our survial, let alone success and growth, without social institutions is inconceivable.
The argument made here is that Identity Politics can in no way be beneficial to our social institutions exactly because it prohibits feedback and correction. Evidence can be seen in our teaching-learning institutions. In that respect, Identity Politics is not simply a mode of indoctrination masquerading as the ultimate truth, it is a form of educational malpractice and legalized child abuse.
No explanation in the world is worth killing people over. But some explanations are worth fighting against. Identity Politics is one of them. So the writing here is an attempt to do just that.
Speaking of which, human beings create explanations because explanation as a mode of behavior is a condition of our existence, but even so, it is only an instrument for sustaining that existence.
If you don't believe this, then test it. See how long you last living without an explanation in your life. And please let us know how your experiment goes. Good luck! You're going to need it.
Seriously though, if you do succeed living for a time without explanation, please let us know exactly how you did it.
I for one very much look forward to hearing your explanation.
But, those who recognize and accept the fact that life for humans is impossible without explanation, now have two choices.
They can live by an explanation that is closed from top to bottom.
Or they can live by one that is open-ended and more adaptable.
In other words, they can choose betwen Dogma or Pragma.
Dogma's goal is political power for the few.
Pragma's goal is human adaptability for the many.
Dogma = Power-based Ideology
Pragma = Knowledge-based Power
What both have in common is what all of us have in common if we are to survie - a dependency on explanation. The one that refuses to (or is incapable of) explaining itself, is the one that is intellectually, socially and morally corrupt - and dangerous.
An adequate explanation to anything can only be found by accepting the impossibility of a final explanation for anything.
And, to repeat, all any of us can offer is an explanation.
Ideally, everyone should be free to decide for themselves which explanation is more beneficial to the healthy functioning of both the individual and our social institutions, the one that leads to the road of spiritual growth and freedom - Cultural Transcendence, or to the dead end of political tyranny - cultural conformity.
But that freedom to choose is severely limited today because of Identity Politics. Fortunately, however, there's always more we can do about our problems than we think. But we'll never know how much we can do about our problems unless we try.
Also, I am well aware of the whole David and Goliath aspect of pitting some consultancy at the bottom of the world against the dominant explanatory system of the West today, an explanatory system, moreover, whose complete power over our social institutions is single-handedly responsible for the current culture crisis, a crisis before which we appear to be relatively helpless.
But then again, this is not just a question-based consultancy, it's also an irony-based consultancy for an irony-free age. Besides, I know of no better way than to let the world know where I stand on the matter of principles. So, to that matter we shall now turn.
Our Principles
Business is one of way of organizing human experience and the Humanities is another. The common element here is -
Human Experience.
The purpose of our first principle, therefore, is to make our partners, readers and friends, aware of their human individuality without reference to business at all, or politics. It can be done.
Human individuality is the source of all diversity, not some political ideology. If diversity truly is a strength it's because it lies in each and every one of us and not in abstract categories like race, gender and sexual orientation (or, more specifically, an ideological interpretation of those categories presumptuously and obnoxiously masquerading as the ultimate truth and final word).
On the contrary, little has done more to deprive us of our humanity than Identity Politics. It's menacing, hateful and hypocritical use and abuse of power, a power that operates out of an insane and impossible to believe in myth of innocence, has turned a lot of people who should know better into abject cowards, opportunists, bullies and liars. In other words, it's turned a lot of people into scapegoaters. One of the most important things to know about scapegoaters is that they can not live without a scapegoat. And that is another way of saying that scapegoaters are dependent on the very thing they are violating.
In short, the foundation of Identity Politics is Scapegoating.
Since scapegoating is arguably the worst thing that can happen to an individual or group, since little is more damaging to one's sense of value and identity (two things none of us can live without) it is the worst thing other individuals and groups can do to us. And, since scapegoating is the foundation of Identity Politics, Identity Politics has no intellectual, social or moral credibility. Since it has no credibility, it should have no authority.
But, unfortunately, since it is the dominant explanatory system in the West today, it does have "authority" (for now at least).
This would also explain why little has done more to destroy our social institutions. And a social institution is, above all, a collective of individuals that functions as an explanation. An explanation, moreover, that may or may not have survial value.
The Principle of Humanity
It's a very common experience to ask oneself, What is mankind? and, an even deeper question, the deepest of all, Who am I?
What Identity Politics has done is get us to argue over the use of the word mankind so as to avoid answer the second question.
Actually, it doesn't even attempt to answer the first question.
No surprise there though. How could it be bothered to think about anyone else when all it can think about is itself? And, also not at all surprisingly, it doesn't even do that well. How could it? Since its explanation of the world is closed from both sides, that of theory and data, it never bothers to ask itself anything meaningful, let alone ask itself the basic questions that can help one discover their humanity. In other words, it aggressively prohibits feedback and correction. So it doesn't do anything well.
More and more people are catching on, because it couldn't be more obvious. After all, have you ever met anyone more lacking in self-awareness and less interested in intellectual development and personal growth than those committed to Identity Politics?
In any event, if we take our qualities, intellectual, social and ethical, and put them in question form, they look like this;
What is there to know and how do I go about knowing it?
What kind of person am I and what is my relation to other people?
What is the best way for me to live and how do I go about doing it?
Putting our three qualities in personal form helps to reveal their true meaning. The lesson of each is, Know Thyself, the oldest and most profound of admonitions. Nothing can better rescue one from the toxic narcissism, phoney and pathological altruism, and caring colonialism of Identity Politics than that wise and deeply felt recommendation to know and become who you are.
While we're at it, the idea of altruism for Identity Politics is them standing over us with a gun and a whip saying It's in your interest to act in our interest. How just! How caring and compassionate!
In contrast, since What is mankind? and Who am I? are really two inseparable questions, they help to give us our first principle:
The Principle of Humanity.
From this perspective it couldn't be more obvious that the last thing Identity Politics is interested in is our humanity. On the contrary, it is interested in power - that is to say, the power of preferred groups as Identity Politics sees them and defines them.
Our next principle is The Principle of Justification.
In question form this principle asks the following questions:
Is my education going to help me answer the questions What is mankind? and Who am I? And if not, why not?
Will it help me develop a sense of perspective, a technique of learning, self-awareness, flexibility and growth?
Will it stimulate me to a greater emotional insight and understanding of others?
Will it help me understand the nature of values and how choice of values affects both individual and group?
By contrast, Identity Politics offers no such justification. Being bereft of reason and hostile to fact it imposes its will by force.
Asking another question, How will my education help me in terms of self-development and growth? brings us to our next principle.
The Principle of Future-Interest.
The key question here is, Is what I'm learning going to continue to be useful to me far into the future? When was the last time anyone ever heard Identity Politics ask that question of itself?
Since it presumes to have all of the answers it's not interested in asking quesitons. And now we're back to why it doesn't do anything well - except lie about history and complain about life.
Next is, The Principle of Economy.
Obviously, here is meant the principle of economy in education.
Since you can't teach everything at once, the question becomes:
If there's more that needs to be known than is known what is worth knowing (especially since we don't have unlimited time)?
Another question to ask here is, If because of time limitations there is a choice between exploring one part of a subject with some thoroughness or studying it to get a complete picture, which should I choose? The answer of course is the first alternative.
Since this principle has to do with time and learning and since no one in any social institution controlled by Identity Politics learns anything - because teaching has been replaced by indoctrination - Identity Politics is a complete waste of time. That's why when those that IP claims to help, but is really using, snap out of their collective self-to-self trance, all hell will break loose and Identity Politics will collapse on itself faster than you can say whiteness.
One way of defining a civilization is that in one more needs to be known than is known. That is, a civilization is aware of its limits.
In a primitive culture, by contrast, more is known than needs to be known. This means that the mental model of Identity Politics is primitive. Such a model is suitable to a primitive culture. It is not, however, at all suitable to a civilization more complex and unpredictable than ever before in human history. And now we're back to the devasting and deadly impact Identity Politics is having and will continue to have on our social institutions.
Our next principle is The Principle of Structure.
In any problem the important thing to do is to ask the right questions. To do this, it is necessary to have a wide acquaintance with questions that may be asked. And to do this it is necessary to have as wide frame of reference as possible of the various kinds of structure, or ways of organizing structure meaningfully.
Thinking of different structures and how they relate leads us to our last principle, The Principle of Connection.
This principle helps one make valid connections between different areas of experience. Making connections is one of the deepest and most satisfying pleasures of the mind. More than any other intellectual activity it affords the pleasure of independent thought, self-awareness, and personal growth. The rigid overconformist, like the kind found in Identity Potlics, categorizes everything, especially knowledge, into neat pigeonholes, separated by impervious walls of sanctimony, hatred and coercion, the purpose of which is to conceal the absolute abyss of their ignorance in what they claim to be experts about.
Identity Politics knows nothing meaningful about structure or connection because, knowing everything, it doesn't ask questions. But the free, wide-ranging, curious, flexible, and open mind, the mind suited for exploration, can break down those walls, penetrate new frontiers, and build bridges. An individual with a curious and open mind is capable of, and genuinely interested in, working for the benefit of all. Unlike the misled followers of Identity Politics, the one thing an open-minded individual does not do is confuse virtue with virtue signalling.
Above all, an open-minded individual is capable of self-criticism without anxiety. That is to say, they do not allow the anxiety that being human all of us feel to interfere with that self-examination, exactly because they want to make their life in general and their contribution to society in particular as meaningful as possible.
This is the last thing that any of the followers of Identity Politics are capable of or interested in, as a glance at their behavior makes perfectly obvious. Fortunately, however, a glance is enough.
Concluding Remarks
These are our principles. And they serve as a bridge between business and education. But more importantly they serve as a bridge back to life, the life to which Identity Politics exists to serve as an obstacle and ultimately destroy. What life are we talking about? The life of the mind and the world of ideas that help us to discover who we are and not what others say we are or tell us to be: a bridge back to a life where we can learn to acquire an emotional comprehension of ourselves and others, as well as that all important sensitive social sense of the diversity of human emotional experience, a life that allows us to fulfill the desire to discover the true and the good, a life where we dedicate ourselves to putting our values and principles into practice and on a consistent basis. This is why we have made these principles central to our consultancy and the work we do with our partners.
However, as I've said before, but will say again because it's worth repeating, we don't expect you to believe or assent to any of this.
On the contrary, we encourage you to question it all. And the best way to do that would be to test and use our principles, our ideas, and our qualities, in the real world where all of us find our home.
Note: Either/Or Thinking, or Polarization, is so common in today's culture that it takes a great deal of effort to free oneself from it. For those who can't, it functions unconsciously and therefore automatically. One result is the assumption that anyone who is against Identity Politics is and must be a conservative, or on the Right, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. Why?
Because both the Right and Left, in whatever form they take today, are both the products 18th century Enlightenment metaphysics and can be reduced to a single principle: perfect adaptation. Meaning, first: perfect adaptation between the individual and group, and second: perfect adaptation between the group and the world, are both seen as the necessary basis for all intellectual and moral decisions. Of course, this is rarely if every spelled out. Which is why it functions unconsciously and automatically.
It is the position here at PRC that the assumption that perfect adaptation is possible is not only a judgment made in error, but, given what we have come to know about human behavior, is a judgment that has devolved into a kind of moral insanity. For this reason, the solution to cultural conformity is Cultural Transcendence. And the need for continuous learning, change and growth, in short, the need for Cultural Transcendence, is based not on human sin or ignorance, but on human imperfection.
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