Crisis After Crisis
Crisis as a Multi-Headed Hydra
The crisis-laden situation of our world may be compared to the Greek myth about the multi-headed Hydra of Lerna. Every time we cut the head off of one crisis, the head of a new one grows in its place! The ancient myth depicts the severe difficulty we face in the effort to conquer evil. Our crises are like the Hydra’s heads, interconnected and self-generating from the same organism.
Contemporary German philosopher and social theorist Jürgen Habermas has described the integrated nature of the crises of modern capitalist societies in his book Legitimation Crisis. While critics have made justified challenges to his writings, Habermas draws some noteworthy observations on the idea of crisis. He begins by comparing a society to a medical patient. The human body possesses various internal systems that work together to maintain normal life functions— respiratory, circulatory, neurological systems, etc. Each system influences the others, and if one is malfunctioning the body either adjusts itself to maintain homeostasis, or it experiences death. The situation becomes severe when more than one system breaks down. The unfortunate demise of the patient when too many systems malfunction.[i] In our personal lives, families, schools, local government, and place of employment we may wonder if we can survive if things continue on the current trajectory.
Like a human body, our society also contains some vital, interrelated systems. Habermas proposed that a crisis might arise in the political, economic, or socio-cultural systems. A political crisis may arise due to economic or socio-cultural reasons, or an economic crisis could arise from socio-cultural factors. When such crises arise, people may lose respect for the competency of their leaders, and then a legitimation crisis occurs. As an idealist, Habermas believed that rational dialogue in the public sphere will bring us closer to solutions for our crises. He talked about our lifeworld, which is basically our everyday life wherein we work and play. It's where we live out our current systems of education, economy, and politics. He idealized that rational people in society with shared values can discuss their problems and bring resolutions to the struggles of everyday life. Habermas recognized that the systems may become ends within themselves rather than fostering improvements and solutions for the people.
Habermas’s ideal sounds promising, but are we able to really make it work? Unfortunately, our lifeworld has become so disrupted that even when we speak the same language rational discussion is hindered. It is no wonder that a spirit of mistrust dominates us. Do we and our leaders really seek rational solutions with pure intentions, or are we seeking to maintain our personal grip on wealth and power? Are the human mind and moral spirit capable of discussing, discovering, and executing real solutions to our crises?
As so many of our social institutions are experiencing disruption our entire lifeworld feels like it is disintegrating. Modern Western thinking has ingrained in us the instinct to deconstruct our foundational values as well as the support structures of marriage, family, church, and government. We are taught to atomize every category of understanding reality and have forgotten to view our lives as an integrated whole. Using Habermas' metaphor of the human body, our major support systems in society are in such a sick condition that we feel like the body of our society may be spiraling downward toward an impending death. Society is sick and dysfunctional because we as individuals are spiritually sick. The flaws of society run deeper than the organizational character of our various systems. A biblical worldview guides us to realize that the human soul needs a reset. First, we need an internal renewal of heart, mind, and character.
[i] Jürgen Habermas, Translated by Thomas McCarthy, Legitimation Crisis (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1988), 1-2. The English title of his originally German text, Legitimationsprobleme im Spätkapitalismus, literally translates as Legitimation Problem in Late Capitalism. In context the English word “crisis” better portrays the title than simply “problem.” Some scholars classify Habermas as belonging to the Marxist Frankfurt School of thought, while others categorize him as departing from it due to his emphasis on dialogue and his recognition that the economic sphere is not the only cause of societal dysfunction.