In 1906, the Russian writer and theologian Dmitry Merezhkovsky published an article, the title of which sounds like this in Russian: “Грядущий хам” (“The Coming boor.”) “Хам” is a hard-to-translate phenomenon, a person who can be described as ignorant, uneducated, aggressive, and who manifests himself by insulting the other person, attacking him. The writer correctly predicted that this type would soon rule in his country. In a broader sense, he foresaw not only the Bolshevik revolution but also the First World War.
But the author also tries to explain where the expected atrocities come from. And he sees the root of the problem in materialistic, “bourgeois” indifference and limitation. “It is one step from a prudent, well-fed burgher to a crazy, hungry beast,” Merezhkovsky writes, “not only man is a wolf to man, but also the people are wolves to the people.” Only mutual fear saves one another from mutual devastation; that is too weak a rein for raging beasts.”
Here, there is a clear allusion to the theory of the 17th-century English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes according to which the “natural state” of people is the desire to destroy each other, and it can be countered only by the power, the mighty power of the state. Or, in the 20th and 21st centuries, we would add mechanisms of international law. Are they able to play a restraining role? As you can see, no. It is impossible to restrain the crowd’s lower instincts at the national level (in some places, for example, now in Armenia, they are encouraged), nor at the international level.
As its “antidote,” the writer mentions the unification of the people, Christianity, and intellectuals. In particular, he writes about Christianity. “Christ revealed to people that God is not power, but love, not external power, but internal power of love. A loving person does not want the object of his love to be enslaved. There is no other power among them than the power of love, but it is not power, but freedom.”
In this harsh reality, it may sound strange. But you don’t have to react to it quickly, “Facebook” style. It’s worth thinking about.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
