Love Your Enemies and "Accept" Your Opposition: Self-Criticism as the Spirit of Europe

The spirit of Europe is more deeply inspired by Jesus than a casual observer might realize. It was Jesus who introduced goodness in its most perfect conceivable form.

Never before had there been such profound Goodness. He spoke of a Goodness so absurd, so far-fetched, so exaggerated, that it seemed, at first glance, extraordinarily impractical. Take, for instance, "Love your enemies." In his portrayal, the Spirit that created everything here is not just good but excessively good—so good, in fact, that it demands from us an equally absurd goodness, such as loving our enemies. That is, those who wish us ill.

It sounds lovely, you might think, almost too lovely. But only on paper. In practice, one can scarcely imagine a situation where this would be practical, let alone profitable. Who would ever conquer anything if they returned stones with bread?

And yet, a certain derivative of this seemingly impossible moral maxim—this guideline—is precisely what underpins the wealth and prosperity of modern Europe.

If you backed me into a corner, held a knife to my throat, and demanded I answer in a single sentence what the spirit of Europe is and what principle underpins its wealth and freedom, I would reply: nurturing opposition. That is, a somewhat tempered but nonetheless practiced version of Christ's maxim: Love your enemies.

It doesn’t have to be full-blown love, certainly not the intense kind that exists between a man and a woman or between a father and son. But it suffices if you don’t hate each other, if you accept each other. If there’s a "small love" between you. The Greeks called this societal form of love charitas.

So, in practical terms: cherish your critics. Protect your opposition.

This works in democracy as the conscious and systematic protection of opposition—both political and media opposition, in the form of free speech. In capitalism, this principle manifests as the safeguarding of competitive (i.e., critical) environments. Similarly, in science, the entire process is almost entirely driven by the rigorous critique of every idea. And ultimately, the peaceful and exceptionally prosperous development over the last two generations is largely owed to the fact that the French learned to "accept" the Germans, the Slovaks the Hungarians, the Scots the British, and the Finns the Swedes.

The fact that victorious nations chose to "throw bread" at Nazi and fascist countries instead of demanding reparations became an almost miraculous application of the ancient "Love your enemies" principle. Yes, it came after their defeat, and yes, it was a form of love manifested as the small love of charitas, not some grand, passionate love. But nonetheless: this movement can be seen as a practical political, economic, philosophical, and even military application of "Love your enemies."

But we can go further. Just the other day, in one of our regular evening economic-philosophical discussions, we turned to the Book of Job. This dark text conceals unexpected light! The very seed of this movement—the love of opposition and critique—can surprisingly be traced back to this ancient book, the first self-critique in human history. It is a rare religious text that is extremely critical of its own religion, its own ideology, and even the very notion of a just and benevolent God. It may be the only book in history that isn’t critical of other ideologies but its own.

It poses thousands of extremely critical questions—yet offers no answers. Every other book, film, poem, or philosophy tries to instill some ideology in you. The Book of Job deconstructs all ideologies so thoroughly that it feels as though the flesh is being stripped from the bone, yet it offers none of its own. The entire notion of criticism as not only a completely legitimate ideological tool but even as a driving force of the prosperity of the Western, albeit predominantly Christian, society originated with Job. Not only does this sharp and somber book precede Christ’s maxim of loving one's opposition, but it stands at the very foundation of freedom and the wealth of nations.

Suddenly, it makes sense that in this book, God treats his opposition (Satan) with kindness and even accommodates him in many ways. Suddenly, it makes sense that the Book of Job is a rare text where the hero doesn’t battle his surroundings (as is common in other books) but where the enemy is God himself. Suddenly, it makes sense that the name Israel means "He who wrestles with God." This is not far-fetched abstract and naive philosophizing. This is the recipe for a free, prosperous, and flourishing society.

#democracy #capitalism #opposition #religion #philosophy