{"id":3170,"date":"2013-07-13T01:46:27","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3170"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:46:27","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:46:27","slug":"34-internationalism-vol-the-ideal-of-human-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/02-other-editions\/the-ideal-of-human-unity\/34-internationalism-vol-the-ideal-of-human-unity","title":{"rendered":"-34_Internationalism.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n
\nCHAPTER XXXII <\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nINTERNATIONALISM<\/b><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nT<\/font>HE<\/font> idea of humanity as a single race of beings with a
\ncommon life and a common general interest is among the most
\ncharacteristic and significant products of modern thought. It is an outcome of
\nthe European mind which proceeds characteristically from life-experience to the idea and, without going
\ndeeper, returns from the idea upon life in an attempt to change
\nits outward forms and institutions, its order and system. In the
\nEuropean mentality it has taken the shape known currently as
\ninternationalism. Internationalism is the attempt of the human
\nmind and life to grow out of the national idea and form and even
\nin a way to destroy it in the interest of the larger synthesis of
\nmankind. An idea proceeding on these lines needs always to
\nattach itself to some actual force or developing power in the life
\nof the times before it can exercise a practical effect. But usually
\nit suffers by contact with the interest and prepossessions of its
\ngrosser ally some lesser or greater diminution of itself or even,
\na distortion, and in that form, no longer pure and absolute,
\nenters on the first stage of practice. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe idea of internationalism was born of the thought of
\nthe eighteenth century and it took some kind of voice in the
\nfirst idealistic stages of the French Revolution. But at that time,
\nit was rather a vague intellectual sentiment than a clear idea
\nseeing its way to practice; it found no strong force in life to help
\nit to take visible body. What came out of the French Revolution
\nand the struggle that grew around it, was a complete and self-conscious nationalism and not internationalism. During the <\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-292<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nnineteenth century, we see the large idea growing again in the
\nminds of thinkers, sometimes in a modified form, sometimes in
\nits own pure idealism, till allying itself with the growing forces
\nof socialism and anarchism it took a clear body and a recognisable vital force. In its absolute form, it became the internationalism of the intellectuals, intolerant of nationalism as a narrow
\nspirit of the past, contemptuous of patriotism as an irrational
\nprejudice, a maleficent corporate egoism characteristic of narrow
\nintellects and creative of arrogance, prejudice, hatred, oppression,
\ndivision and strife between nation and nation, a gross survival
\nof the past which the growth of reason was destined to destroy.
\nIt is founded on a view of things which looks at man in his manhood only and casts away all those physical and social accidents
\nof birth, rank, class, colour, creed, nationality, which have
\nbeen erected into so many walls and screens behind which man
\nhas hidden himself from his fellow-man; he has turned them into
\nsympathy-proof shelters and trenches from which he wages
\nagainst him a war of defence and aggression, war of nations, war
\nof continents, war of classes, war of colour with colour, creed with
\ncreed, culture with culture. All this barbarism the idea of the
\nintellectual internationalist seeks to abolish by putting man face
\nto face with man on the basis of their common human sympathy,
\naims, highest interests of the future. It is entirely futurist in its
\nview; it turns away from the confused and darkened good of the
\npast to the purer good of the future when man, at last beginning
\nto become a truly intelligent and ethical being, will shake away
\nfrom him all these sources of prejudice and passion and evil. Humanity will become one in idea and feeling, and life be consciously what it now is in spite of itself, one in its status on earth
\nand its destiny. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe height and nobility of the idea is not to be questioned,
\nand certainly a mankind which set its life upon this basis would
\nmake a better, purer, more peaceful and enlightened race than
\nanything we can hope to have at present. But as the human being
\nis now made, the pure idea, though always a great power, is also
\nafflicted by a great weakness. It has an eventual capacity, once <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-293<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nborn, of taking hold of the rest of the human being and forcing
\nhim in the end to acknowledge its truth and make some kind of
\nattempt to embody it; that is its strength. But also because man
\nat present lives more in the outward than in the inward, is governed principally by his vital existence, sensations, feelings and
\ncustomary mentality rather than by his higher thought-mind
\nand feels himself in these to be really alive, really to exist and
\nbe, while the world of ideas is to him something remote and
\nabstract and, however powerful and interesting in its way, not
\na living thing, the pure idea seems, until it is embodied in life
\nsomething not quite real; in that abstractness and remoteness
\nlies its weakness. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe sense of this abstractness imposes on the idea an undue haste to get itself recognised by life and embodied in a form.
\nIf it could have confidence in its strength and be content to grow,
\nto insist, to impress itself till it got well into the spirit of man, it
\nmight conceivably become a real part of his soul-life, a permanent power in his psychology and might succeed in remoulding
\nhis whole life in its image. But it has inevitably a desire to get as
\nsoon as possible admitted into a form of the life, for until then it
\ndoes not feel itself strong and cannot quite be sure that it has
\nvindicated its truth. It hurries into action before it has real
\nknowledge of itself and thereby prepares its own disappointment, even when it seems to triumph and fulfil its object. For
\nin order to succeed, it allies itself with powers and movements
\nwhich are impelled by another aim than its own, but are glad
\nenough to get its aid so that they may strengthen their own case
\nand claim. Thus when it realises itself at last it does it in a mixed,
\nimpure ineffective form. Life accepts it as a partial habit, but not
\ncompletely, not quite sincerely. That has been the history of
\nevery idea in succession and one reason at least why there is almost always something unreal, inconclusive and tormented about
\nhuman progress. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nThere are many conditions and tendencies in human life
\nat present which are favourable to the progress of the internationalist idea. The strongest of these favourable forces is the <\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-294<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nconstant drawing closer of the knots of international life, the
\nmultiplication of points of contact and threads of communication and an increasing community in thought, in science and in
\nknowledge. Science especially has been a great force in this direction; for science is a thing common to all men in its conclusions, open to all in its methods, available to all in its results: it
\nis international in its very nature; there can be no such thing as
\na national science, but only the nation’s contribution to the work
\nand growth of science which are the indivisible inheritance of
\nall humanity. Therefore it is easier for men of science or those
\nstrongly influenced by science to grow into the international
\nspirit, and all the world is now beginning to feel the scientific
\ninfluence and to live in it. Science also has created that closer
\ncontact of every part of the world with every other part, out of
\nwhich some sort of international mind is growing. Even cosmopolitan habits of life are now not uncommon and there are a fair
\nnumber of persons who are as much or more citizens of the world
\nas citizens of their own nation. The growth of knowledge is interesting the peoples in each other’s art, culture, religion, ideas, and
\nis breaking down at many points the prejudice, arrogance and
\nexclusiveness of the old nationalistic sentiment. Religion, which
\nought to have led the way, but owing to its greater dependence
\non its external parts and its infrarational rather than its spiritual impulses has been as much, or even more, a sower of discord
\nas a teacher of unity,\u2014religion is beginning to realise, a little
\ndimly and ineffectively as yet, that spirituality is after all its own
\nchief business and true aim and that it is also the common element and the common bond of all religions. As these influences
\ngrow and come more and more consciously to co-operate with
\neach other, it might be hoped that the necessary psychological
\nmodification will quietly, gradually, but still irresistibly and at
\nlast with an increasing force of rapidity take place which can
\nprepare a real and fundamental change in the life of humanity. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nBut this is at present a slow process, and meanwhile the
\ninternationalist idea, eager for its effectuation, allied and almost
\nidentified itself with two increasingly powerful movements <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-295<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nwhich have both assumed an international character. Socialism
\nand Anarchism. Indeed, it is this alliance that most commonly
\nwent by the name of internationalism. But this socialistic and
\nanarchistic internationalism was recently put to the test, the
\nfiery test of the European war, and thus tried it was found sadly
\nwanting. In every country, the Socialist party shed its internationalist promise with the greatest ease and lightness, German
\nsocialism, the protagonist of the idea, massively leading the way
\nin this formidable abjuration. It is true that a small minority in
\neach country either remained heroicly faithful to its principles
\nor soon returned to them, and as the general weariness of the
\ngreat international massacre grew even the majority showed a
\nsensible turn in the same direction; but this was rather the fruit
\nof circumstance than of principle. Russian socialism, it may be
\nsaid, has, at least in its extremer form, shown a stronger root of
\ninternationalistic feeling. But what it has actually attempted to
\naccomplish is a development of Labour rule on the basis of a
\npurified nationalism, non-aggressive except for revolutionary
\npurposes and self-contained, and not on the larger international
\nidea. In any case the actual results of the Russian attempt show
\nonly up to the present a failure of the idea to acquire the vital
\nstrength and efficiency which would justify it to life; it is possible to use them much more as a telling argument against internationalism than as a justification of its truth or at least of its
\napplicability in the present stage of human progress. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nBut what is the cause of this almost total bankruptcy of the
\ninternational ideal under the strong test of life? Partly it may be
\nbecause the triumph of socialism is not necessarily bound up
\nwith the progress of internationalism. Socialism is really an attempt to complete the growth of the national community by
\nmaking the individual do, what he has never yet done,\u2014live for
\nthe community more than for himself. It is an outgrowth of the
\nnational, not of the international idea. No doubt, when the society of the nation has been perfected, the society of nations can
\nand even must be formed; but this is a later possible or eventual
\nresult of Socialism, not its primary vital necessity. <\/b> In the crises <\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-296<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nof life it is the primary vital necessity which tells, while the
\nother and remoter element betrays itself to be a mere idea not
\nyet ready for accomplishment; it can only become powerful
\nwhen it also becomes either a vital or a psychological necessity.
\nThe real truth, the real cause of the failure is that internationalism is as yet, except with some exceptional men, merely an idea; it is not yet a thing near to our vital feelings or otherwise a part
\nof our psychology. The normal socialist or syndicalist cannot
\nescape from the general human feeling and in the test he too
\nturns out, even though he were a professed sans-patrie<\/i> in ordinary times, in his inner heart and being a nationalist. As a vital
\nfact, moreover, these movements have been a revolt of Labour
\naided by a number of intellectuals against the established state
\nof things, and they have only allied themselves with internationalism, because that too is an intellectual revolt and because its
\nidea helps them in the battle. If Labour comes to power, will it
\nkeep or shed its internationalistic tendencies? The experience
\nof countries in which it is or has been at the head of affairs does
\nnot give an encouraging answer, and it may at least be said that,
\nunless at that time the psychological change in humanity has
\ngone much farther than it has now, Labour in power is likely to
\nshed more of the internationalist feeling than it will succeed in
\nkeeping and to act very much from the old human motives. <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nNo doubt, the European war itself was an explosion of all
\nthat was dangerous and evil in successful nationalism, and the
\nresulting conflagration may well turn out to have been a purificatory process that has burned up many things that needed to
\ndie. It has already strengthened the international idea and forced
\nit on governments and peoples. But we cannot rely too greatly
\non ideas and resolutions formed in a moment of abnormal crisis
\nunder the violent stress of exceptional circumstances. Some effect there may be in the end, some first recognition of juster
\nprinciples in international dealings, some attempt at a better,
\nmore rational or at least a more convenient international order.
\nBut until the idea of humanity has grown not only upon the
\nintelligence, but in the sentiments, feelings, natural sympathies <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-297<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nand mental habits of man, the progress made is likely to be more
\nin external adjustments than in the vital matters, more in a use
\nof the ideal for mixed and egoistic purposes than at once or soon
\nin a large and sincere realisation of the ideal. Until man in his
\nheart is ready, a profound change of the world conditions cannot come; or it can only be brought about by force, physical
\nforce or else force of circumstances, and that leaves all the real
\nwork to be done. A frame may have then been made, but the
\nsoul will have still to grow into that mechanical body. <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-298<\/font><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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