Rob Riemen: “We are dealing with a crisis of civilization”.
Rob Riemen, a founder and director of the Nexus Institute, argues that we are dealing with a crisis of civilization. This is, according to him, the foundation of the economic crisis. If we fail to understand it, we won’t be able to cope with the debt crisis.
Riemen says in the interview published in Trouw that the crisis of civilization results from relativism and subjectivism. Universal values ??have recently been set aside. Riemen criticizes nihilism present in the contemporary society. Because we no longer believe in higher values, we follow our instincts. Our animal side is increasingly powerful and that’s when things go wrong.
Riemen says in the interview: “From the environmental and climate crisis as a result of excessive consumption, to the credit and economic crisis- all of them are caused by a blind chase after bonuses and financial gains. The current debt crisis is the result of uncontrolled growth of prosperity, financed at the expense of the future. Blind and unrestrained pursuit of desires is a form of violence.”
According to Riemen, this crisis is caused by a misinterpretation of the concept of freedom.” Real freedom is a freedom of spirit. Real freedom means freedom from the pursuit of desires and needs, and not beig a slave to your passions.” This, however, has a downside too. Modern man prefers the path of least resistance. Rather than the higher, the man wishes to set his own desires free.
Good education is the solution. According to Riemen, the arts and humanities should be at its core, because only if people are raised to be open-minded citizens can the crisis of civilization, and thus the debt crisis, be resolved.
As always, the statements of Riemen cause different reactions. Some characterize his statements as meaningless, others just agree with him. The full interview with comments is published on the Trouw.
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