The Politics of Time

What follows is an observation. It is not political in nature, but rather esoteric and philosophical. It is my consideration of one of several reasons that understanding is lacking between those who cling to one or another political ideology. Time is a foundational principle--but our view of it develops from our cultural, religious, and political biases not unlike many other cherished beliefs. Years ago, Sting, lead-singer of the band, the Police sang, "There is no political solution," the opening line of their song, "Spirits in a Material World." Surely, before we seek solutions, we must determine what problem we would like to solve.

*********

As I watch another US Presidential cycle unfold, I can’t help but observe a keen esoteric philosophical difference between the parties that largely goes unspoken. Beyond the subjects that comprise the party platforms and rhetoric of each side, the two primary political ideologies have an entirely different perspective on time and history. This difference in the perception of time results in misunderstanding and even offense being taken by one side or the other. While the average supporter of each party may not be aware of a specific doctrine of time and perhaps even the party leadership may not have considered such ideas, the differences are actually quite revealing.

To understand such differing perspectives, it is helpful to abandon the old labels of “liberal” and “conservative.” In general these labels are no longer accurate and rarely add clarity to any political position. It is more useful to consider the term or label “Progressive” when considering the Democrat party. The Republicans present a greater challenge with regard to such labels or terms. I suggest that today’s Republican Party is best understood as a right-wing Populist party—a key element of which is Traditionalism.

Time for Progressives is linear. This aligns with typical modern Western thought and correlates to thinking as diverse as Christianity and Marxism. Time and history are deterministically linear. In such a world-view, over time, those with little power will move to a position of increased power. Such a view may be applied to any social, racial, political, or cultural issue.[1] Bob Dylan famously expressed this concept in his folk anthem, “The Times They are a-Changin’”(1963) when he wrote,

The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past.

From such a perspective, society is passing from an imperfect past to some future age that favors those currently considered oppressed or powerless. Such a perspective was perhaps ineptly voiced by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, when countering Donald Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again,” when he quipped, “America was never that great.”[2] Likewise, the frequently voiced phrase that someone or some idea is “on the wrong side of history” suggests an awareness of events yet to unfold—those not yet history. Such language is derived from Marxist theory and historical determinism.[3]

The Republican Party has in recent years, specifically under the leadership of Donald Trump, made a decided shift to the right and to the adoption of certain ideas associated with Traditionalism. Perhaps the most visible figure that introduced Traditionalist ideas to the Republican platform was Stephen Bannon, one time chief-strategist for Trump. Bannon’s views include the sometimes mystical views of Traditionalists most notably including Rene Guénon and Julius Evola.

For the Traditionalist, time is viewed cyclically. Guénon wrote extensively on Hinduism before his eventual conversion to Islam. The Hindu doctrine of cyclical time was first introduced to the West by Madame Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophical movement. The Yugas or cyclical ages (epochs) of Hindu cosmology describe mankind’s physical, moral, and spiritual state. There are four Yugas in Hinduism. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and the Kali Yuga. It is the last which is the most well known and represents the present age--that of the goddess Kali. It is an age of darkness, vice and misery. As time is perceived cyclically, following the Kali Yuga, we return to the Satya Yuga which is essentially a Golden Age. This is the age of truth—a time in which intrinsic goodness will reign supreme. While once an obscure idea, the Kali Yuga is today popularized to the extent that “Surf the Kali Yuga” or “Kali Yuga Surf Club” t-shirts may be readily purchased on-line by outlets including Amazon.com.

For his part, Julius Evola, an Italian Fascist philosopher whose many books have been translated and published in English over the past few decades, explained that the doctrine of cycles was not unique to Eastern philosophies but also an intrinsic part of ancient Western ideas.[4] Such ideas are espoused in the classical literature of the Greeks and evident even in Germanic and Norse legend. Following the “final battle” of Ragnarök—a confrontation between the gods and the giants— the gods set up a rightful rule in the time of Gimlé. Gimlé is described as a place more beautiful than the sun itself. Notably, Trump has called the 2024 election cycle, “America’s final battle.”

The Trump slogan, “Make America Great Again” and the rhetoric of his campaigns since 2016 describes an America that is in a bad state—essentially that of the darkness of the Kali Yuga. To “Make America Great Again” is not, as some Progressives assert, to “turn back time” or seen in the popular hashtag “#WeWillNotGoBack” but rather to move forward—to pass from the present darkness to a new Golden Age. 

It is important to realize that the time spans of both the linear and cyclical approaches defy short political cycles. Christians have waited some two thousand years for salvation to be ushered in by a second coming of Jesus Christ. Marxists have yet to realize their worker’s paradise. Likewise, the Kali Yuga, the shortest of the four Yugas, is said to last for 432,000 years of which over 426,000 years are remaining.

Perhaps all should look for change within before placing their faith in change without. Such transformation is more accessible and surely, for all its challenges, simpler to manifest.

Notes:

1. Stephen E. Flowers, The Occult Roots of Bolshevism: From Communist Philosophy to Magical Marxism, (Lodestar, 2022), 34.

2. https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/15/politics/andrew-cuomo-america-was-never-that-great/index.html

3. Flowers, 35.

4. Julius Evola, Ride the Tiger: A Survival Manual for the Aristocrats of the Soul, trans. Joscelyn Godwin and Constance Fontana, (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2003), 9.