Jim Moore’s blog: Innovation, Strategy, Public Policy

It finally hit me this morning at about 5:30 AM: The “first superpower” idea and geopolitical approach is a form of idolatry. In this case the false gods are military and economic power. Idolatry is defined in the Christian and Jewish traditions rather precisely as seeking to control God’s universe through man-made means (the “idols”). The idolatrous stance is contrasted with that of a person humbly and respectfully and with gratitude embracing God’s universe and appreciating his or her place in it.

And trusting that if we follow paths of truth and care, forces in the universe come together and help us, often in ways that can’t be understood by us.

You do not have to be a Christian to feel the wisdom in this approach to life. The great cybernetician and anthropologist Gregory Bateson pointed out that the human tendency to rely on will power and (illusory) physical domination is a kind of “bug” (in the computer sense) in our mental programming. It leads to addictive traps, where the more we try to control, the more we are helpless. Bateson thought of the AA Prayer as a useful corrective: “God grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot control, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

The problem with the Bush administration (and, in fairness, most governments) is that they lack the wisdom to know the difference between what they can and cannot control. This problem seems to stem from a toxic combination of the generic seductions of power, made more virulent because it’s illusions are encouraged by very a specific meme or ideology: The idea that the US is the “essential nation” and the “only superpower.” The result is an idolatrous worship of American military and economic power. The predictable result is that we break our sword on challenges like Iraq. The more we seek to control the world though military and economic dominance, the more out of control our situation becomes. And the farther we move from the means of action and the modes of understanding that further a world at peace.

I am surprised that more Christian commentators are not picking up on this problem of idolatry.