The Connection between Communism, Capitalism, and Religion - Why I Chose Cuba: A Tour of the World by Takahiro Ueda, a Buddhist Monk - Cuba Part 6
Having discussed the history of Cuba over the course of four articles thus far, some of you may have the following questions.
Why did he suddenly start talking so much about Cuban history?
No, why Cuba in the first place? What does Cuba have to do with religion?" And.
Indeed, Cuba is not a religious sanctuary.
But for me, Cuba was a very important country to study religion.
In this article, I would like to talk about why I chose Cuba, which is not a holy land of religion.
I first became interested in Cuba because of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The great event of the century that could have taken world history in a completely different direction, and the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union that precipitated it.
Of course, I was born in 1990 and have no idea what was going on back then.
But it was precisely because I did not understand that I was interested in the state of the world during the Cold War.
There was a completely different worldview and way of thinking then than there is now, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The influence of the Cold War structure on the world is immeasurable. The world in which I live today is based on that history.
Even though I could not know all of the history, I thought that the Cuban Missile Crisis would be the best place to learn about the tensions of the Cold War, and so I began to study Cuba.
And while I was learning about Cuba in this way, a Cuba completely different from the one I had known appeared before my eyes.
The image of a dangerous communist dictatorship that I had held until then was rapidly crumbling.
At the same time, the image of the U.S. as a nation was also changing.
For me, born in 1990, the capitalist world was something I took for granted.
However, Cuba was a country with a different worldview and value system from the one I took for granted.
Apparently, the two ways of being, capitalism and communism, are substitutes that completely change the worldview and values of the people who live in them.
The difference is not only in the way they think, but also in the material aspects.
The buildings are different and the quantity of goods is different to begin with. The prosperity of the capitalist camp is overwhelming without needing to be verified. There is a world full of stuff (whether it is good or bad).
But what exactly is the "00ism" of capitalism and communism?
As mentioned briefly in the previous article, communism aims to realize an ideal society of equality by overthrowing through revolution the disastrous situation in which economic activities have matured and the capitalists exploit the workers.
Capitalism, on the other hand, holds that an ideal world is created through free economic competition.
Of course, some degree of state control is assumed to prevent excessive exploitation through regulation, but basically it is free competition.
Now, I have tried to think about what communism and capitalism are, albeit in a very rough manner. (*Addition in June 2024: I now feel what a horrible thing I did to summarize communism and capitalism so roughly.)
Communism is the ideal of an equal utopia.
Capitalism is based on the ideal of prosperity through free economic activity.
Now, the important thing here is that both communism and capitalismIt paints a picture of an ideal world."That's what I mean.
In order to realize that ideal world, paths such as revolution, social control, or free competition are drawn.
And below that, what each individual should do and how to be recognized as a "good person" are listed in a row.
In other words, the "00ism" of communism and capitalism isBelieving in an ideal world, a utopia, and living up to it.It represents the
Belief in an abstract ideal or concept by a large number of people in the same way.
In fact, this is the biggest difference that separates humans (Homo sapiens) from chimpanzees.
Yuval Noah Harari's "The Complete History of Sapiens," which became a bestseller in Japan, describes this as follows.
One-to-one, or even ten-to-ten, we are embarrassingly similar to chimps.
It is only when the number of individuals exceeds 150 that significant differences become visible, and when the number of individuals reaches 100-20000, the differences are crushing.
If you tried to gather thousands of chimpanzees at Tiananmen Square, Wall Street, the Vatican Palace, or the UN headquarters, all hell would break loose.
Sapiens, by contrast, often congregate in the thousands in such places. Together, they create orderly patterns of trade networks, collective celebrations, and political institutions that they could never have created alone.
The real difference between us and the chimpanzees is the glue, the myth that binds the multitude of individuals, families and groups together. It is this glue that has made us the rulers of all things.
Yuval Noah Harari, The Complete History of Sapience, translated by Hiroyuki Shibata, Kawade Shobo Shinsha, p. 56
*Some lines have been changed. Bold type is by Takahiro Ueda
Humans can only be united as a large group because of an abstract ideal, or myth.
Conversely, if this had not been possible, the human race would not have developed to this point and would have died out under the harsh environment.
My motivation for this trip was based on my interest in how human beings evolved and how religions were born. That isArticles in Tanzania EditionBut I told you about it.
Neither communism nor capitalism.One that paints an ideal world and believes in it.It was.
Yes, religion and "00ism" actually have something in common.
Socialism, which has been described as "religion is opium," actually contains a religious component.
It creates an abstract utopian utopia, and then lays out a roadmap to get there, as well as prescribes the way each individual should live.
This is very similar to the way religion works.
God exists and creates order in the world, and what people must do to go to heaven is shown.
Belief in and commitment to an ideal world is a widely observed path in religion.
This is what allowed humans to create huge groups and achieve rapid development.
Abstract ideals - religion and mythology - were essential to human development.
Capitalism is no exception.
We are able to live smoothly because of a social system based on money, or credit, and the common philosophy that the world is built on free competition.
Although we are not consciously aware of it when we are in the midst of it, we actually live our lives subconsciously believing in capitalism.
And we live by ingesting the path to the ideal and the ideal image of human beings that capitalism offers.
Work hard, make lots of money, and be yourself.
It is not a virtue common to all mankind.
It is merely the ideal way of life described by the myth of capitalism.
In the communism that Cuba believes in, those are not necessarily virtues.
Religion defines each person's worldview, values, and even ideal human image.
This was a very interesting issue for me as a student of religion.
Cuba, in particular, provided an excellent opportunity to learn this.
This is because Cuba is currently undergoing a transition.
As we have discussed, a large amount of capital has been flowing into Cuba since the collapse of the Soviet Union and its focus on tourism.
This is not a matter of simply having more money coming in.
This is nothing short of the sudden influx of capitalist ideals into a society that until then had been living the ideals of communism. In other words, a clash of ideals and ideals, and the chaos of their mingling emerged.
I would like to consider again the country of Cuba, which I have talked about so far.
There was a kind of generosity because everyone was equally poor.
But what would happen if there were suddenly a gap between the rich and the poor?
The house next door suddenly becomes rich, and you become poorer and poorer.
What will happen to the Cuban people when that happens?
Can the same jovial and friendly Cuban community survive as before?
No one knows that.
That is exactly what is being tested in Cuba right now.
The reason why I have given four articles on the history of Cuba is because I wanted to convey such a trend.
It was essential for me to know what kind of country Cuba is and what kind of history it has gone through in order to share my impressions about Cuba in the future.
The United States, the temple of capitalism, and Cuba, a communist nation.
For me, this sequence of events from the U.S. to Cuba was crucial.
Learning about capitalism and communism is tantamount to learning about religion.
It is a fact that is difficult to see, but both intentionally exclude other religions, and although they pretend to be non-religious, they are in fact using the essence of religion in abundance.
Of course, I do not mean to imply that the role of uniting humanity as I have described it is the sole essence of religion.
What I am trying to say is that the role of bringing people together is an important aspect of religion.
To begin with, religion is not something that can be defined by a single thing, such as "religion is 0. It is so vast that there is no single definition.
I was drawn to the role of religion as one aspect of bringing people together, providing an ideal world, and defining people's way of life, and this is how I began this journey.
Now it is time to begin the Cuba travelogue in earnest in the next article.
The first destination is Santa Clara, a city associated with Che Guevara.
be unbroken
Next Article.
Click here to read the previous article.
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