Fighting for a Better Future is Always Spiritual Work

The marriage of hypercapitalism and fascism is a global vampiric death force. A powerful life force has to meet it.

As the world slides into open fascism, the whole thing has a mythical quality. It feels like our societies’ collective shadows are stepping on stage and throwing a few Sieg Heils, treating the rest of us as NPCs. The darkness that has always been at the heart of our systems is becoming increasingly apparent, even to those who were previously unaware of it. This mythic quality is, of course, a big attraction of fascism.

The core skill of fascist movements is to mobilize emotional energy through language, symbols, and ritual action and turn it into political capital. In this, fascists understand and weaponize something about humans that those in the status quo and even many interested in better futures do not seem to want to accept.

In his seminal 2007 book ‘Dream,’ cultural researcher and activist Stephen Duncombe claimed that ‘realpolitik is dreampolitik’: if we are to be ‘realistic’ about societal politics, we have to accept that people are creatures of myth, of fantasy, of large-scale meaning-making and imagination. Duncombe describes a skepticism in the left and in progressive movements against this large-scale myth-making that plays on people’s desires, imaginations, and dreams. He essentially points this out as a significant limitation of progressive movements.

Those interested in truly giving better futures a fighting chance simply must become much, much better at mobilizing societal sources of emotional energy, including those that are associated with big stories, fantasies, mainstream media, and more. As my futurist friend Scott Smith said: “You need a future to fight a future.”

One massive source of support and emotional energy that appears to be largely untapped, at least in the realm of electoral politics on the left, is spirituality. For decades, in the US and elsewhere, spiritual beliefs have been a driving force of political change on the right — conservative Christianity has been paired up with right-wing beliefs to create a Christo-fascist movement that has successfully transformed major legislation and positions of power.

Spirituality and belief can be a truly terrifying force. People who believe deeply can accomplish almost anything and withstand almost anything. It can be horribly oppressive or powerfully liberating.

So, what might this look like on the left? With activist friends, we’ve discussed the following question: Fascist and far-right forces have no qualms about using nefarious means to secure power — means that are purely anti-democratic and often illegal (until they’re not). They are fundamentally in conflict with democratic goals. Is there a source of power like this that is similarly entangled with those who seek a more sustainable, equal world?

A big part of the answer is true systemic and relational spirituality. This is something that has long been bleedingly obvious to many oppressed people fighting for their rights and the future of the planet all around the world, and a big part of indigenous future work. And yet, it is strangely ignored or denied by mainstream leftist and progressive politics. At the same time, a lot of ‘liberal’ and modernist practices have something akin to religious elements anyway, as my colleague Tim Stacey writes.

Of course, a lot depends on how spirituality is defined.

My background in Buddhism may color all of this, so fair warning, but let’s put it like this: if you are sincerely working for a better world and truly live the experience that you are part of a bigger whole, to the degree where you would happily risk your own status, safety and more for the benefit of all living beings, I believe that is spirituality. What’s more, even if you have no spiritual beliefs at all, it is still more truly spiritual to me than someone who spends a lot of time engaging in spiritual practices that just enhance their personal experience. True spirituality means serving life.

True spirituality, I think, is thinking, feeling, and acting relationally. Thinking, feeling, and acting in systems. Understanding that we are truly in it together. These are the values that drive leftist politics, at least ideally. The key is that this true spirituality has to stand for all life, and especially for the most vulnerable, because it is so easy to twist it into something that is for ‘the collective’ but with defined boundaries that turn it into a force of exclusion and repression.

The reason I think it matters to see relational thinking, feeling, and acting as a form of spirituality is that we need something that spirituality can offer us. Deeply rooting ourselves in a consciousness of the mystery, depth, and sacredness of life — whatever that means to us — gives us the power to flourish, endure, stand up, sacrifice ourselves, fight, inspire others, whatever may be needed. If we deny ourselves the sense of being carried by life, just as we carry life, we may simply lack the necessary energetic and emotional resources and the courage to do what needs to be done, or we will burn out very quickly.

This does not mean that we all have to start believing in some kind of incarnate deity. I believe that a radical pluralism in what spirituality means for people is extremely important. But it is important to recognize that the objectified and reified worldview that is held as a standard in modernity is artificial and that denying that the world around us and inside us is relational and connected is keeping us disempowered.

I believe a spiritual transformation is also crucial at the collective level. What is happening to our planet can be accurately described as a spiritual disaster.

I really don’t think I’m being overly dramatic if I say that the marriage of hyper-capitalism and fascism is a kind of global vampiric death force.

A powerful life force has to meet this death force.

There are many in power who benefit from dividing us and distracting us from this essential fight. And it also happens inside of many of us.

True spirituality, a genuine sense of living for the planet’s life and its future, has the capacity to strengthen us, allowing us to risk ourselves and our ways of being, to confront difficult conflicts, speak powerfully, and nurture us, giving us solace when the fight is hard. Historically, social movements have shown time and again that spiritual belief provides the engine for emancipatory change. Leaders and collectives, especially those repressed by unfair systems, have been able to mobilize immense spiritual power for change.

I believe there is a lot of potential here in our current time as well. In the face of a global crisis of meaning, many people turn to spiritual practices, especially easily marketable ones — like practices of spiritual embodiment that are handily stripped of their religious context. People turn to psychedelics for similar reasons. All of this is mostly absorbed again into ‘spiritual materialism’: individualist, capitalist ways of being are extremely resilient.

Of course, it is easier to be ‘spiritual’ if it primarily serves your needs, mental health, and career success. If it helps you fit into existing systems better. But great meaning, joy, connection, and life can come from collective, systemic spirituality. I have noticed this in my own spiritual circles, including in my own work with meditation teacher Rosa Lewis and in my meditation group, the Dharmagarage, where mystical plurality and a sense of systems action go hand in hand.

So, here are some questions and suggestions for taking action together:

• • How can the popular need for meaning-making through modern spirituality be connected to what seems to be a natural partner, transformative, and systemic politics? Where are the figureheads and leaders that develop inspiring, transformative spiritual ideals in the service of global life?
  • How could more overt spirituality transform (electoral) politics on the left? What are the risks of doing so?
  • How can existing spiritual circles become places of dialogue about real systemic action toward a better world? Think of popular meditation and yoga spaces and retreats, men’s and women’s groups, ecstatic dance events, and communities and events around the existing major religions. How can we create space for diverse experiences and emotions in these settings, such as those related to disability and burnout? How does spiritual experience give space to different emotions, such as grief, anger, and joy?
  • How can we support those of us who would normally stay far away from any consideration of spirituality in connecting more deeply with what spirituality means to them? Where is the space for spiritual atheism or agnosticism? How can a sense of the spiritual still made accessible to such people, and what does this mean? How do we recognize, create, and protect what I call ‘infrastructures of mystery’ — those physical, financial, cultural, social, and institutional infrastructures that support a wide range of connections to the depth and mystery of life and belonging?
  • How can systemic spirituality become a bigger part of mainstream media? We are asking this question for our upcoming game, All Will Rise.
  • How can a light holding of spiritual systems and a playful, humorous approach avoid spiritual reification?

And for you, dear reader, specifically — how do you relate to a sense of the spiritual, whatever that means to you? How does it connect to a sense of serving life and recognizing the interconnectedness of all of us, humans and non-humans?

What is the relationship between your sense of the spiritual and the way you feel supported, strengthened, or nurtured? Is there a desire to discover more in this regard? What do you need from your community and from societal infrastructures to find the courage, support, and joy to fight for the future?

By Joost Vervoort