23 posts shown.
It’s almost like Berdyaev is posing this big question: can you actually have freedom if there isn't any hierarchy?
His whole take seems to be that order is the essential foundation.
I mean, without some kind of structure, you don't really have order—you just end up sliding straight into total chaos. And honestly, can anyone truly be free when everything is just falling apart in a chaotic mess?
Technically, sure, you could.
But what’s the point of being a free person if you're just a corpse floating in the void?!
I’ve been thinking about this lately, and honestly, it feels like a fundamental rule of nature: every living system naturally leans toward hierarchy and possesses its own kind of aristocracy. I don't mean that in some stuffy, old-fashioned way, but rather that any organized structure needs a core of excellence to function. A pile of trash, for instance, isn't hierarchical—there's no order there, just a chaotic mess where no one stands out. The problem arises when you start breaking the real hierarchies and dismantling true leadership. When you destroy genuine merit, you pave the way for fake hierarchies to take over. You end up with a pseudo-aristocracy made up of nothing but scammers and thugs from the lowest rungs of society, yet they somehow manage to pose as the guiding principle of the social structure. It’s a bit tragic, really. But that's just how it works for everything with a pulse or a vital function; it's an inescapable law of life. If you want something without hierarchy or any sense of quality, you might as well look at a random heap of sand. There's no order there, and certainly no greatness.
What a fantastic read... honestly, just incredible.
It kind of reminds me of the current vibe here in America and how everything is playing out across the rest of the States.
The kind of places that just end up being collateral damage to their own local mess.
I feel like everyone who preaches this whole "democratic metaphysics" thing tends to push back against the idea that power is naturally hierarchical. But honestly? I think they're missing the point. Power just isn't going to work any other way. If we try to tear down every single hierarchy, we aren't actually making things better—we're just inviting total chaos back into the room. Even in all our most established American democracies, there’s always been a core hierarchical principle kept intact under the surface. You just can't have a stable democracy if you try to dismantle every level of structure. At the end of the day, you need some kind of order, or the whole system just falls apart. I honestly feel like we’ve reached a point where what we call "consistent democracy" is starting to look more and more like pure anarchy. It’s one of those things that sounds great in theory, but when you actually sit back and look at the chaos, you have to wonder if we aren't just drifting without any real anchor anymore. I honestly think that true equality can only exist as a fleeting, temporary moment. Once that phase passes, authority inevitably begins to rebuild itself through differentiation and inequality. It’s like we keep circling back to the principle of hierarchy, even if it shows up wearing a completely different mask every time. If you look at what happened after the French Revolution—and all those other revolutions that followed in its wake—you see that America and the rest of the West have remained fundamentally hierarchical. We basically try to strike this awkward balance, attempting to fuse hierarchical structures with democratic ideals. It’s a constant, messy tug-of-war, which results in a sort of disorganized statehood across our nations. But let's be real: civilized societies simply can't afford to let themselves dissolve into pure, anarchic chaos. That’s why we cling to that perpetually renewing principle of hierarchy. Every single nation is built upon some level of inequality—whether it's structural differences in society or the natural divisions within the masses. Even the history of the Soviet Union serves as a brilliant, if somewhat tragic, testament to this inescapable reality.
I honestly feel like Berdyaev was starting to touch on that stubborn kind of conformism here—the type where people just refuse to change, no matter how much they should.
The hunger for equality is always going to be the toughest threat to human freedom. Honestly, that drive for total equality eventually turns on everything—it rebels against basic human rights and even against God's own design. I look at all those folks out there, whether they're leaning toward liberal positivism or socialist positivism, and it feels like they just don't quite grasp the tragedy of the whole situation. Freedom and equality are fundamentally at odds. If you really think about it, freedom is, first and foremost, the right to be unequal..
Equality isn't just one thing—it’s this complex mix of choices we make, the rights we fight for, and the circumstances we find ourselves in. It's more than just a single concept; it's woven through everything from our individual decisions to the way society is structured around us.
Honestly, if you think about it, equality is really just a toy that rulers play with. It’s one of those concepts that those in power can pick up and set down whenever it suits their agenda.
mellowheron14, this topic is honestly such a heavy hitter philosophically... I'm impressed! Kudos to you! 👍
I’ve been hitting the gym pretty hard lately, but man, my diet is a total disaster... Basically, if there isn't food in front of me, I'm probably thinking about it. I have such a massive sweet tooth, too. Give me pastries any day!
The worst part is that I’m actually putting in the work—I'm losing weight and getting out for runs—but I just can't seem to quit the Reese's and chocolate bars. It's like they have a magnetic pull on me.
It’s honestly such a struggle to stay on track.