Book Review: THE MOST DANGEROUS SUPERSTITION

In ‘THE MOST DANGEROUS SUPERSTITION’, Larken Rose explains how, the belief in “authority,” which includes all belief in “government,” is irrational and self-contradictory.  How it  is  contrary  to  civilization  and  morality,  and  constitutes  the  most dangerous,  destructive  superstition that  has  ever existed.  “Rather than being  a  force  for order and justice”, the author says, “the belief in “authority” is the arch-enemy of humanity.”

The book begins with distilling down ‘authority’ to its  most basic essence, and examining it objectively. Part II of this book shows that  the  concept  itself is  fatally  flawed,  that the  underlying premise  of  any form of government is  utterly incompatible with  logic  and morality.  In  fact,  it shows the “government” as a purely religious belief – a faith-based acceptance of a  superhuman,  mythological  entity  that  has  never  existed  and  will  never  exist.

Part  III of this book deals with the ‘belief’  in  authority,  including  all  belief  in “government,” and shows how it is  horrendously dangerous  and destructive. Specifically,  it will  be  shown how the belief in “authority” dramatically impacts both the perceptions and the actions of various categories of people, leading literally billions of otherwise good, peaceful people to condone or commit acts of violent, immoral aggression. In fact, everyone who believes in  “government”  does  this,  though  the  vast  majority  does  not  realize  it,  and  would vehemently deny it.

In the last part, Part IV, the reader is given a glimpse into what life without the belief in “authority”  could  look  like.  Contrary  to  the  usual  assumption  that  an  absence  of “government” would mean chaos and destruction, when the myth of “authority” is abandoned, not much is seen to have changed. Unlike the popular idea that the belief in “government” is necessary for a  peaceful  society, as nearly all of us has been taught, belief is shown as the biggest obstacle  to  mutually  beneficial  organization,  cooperation,  and  peaceful  coexistence. 

The book makes this clear: Contrary to what nearly everyone has been taught to believe, “government” is not a necessary part of civilization. It is not conducive to civilization. It is, in fact, the antithesis of civilization. It is not cooperation, or working together, or voluntary interaction. It is not peaceful coexistence. It is coercion; it is force; it is violence. It is aggression, cloaked by pseudo-religious, cult-like rituals which are designed to make it appear legitimate and righteous. It is brute thuggery, disguised as consent and organization. It is the enslavement of mankind, the subjugation of free will, and the destruction of morality, masquerading as “civilization” and “society.” The problem is not just that “authority” can be used for evil; the problem is that, at its most basic essence, it is evil. In everything it does, it defeats the free will of human being controlling them through coercion and fear. It supersedes and destroys moral consciences, replacing them with unthinking blind obedience. It cannot be used for good, any more than a bomb can be used to heal a body. It is always aggression, always the enemy of peace, always the enemy of justice. The moment it ceases to be an attacker, it ceases to fit the definition of “government.” It is, by its very nature, a murderer and a thief, the enemy of mankind, a poison to humanity. As a domineering one, controller, ruler and oppressor, it can be nothing else.

Though the book presents a strong case for anarchy, the suggestions are more pedantic than pragmatic. We are, I think, quite at home in utilizing the avenues available with the present system of governance for our convenience. How actually we can do the same, and what new avenues shall be there for us to take, when we have a society where governance takes place without government, should have been dealt with in greater detail.

In fact, this is the reason we have happily agreed to live with ‘government’. All things sundry, which affects our daily existence, shall remain well defined and without doubt.

That is also the reason, we have not adopted anarchy in our life. Though all things abstract, which incidentally does not touch our daily life, are placed very high.