Posted by
Boris Tiraspolsky on Monday, June 22, 2009 1:45:21 PM
"Twilight - a condition or period following full development of glory."
New Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language
Visiual "useful Art" by Claude Monet's
Venice Twilight of 1908
Just take a look at the painting by the great French impressionist:
there is a rich life, bright colors, vivid reflections, and true Beauty in Twilight.
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Call for a Union of Political Science and “useful Arts”
by Boris Tiraspolsky
The very name “Twilight of the Nation” may provoke reminiscences of the work by Oswald Spengler (1880-1936) The Decline of the West. Let me make it clear - it has no relations to the pessimistic concept by Spengler. On the contrary, I use this term as an opposite to the idea of the final stage of existence of Human Culture. I do think that nothing is “final” in Human Culture and infinite opportunities that come with it.
Meanwhile, it is hard but quite necessary for a Human Mind to accept, that literally everything that grows and expands has to come to the Natural End at some point. For some things it takes a longer time, for some it takes a shorter period. And there is no escape or an exception from this Law of the Universe. The very same Law effects life of all Nations being political, economic, social and cultural U-nions. The United States of America is not an exception from this merciless Law either.
Political, economic, and social Unions do fall down. However, before they do, they get into Twilight, first. Twilight is an integral part of a development of any Nation. Nations are born, they grow, develop, transform, and then they enter Twilight. Dramatic alterations in life of the Nation that inevitably come with Twilight may seem to some as an upheaval of the Biblical proportion. It is partially true, especially for those Nations that are not prepared to meet ideological and economic challenges of Twilight.
Twilight unfolds with the following classic scenario. A Nation gets into long term War it cannot win decisively. Then, the Nation becomes besieged by enemies outside and growing split and opposition to the War and Government inside. The Nation exhausts all available ideological and economic resources. A victim of own past Glory the Nation comes to a point of no return. It cannot hold existing Union anymore and falls down. Then, it disappears from the Historical Stage.
Where are magnificent Unions of ancient Greece, and Rome? Where are many other great Unions before and after them? Some left just traces of their presence in Science and Arts. Some completely vanished in historical oblivion. As a general rule, they all got in Twilight, first, and they all gone then!
Some may say that there are no historical precedents of Nations that were able to endure Twilight. Therefore, it may seem impossible to get in Twilight and still stay alive as a U-nion. In spite of all complexity that comes with Twilight, it is not necessarily the end of the road for a Nation. I am not saying that to make my reader “feel good“. There is everlasting life in Twilight! It is a quite different life. Therefore, the Nation needs to get prepared for it in “minds and hearts” of people before it is too late.
Preparations for Twilight include urgent development of means and material of new National Strategy, and what equally important is developing innovative Ideological and Economic Instruments along with training Force to implement that Strategy of survival in Twilight. The problem, however, is that intellectual shaping and reshaping of the National Strategy is totally usurped by so called “political Science“ in America.
“Political Science” in the United States is a very competitive, and it demands highly qualified professionals. There is no a secret that only a lengthy and elaborate doctoral degree is a pass to become a professional in the field of “political Science“. However, with all due respect to analytical abilities of political pundits in the United States, they never had interest in creating new Instruments and training new Forces.
Development of Ideological and Economic Instruments and training appropriate Forces necessary to endure Twilight could be an integral part of “useful Arts” historically dealing with implementation of Ideas. Alas! “Useful Arts” practically abandoned and/or ignored by political experts with doctoral degree, unless “useful Arts” serve immediate interests and exploited by policy makers: speech writings, political ads, political shows, and etc.
The distinct difference between “political Science” and “useful Arts” could be compared with a difference between a text of written play and a live production of the very same play on a Stage. The words are the same, dimensions are different. Like a play written by a playwright “political Science” has its own value. But, how many political scientists are lucky to see their “useful” thoughts implemented by policy makers!
In spite of that, the tight circle of political intellectuals does not recognize a necessity and true value of “useful Arts”. They are not eager to incorporate “useful Arts” into “political Science“ to create a small scale live models of their theories that may effect lives of the entire Nation before suggesting a “mass production” of those theories to policy makers. As a result, “political Science” is flourishing in “think tanks”, and universities that are distant from real Life, and “useful Arts” as Ideological Instruments of the Constituton are abandoned and obscure field nowadays.
Creativity of “useful Arts” may look too intuitive from the point of view of analytical “political Science”. Scientific research methods adapted by “political Science” such as “quantitative analysis”, statistical methods, opinion surveys, and recent methods of computer simulations, may look too rigid from the point of view of creative methods of “useful Arts”. However, both fields cannot exist without each other when it comes to Twilight of the Nation.
There is an urgent call to form a “union” between “political Science” and “useful Arts” in part of means and material of new National Strategy and Instruments and Forces necessary for implementation of it. It is not the U-nion of the “rational choice theory” for a sake of a self-interest of either party. It is rather “a more perfect Union” of new Aristotle and new Alexander the Great in order to meet challenges of Twilight and establish a precedent of survival the Nation as Union.