Humanistic movement

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The Humanist Movement (HB) is an internationally active worldview community that operates various projects on the basis of the so-called New Humanism, a philosophical - ideological worldview it has developed itself and which has little resemblance to historical humanism . In doing so, she tries to create the framework for the social and personal change she is aiming for.

Resulting from the counterculture of the 1960s in Argentina emerged movement than because of various spiritual elements in the ideology partly neureligiös designated and in some countries, especially in France , where in 1995 of a report by the National Assembly as a "sectarian movement" and "alternative Group "was classified, controversial. However, HB's teaching is by no means a religion, according to its own presentation, but a new humanism that is open to people of all religious or political convictions, as long as they neither advocate nor promote violence or discrimination.

Since the movement goes back to the ideas of the Argentine writer Mario Rodríguez Cobos , known by his stage name Silo , the worldview it represents is also known as Siloism .

history

The Humanist Movement arose between 1965 and 1969 in Argentina , motivated by the writings of the Argentine writer Mario Rodríguez Cobos , nicknamed "Silo". The official founding date is May 4, 1969, the day on which Silo gave a speech in Punta de Vacas , a small town in the Argentine Andes, entitled The Healing of Suffering (Spanish orig .: La Curación del Sufrimiento) . In it he put forward the thesis that although humanity could fight the existing physical suffering by means of scientific progress, the spiritual suffering can only be alleviated by overcoming the desire, the cause of the various forms of violence. He also calls on the audience to act.

In that decade, planned gatherings of Silo with his supporters were repeatedly banned in Argentina and the participants, sometimes including Silo, were arrested by the dozen and hundreds and in some cases imprisoned for months. On July 23, 1975, two followers were shot dead by Triple A detachments after leaving a gathering on the street . For the Chilean military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet , Silo and the siloist organization Poder Jóven were henchmen of international communism. Because of this, Chilean supporters were imprisoned in concentration camps during the Chilean military dictatorship . In this climate of violence, the study groups gathered around Silo in Corfu and on the Canary Islands (1975, 1976 and 1978).

The humanist movement has also been active around the world since the 1980s. In Germany, after initial successes, it encountered strong resistance, especially from the left political spectrum.

In 2001, Silo withdrew from the humanist movement and, until his death in 2010, devoted himself to spreading the so-called “message”, a spiritual teaching text consisting of a book, eight ceremonies as well as reflections and recommendations.

Philosophical foundations

The ideology of the humanist movement, the so-called New Humanism , is based primarily on the ideas of Silos and, to a lesser extent, of other writers, among whom we should particularly mention Luis Alberto Ammann, who also came from Argentina, with his research on the subject of self-liberation .

In his work, Silo was mainly influenced by Herbert Marcuse , Wilhelm Reich , Erich Fromm and the New Age ideas of Georges I. Gurdjieff , as well as by libertarian and anarchist elements that were particularly important in Argentina at the beginning of the 20th century Immigrated from Europe.

One of the most important foundations of the neo-humanist ideology comes from Marcuse: A social change can only be achieved if it goes hand in hand with a psychological change in the individual. From the same author, Silo took over attitudes on the subject of happiness as well as the criticism of the system, which he exercises on both capitalism and communism : Both do not allow people any real freedom , but rather restricted it in different ways.

Fromm and Reich influenced silos' ideas, particularly with regard to the concepts of violence and suffering. Reich put forward the thesis that personal suffering is mostly a response to the suppression of sexual instincts, while Fromm extended this thesis to the suppression of the individual through all kinds of violence. The New Age writer Gurdjieff, on the other hand, emphasizes the importance of a conscious experience of life in order to be able to really enjoy it.

Silo synthesized these theses and linked them to Marcuse's attitude towards social change. In order to achieve this, the psychological change in the individual that is required by Silo should consist in combating personal suffering. For this purpose, the causes of the oppression in the past should be sought, overcome through meditative exercises and thus self-confidence strengthened. But even more than in the past, the suffering according to Silo is rooted in the meaninglessness that many people feel. In numerous writings, Silo therefore emphasizes the need to give life a meaning and invites his followers to overcome violence and suffering in themselves and in their social environment, which he sums up in his appeal to make the earth human .

organization

According to its own statements, it sees itself as “the entirety of people who participate in the proposals for New Humanism, also known as Universalist Humanism. These proposals can be found in the broadest sense in the document of the Humanist Movement. "

Projects

Supporters of the humanist movement engage in various cultural, social and political activities. In several countries in the late 1980s it tried to profile itself as a Green movement or party, which was sharply criticized by authentic representatives of the Green parties. They ran neighborhood centers, coordinated support projects for people in Africa and Asia and launched global campaigns. Since the dissolution of the central form of organization, they have been participating in organizations founded by the movement ( humanist parties , world without war and violence , community for human development , world center for humanistic studies , meeting of cultures ).

In 1984 members of the Humanist Movement founded the Humanist Party . Various humanist parties came together in 1989 in Florence to form the Humanist International , since 2010 the International Humanist Party . In the German-speaking countries, the humanist parties have disbanded.

The meeting of cultures organization promotes dialogue between cultures through discussion evenings and events and campaigns against discrimination against refugees and migrants.

The organization World Without Wars and Violence has, among other things, organized the World March for Peace and Nonviolence and organizes national and international forums, in particular on nuclear disarmament.

criticism

The humanist movement has often been referred to as a sect or psychogroup and classified as a "sectarian movement" ( mouvement sectaire ) by the French National Assembly's commission of inquiry .

At the beginning of the 1990s, a brochure published by a group of religious studies students called the Führerkult as a party program as part of a sect advisory program at the Free University of Berlin , in which the movement is described as fascist and cooperation with right-wing radicals is claimed, caused a greater stir . Over the course of the decade, she was quoted again and again in various, mostly smaller, media and, according to her own account, had a share in the low growth and poor image of the movement in Berlin.

Position of silos and hierarchy of the organization

Especially in the early days of the movement, the founder Silo had an almost unlimited influence on the movement. Much of the literature that is used in group meetings is still from him today; The group leader is often accused of an unreflective representation of the same. The organizational structure is also relatively hierarchical and has only a few really democratic elements. According to critics, this collides with the grassroots democratic ideals of the movement and was also one of the main reasons for the classification as a “sectarian movement” by the French commission of inquiry. On the other hand, the movement itself held that the individual groups and councils were almost completely autonomous in their actions, so that only a few fundamental decisions were made by the upper hierarchical levels.

According to its own information, the organization was dissolved in early 2010.

Abuse of power and exploitation of the mentally weak

There are always some disappointed members leaving who complain of misconduct on the part of their team leaders. This includes, in particular, that some of the team leaders, in order to quickly recruit new members and thus move up in the organizational structure, allegedly use questionable techniques. Some members are said to have taken advantage of mentally unstable people who were in personal crisis situations and were therefore “easy prey” for recruitment. The Humanist Movement counters the accusation that in the structure of the organization in the event of misconduct by a higher-ranking member, there are opportunities for the subordinate group to deselect the function.

Opponents of the organization claim that these are not isolated cases of misconduct, but a systematic policy of the humanist movement to get more paying members.

System hostility and harmful influence on society

One of the first and at the same time one of the most serious criticisms of the movement was that it had a harmful influence on young people and thus on society. This is to be seen above all in the context of the fundamental criticism of the system of both capitalism and communism that it puts forward. In his well-known address in Mendoza, Silo himself named the “total revolution” as his goal, which should encompass not only the external social structures but also the psyche of people.

A study by Patrick Barr-Melej of Iowa State University on the influence of siloism in Chile in the 1960s and 1970s came to the conclusion that the organization was viewed as a danger by both the left and right-wing camps. The left government under Salvador Allende was suspicious of the relationship with the hippie movement and anti-communist tendencies (see above), while the right-wing camp recognized parallels to socialism and also rejected the extremely liberal stance on the subject of sexuality. Barr-Melej thus comes to the conclusion that this point stems primarily from conflicts of interest with the prevailing political ideologies. Barr-Melej cites an article in the newspaper El Siglo , the press organ of the Communist Party of Chile, on the siloist organization Poder Jóven from 1971, whose basic stance is still widespread in opposition to the humanist movement today:

“Silo has sinister intentions. Not only are hippie rituals exploited and demented criminals like Charles Manson imitated. Silo wants to destroy the youth and to distract them from every care, to remove them from the struggle and the compromise with the people. The movement originated in the upper class neighborhood and its ideologue is a fascist with psychological deformations. The dangerous thing is that what Silo preached has spread. It has reached the universities and working-class neighborhoods. It would be best if the youth organized themselves to pick up their wrongdoings. "

- El Siglo

An essential factor for the harsh criticism of siloism was the very liberal attitude to sexuality, which brought the siloists hostility from all political camps in Catholic Chile. Rumors were spread that Silo had encouraged his followers to engage in sexual experimentation and drug use, and this rumor resulted in the movement's arrest, also in Chile in 1971, of five members accused of "kidnapping" or "seducing" young people. . However, the Supreme Court acquitted all members as none of the allegations were confirmed.

Inefficiency of the actions

Other critics were of the opinion that the movement had hardly achieved anything of the goals it had set for itself, despite its elaborate projects, since the organizational structure alone put an excessive strain on the financial resources and workload. In addition, in some cases too much time is spent on basic discussions and the spiritual exercises instead of investing the energy in concrete projects. Supporters of the movement in Switzerland countered this by stating that in order to achieve social change, the movement first had to be made known, which the organizational structure justified.

Investigation of the Evangelical Information Center in Switzerland

According to a study by the Evangelical Information Office of Switzerland on the subject of New Religious Movements, the movement sees itself as areligious and atheistic , on the grounds that the existence of a god is contrary to its anti-authoritarian and anti-hierarchical goals; In addition, church organizations in particular are part of the system that the movement has rejected.

Gorbachev on the Humanist Movement

  • Mikhail Gorbachev writes in his article Humanism and New Thought : “The most important thing is that the Humanist Movement and New Thought - over and above certain differences with regard to secondary questions - have essentially come to the same conclusions: The realistic and necessary way into the future must have people as the central point of reference, as the main goal of social development itself. It is precisely in this, I believe, that the necessity for these two phenomena to arise is expressed; and not only their emergence, but also their increasing rapprochement, as the Humanist Movement and the Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies began their first contacts in 1992, which then flourished through active cooperation. A collaboration that - I am convinced - will develop fruitfully in the name of the joint search for development paths for the global human community. "

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Official report on the investigation of the French National Assembly 1995 (French)
  2. ↑ Silo's Address The Cure from Suffering
  3. ^ Revista Rolling Stone, August 2011, No. 161
  4. ↑ Article in El Mercurio (Santiago de Chile), March 17, 1974. Original quote in Spanish: “Declaracion del General Sergio Arellano: Silo y Poder Joven son Sirvientes del Comunismo Internacional.”
  5. ↑ Silo's message
  6. ↑ a b Patrick Barr-Melej: Siloísmo and the Self in Allende's Chile: Youth, “Total Revolution,” and the Roots of the Humanist Movement , pp. 755 ff.
  7. ^ Homepage of the Humanist Movement
  8. ^ International Humanist Party
  9. ^ Multilingual page from Convergence of Cultures
  10. ↑ World March for Peace and Nonviolence
  11. ↑ World without Wars and Violence → About us
  12. ↑ Examples: Junge Welt from November 3, 2000 [1] ( RTF ; 6 kB), Wiener weekly newspaper Akin from October 13, 1994 [2] and Berliner Mieter-Echo Jan / Feb 2001 [3]
  13. ↑ AGPF brochure , see introduction
  14. ↑ a b c d Critical analysis of movement at relinfo.ch
  15. ↑ Humanoidex ( Memento from February 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) - page on which individual cases of disappointed dropouts from the movement are shown (Spanish)
  16. ↑ a b Vienna weekly newspaper Akin of October 13, 1994
  17. ↑ Article in El Siglo (Santiago), October 7, 1971. Original quote in Spanish: “Detrás de Silo hay intenciones siniestras. No se trata sólo de explorar ritos hippies, de imitar a dementes criminales como Charles Manson. Silo pretende destruir a la juventud, apartarla de cualquier preocupación válida, alejarla de la lucha y el compromiso con el pueblo. El movimiento nació en el Barrio Alto y su ideólogo es un fascista con deformaciones siquiátricas. Lo peligroso es que la prédica de Silo se ha extendido. Ha penetrado a los liceos hasta en los barrios populares… Lo mejor sería que los propios jóvenes se organizaran para desarmar sus falacias. ”
  18. ↑ Barr-Melej, p. 765 f.
  19. ↑ Mikhail Gorbachev: Humanism and New Thinking (PDF; 55 kB)