TAGE LINDBOM

"The exterior chaos and this exterior menace of dictatorship are nevertheless not the essential. They are but the projection of something incomparably more serious and more dangerous--interior chaos, the confusion that reigns in the hearts of men. It is now an affair of a generation which, in its ensemble, is incapable of discerning truth from lies, the true from the false, the good from the bad. The time of harvest is come for the Kingdom of Man."

Tage Lindbom was born in Sweden in 1909. Having completed a doctorate in History at the University of Stockholm in 1938, he was for many years director of the Library of the Socialdemocratic party, housed in the headquarters of the Swedish Labor Movement in Stockholm. Close to the very center of decision-making, Lindbom helped conceive and implement “the Swedish model.” Thus, he became one of the intellectual architects of the famous Swedish Welfare State.

He was the friend of prime ministers, cabinet ministers, and labor leaders. He served on public boards and commissions dealing with cultural questions, including the executive board of the Royal Opera.

Later in his life Lindbom adopted more conservative political views. After World War II, Lindbom started to have serious doubts about the cause he promoted. He underwent a slow, but profound intellectual and spiritual change. In 1962 he published The Windmills of Sancho Panza. In this work he rejected the assumptions behind Social Democracy and related movements. Not surprisingly, he found himself suddenly isolated. Since breaking with his past, Lindbom has published many books in Sweden, most of which explore the tension between religion and modern secular ideology. Lindbom became a sufi and follower of Schuon in 1962, has written over 20 books in Swedish, his works have been also translated to German, Spanish, Turkish and English.

The two book which appeared in English were The Tares and the Good Grain (1983) and The Myth of Democracy (Cambridge, Eerdmans Publishing 1996).

The Myth of Democracy

The Cold War has ended and Democracy now reigns virtually uncontested world-wide. Western Constitutional thought has aggressively spread to all corners of the globe. Indeed, it would seem that Democracy is superior to all other political systems that have ever existed. Frenzied praise for democratic ideals and institutions overflow from Western politicians and intellectuals. Yet, beneath the rhetoric there lies festering problems of immense proportion which periodically break through the cloak of flattery. Growing moral unrest and disillusion frequently scar the presumably 'flawless' modern democratic society. The exquisite problem is summed up by Tage Lindbom's first line in his new book The Myth of Democracy. He inquires, "Who will rule, God or man?".

Lindbom argues that the entire secular world is suffering from a severe lack of divine leadership and consequently, all democratic nations are spiraling towards self-annihilation. He specifically cites deteriorating educational standards, the break-up of the traditional family, and rising crime rates as varied indications of secular collapse. Lindbom tends to focus on existential philosophy as one of the main factors in the grand failure of Western society. He communicates the egotistical nature of man through several historical examples which follow the evolution of Western politics up to the present day. Lindbom's extensive education at the University of Stockholm and his deep involvement in Swedish politics are both evident in his fascinating book.

The advent of governmental systems based on social contracts is one way humans confirm their worldly supremacy. Lindbom claims that man rejects the divine power of God by instilling himself with the ability to govern and vote. Unfortunately, man lacks identity by separating himself from God, and so he must define in a universal fashion what existence means. This is where a constitution comes into play for Lindbom's intricate explanation- it gives human beings a purpose and place "...in profane existence when the divine presence is forgotten..."(28). Through historical reference, Lindbom tracks how the City of God and the secular City of Man have torn away from each other. Beyond constitutional governing systems, Lindbom sees the industrial revolution as another major factor in man's modern fall from grace. Lindbom writes, "The mechanization of labor is not only a degradation of man; much worse than that, it is a tragedy" (45). Development is a manifestation of the forgetting process for humans in the secular world. The meaninglessness of our existence without God's presence causes man to preoccupy himself in progressing and bettering the secular world around him. However, instead of moving forward, Lindbom claims we are falling further away from the ultimate goal which is the City of God.

The argument presented in The Myth of Democracy assumes something that can not be substantiated; the existence of God. Although Lindbom makes some very interesting points about the nature of liberty and majority rule in democracies, overall his claims fall short of their initial, lofty goal. The final chapter of Lindbom's work entitled "Lucifer", compares the biblical fall of man with our present situation in the secular world. Lindbom makes the elegant association between the urges of biblical man and the ego driven temptations of modern humans towards greater political power.

Lindbom's considerable work and reflection come shining through in his most recent book, The Myth of Democracy. Those who persistently cling to Christian doctrines in this modern era of diverse beliefs will find Lindbom's conclusions logical. And those who are non-believers will certainly find Lindbom's distinct style of writing and arguing highly engaging. The sinful problems of the modern secular society may find their salvation in a divine solution. Lindbom presents our difficult choice quite clearly; the heavenly City of God or Lucifer's secular City of man. For Lindbom the answer to this eternal quandary is elementary, "When the divine is totally denied, the ineluctable consequence is that there is nothing else to take its place but the spirit of negation, the satanic" (122). "We [must] seek God, the very Source of our being" (130).

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