Welcome to the works of Manfred Davidmann

Democracy, Socialism and Communism:
The Worldwide Struggle for a Better Life

Fundamental reports relevant to today's problems and to a better future

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Contents List

• Summary
  
  
• The Struggle for Democracy, Participative Organisation and Self-management
  

• Tito's Yugoslavia
  
  'Bureaucracy' and the Struggle to Preserve what has been Gained
  
  The Meaning of Democracy: Participative Organisation
  
  Ensuring the Prosperous and Secure Existence of Our Communities
  
  
  

• Pentateuch: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
  

  Pentateuch

  Social and Economic Security
  Government and Management
  Trustful Co-operation (Ten Commandments)
  Equality and Ownership

  The Struggle of the Authoritarian Hierarchies ('Church' and/or 'State') against God and People

  Judaism

  Christianity

  Islam

  Summing Up
  
  
  

• Family and Morality
  

  Family
  Morality, Behaviour and Community
  
  
  

• Media, Social Engineering, and Bureaucracy
  

  Media
  Living in a Hostile Environment: The Ruling Class's Social Engineering
  
  
  

• Manfred Davidmann
  
  
• Relevant Current and Associated Works
  
  
  
• Notes  <..>
  
  
• References, Links and Descriptions  {..}
  
  
• Other Subjects; Other Publications

Summary

Exposes what people are struggling against, the secretive manipulations of bureaucracy, oppressors and exploiters.

Shows that underlying Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the same fundamental benevolent and egalitarian social laws and social system which also underlie Democracy, Socialism and Communism. Traces them to their origins and proves from contemporary written records that in each case the ruling and religious hierarchies (bureaucracies) soon bypassed or annulled the 'God-given' social laws and social system, replacing them with 'man-made', ruler- and hierarchy-serving, obedience demanding, protest silencing, indoctrination.

It is these revisionist versions which are being taught and believed today and here we see clearly the causes of present controversies and conflicts between church and state, between beliefs and practice, in these religions.

Covers dominance and confrontation within the family and in the working environment, how men and women relate to each other, and the role of the family. The family is decisive in determining the quality of life; it is a source of strength and support in a time of need.

Shows how the media are being used for 'social engineering', a kind of brainwashing aimed at turning the struggle of the working population into 'self-defeating' directions, into scoring 'own goals'.

The Struggle for Democracy, Participative Organisation and Self-management

Tito's Yugoslavia

I went to Yugoslavia some time after their system of 'self-management' was introduced, that is some time after 1950.

My car broke down on what surely had to be one of the worst roads of what was then the modern Yugoslavia which, full of hope, one supported and helped to build. It was a collection of holes; average speed was 3 to 5 mph. Both the rear springs broke and I was stranded. This was just over the top of one of the highest mountain passes there, on the way from Skopje, skirting the border with Albania and through Montenegro, to Budva.

Travelling through Yugoslavia, one was then only allowed to camp in official camping sites. But I had no choice and had to camp out in a nearby field close to where my car was disabled on the side of the 'road'. In the course of which I got to know the local farmer who cropped his smallholding in the summer and earned some money by maintaining local roads in winter. And I found out about Tito's Yugoslav communist system, and how it worked in practice.

The farmer could choose between state and private systems. He could join the state's cooperative system (and benefit from the social security, health service, free education provided by the state) or be part of the private sector with its lower levels of social security, health service and educational system, contributing to health service and education costs. He had joined the private sector.

The Yugoslav system of self-management was effective, fair and just, and successful. I found later that Yugoslavia's national product had been increasing by something like 25 percent which compared with increases of 2 to 4 percent achieved by 'free enterprise' countries.

I had a fascinating time in Yugoslavia, and I was impressed. The visit opened my eyes to the underlying meaning of 'Communism'.

And in 1981, I published what have since become the accepted standard works on General Management, namely

Style of Management and Leadership {9}, worldwide 595,000 copies so far, and
Role of Managers under Different Styles of Management {10}, worldwide 230,000 copies so far,

and included the following about Yugoslavia:

Yugoslavia operates a system of 'self-management'. To a very considerable extent, those who work in a workplace also own it, and this means actually control it. They elect from among themselves the policy-making body. One is elected to this body for two years and it is this body which then appoints the management.

The state of course exercises considerable influence by the amount of money it may withdraw from the enterprise's income but the enterprise has full control over what is left. The money left may be used to increase wages or to extend the factory.

There was no right to strike and this placed Yugoslavia somewhere between the United States of America and where the United Kingdom used to be. {9}

Some years ago strikes were made legal and Yugoslavia moved even further towards participative management. Not only are people able to withdraw their labour, but in addition they exercise a great deal of control over their own working conditions and over the future of the enterprise.

If they strike, then presumably they strike against their own management, backing the policy-making board they have elected or perhaps even striking against the policy set by this policy-making board. The right to strike is there, the workers have that power.

As regards its style of management and control, Yugoslavia had overtaken West Germany, USA, UK and Israel, by becoming more participative {9}. It had moved a good deal further towards power sharing and towards participation in policy setting.

But some of the People's Republics were very poor (such as Serbia and Macedonia), and some were rich (such as Croatia gaining from tourism, and Slovenia gaining from agriculture) and wealth being generated by the richer People's Republics was being used to support and raise the standard of living in the poorer regions to that of the richer ones. But there were those who wanted riches and power, who wanted to control the richer republics, who did not want to support the needier republics.

I found that workers in factories and holiday camps were for all practical purposes almost unaware of their rights. Meaningful teachings (such as Karl Marx's 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs') were being weakened and a self-supporting (self-protecting) managerial and governing class was forming itself (like the system of 'Proteksia' in Israel, 'Vetternwirtschaft' in Germany and 'Old Boy Network' in Britain).

It was not long afterwards that Yugoslavia broke up, dare I say 'was broken up', and much was lost as a result.

People are encouraged to study the works of Marx, Engels and Lenin as if within these could be found the ultimate and complete answer to the oppression and exploitation we are all subjected to in varying degrees. But our lives, and the oppressor's knowledge and techniques, are now very different when compared with their times.

So we need to illuminate the ideas of the founders (Marx, Engels, Lenin, Tito) and apply them to present conditions, and need to teach the people how to free themselves from oppression and exploitation, and how to retain the freedom we gain.

For example, as far as I know it was Karl Marx who said that there would first need to be, and come, the dictatorship of the proletariat, but that then the compulsion of the dictatorship would in due course whither away, that then 'democratic communism' would remain. But the Chinese and the Russian forms of 'dictatorship of the proletariat' have so far refused to wither away!

'Bureaucracy' and the Struggle to Preserve what has been Gained

In 1950, when introducing self-management, Tito warned about the menace of 'bureaucracy'. From Tito's speech <16>:

By turning over the factories, mines, etc., to the workers to manage, we will make it impossible for the infectious disease of bureaucracy to take hold there.

This disease is carried over from bourgeois society and is dangerous. It obstructs and impedes the correct and rapid process of development. Bureaucracy is among the biggest enemies of socialism because it insinuates itself unnoticed into all the pores of social activity and people are not conscious of it in the beginning.

In our country, bureaucracy has begun worming its way into various institutions, into the state apparatus and into the economy. It is not enough simply to undertake periodical drives against it but to wage incessant struggle and to educate people.

Lenin says that technical and cultural backwardness is the most fertile ground for bureaucracy. It must be fought and defeated. It can be fully defeated if the whole population takes part in the struggle.

The best bourgeois republic, no matter how democratic it may be, has thousands of legal obstructions preventing the working people from participating in administration.

This is due to the cultural backwardness to which Lenin refers and therein lies the danger of bureaucracy (bureaucratization of administration) which flowers especially where backwardness is widespread. These words show us where we are to seek the roots of bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy flowers

where people are still not conscious of their rights of keeping check on and fighting determinedly against, all bureaucratic procedures,

where people are still not conscious that bureaucracy is a harmful thing for socialism which cannot simply be uprooted by decree from above but must be fought by every conscious person in every day practice.

Bureaucracy can take hold in high institutions and can equally well insinuate itself into the lower ones. Bureaucracy can penetrate down to the lowest state and economic administrative organs if it is not fought.

Of course, it is a tragedy for a socialist country if bureaucracy takes hold from the highest to the lowest institutions, if the top executives do not see and do not want to see the harm it is doing.

In order to suppress bureaucracy successfully, it is not enough to undertake measures only at the top, in the highest institutions, and to think that it is not dangerous below. It is very dangerous below, as our experience has shown us. Therefore, bureaucracy is dangerous in the administrative machinery of the republics, the regions, the districts and municipalities, and in the running of various kinds of commercial and other economic institutions. With the help of the masses, we must fight against it and not allow this phenomenon so harmful to socialism to spread.

Today, when not only the state administration but the whole economy is in the hands of the people,

the people must keep an alert check on the work of those who are appointed to administrative posts to see that they are doing their duty for the benefit of the socialist community. The working collectives and their councils, which will run the factories, mines, etc., will have the very important task of making it impossible for bureaucratic methods to be used in management.

What Tito said is of fundamental importance for every socialist or communist, but almost impossible to understand and apply as the term 'bureaucracy' is so vague.

We are now in the twenty-first century, much has changed, and people, ordinary people, need to be educated about, and trained in, damage limitation and prevention, regarding what Tito called 'bureaucracy'.

The required knowledge and procedures are provided in and by the works of Manfred Davidmann. To gain freedom from oppression and exploitation now, as well as later for securing and defending what has been gained.

Let us begin with the commonly accepted definition of 'bureaucracy' as 'government by officials instead of by elected representatives'. {33}

Tito warned about the menace of 'bureaucracy', in these terms:

The best bourgeois republic, no matter how democratic it may be, has thousands of legal obstructions preventing the working people from participating in administration.

... bureaucracy is dangerous in the administrative machinery of the republics, the regions, the districts and municipalities, and in the running of various kinds of commercial and other economic institutions. With the help of the masses, we must fight against it and not allow this phenomenon so harmful to socialism to spread.

... the people must keep an alert check on the work of those who are appointed to administrative posts to see that they are doing their duty for the benefit of the socialist community. The working collectives and their councils, which will run the factories, mines, etc., will have the very important task of making it impossible for bureaucratic methods to be used in management.

Lenin says that ... bureaucracy ... must be fought and ... can be fully defeated if the whole population takes part in the struggle.

Manfred Davidmann outlined the battlefield, in his reports 'Democracy under Attack: Top-level Leadership and Decision-taking' {4}, and 'Multinational Summits and Agreements, Top-level Decision-taking and Democracy' {5}, in these terms:

The Meaning of Democracy: Participative Organisation <1>

Participative (democratic) organisation {4} rests on the population electing representatives, on the basis of each person having one vote. Representatives are responsible to, and accountable to, the population for putting into effect policies decided by the population.

What underlies participative organisation (democracy) is decision-taking by the people at the level of the people.

What needs to be stressed is that in a participative (democratic) organisation policies are decided by a well-informed population at the level of the population and that policies then become binding on management or government. <2>

And representatives, governments or government officials do not have the authority or right to reduce or sign away the participative (democratic) rights of the electors, of the population.

In an authoritarian organisation, the policy decisions are taken at the top or near the top by the hierarchy (establishment) and are binding on the organisation's members. Decision-taking at the top is sometimes referred to as 'deciding centrally'. Authoritarian organisation is the opposite of democracy and underlies dictatorship.

So what we see is conflict between authoritarian minds wishing to dominate, control and exploit on the one hand and, on the other hand, citizens wishing to maintain and improve the standard of living and quality of life for the population as a whole.

And the real struggle is not between political left and right, but is a struggle for participation, that is for the right of the population to be well-informed and to take the decisions which then become binding on management or government. <2>

Ensuring the Prosperous and Secure Existence of Our Communities

Manfred Davidmann's works include a comprehensive report which clearly and unambiguously locates and describes the underlying causes, the perpetrators and their underhand operations. It illustrates and exposes the anti-social and underhand ways in which the people are being oppressed and exploited, by which democracy, socialism and communism are being attacked.

And his works include another, equally comprehensive, report which details and describes the essential ways by which enterprises and governments of all shapes and sizes, have to be managed and safeguarded to ensure their success, to ensure the prosperous and secure existence and future of our communities.

'What People are Struggling Against' describes and lists the symptoms of the disease and its viciously harmful effects, and describes the causes.

'Co-operatives and Co-operation' shows how to cure the disease and how to prevent it from occurring.

To ensure long-term success, the essential information in these reports, appropriate as it is to the conditions as we find them in the 21st century, needs to be studied and taught. To the people, to our communities, to those who need to know, understand and apply this information. So that we can ensure that antisocial decision-taking is eliminated.

Pentateuch: Judaism, Christianity and Islam  {29}

We have seen that the real struggle is not between political left and right, but is a struggle for participation, that is for the right of the population to be well-informed and to take the decisions which then become binding on management or government. <2>

The confrontation between on the one hand elected policy-making bodies, which are to apply and protect our benevolent and humane principles, and on the other hand those who are supposed to put their policies into effect, can be seen in many areas.

And here we are looking at decision-taking in the management and control of companies, corporations, enterprises and all types of community organisations. Looking at the ways in which authoritarian minds attempt to take over and place democratically controlled organisations under authoritarian control.

This is an age-old problem we need to be aware of, so as to counter it effectively.

And so in the following sections we look at how this struggle manifested itself over the past 3,500 years in the field of religious belief and practices, and in confrontations between church and state about the personal power of their respective hierarchies (bureaucracies). With both actively opposing and negating the human rights enshrined (God-given) in their religions.

The history of the religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam illustrates both the underlying conflict and the present-day confrontations between church and state, government and religion.

The information given here is largely reproduced from Manfred Davidmann's report
'Church and State, Government and Religion: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.'
See this report {29} which contains much else.

Pentateuch   {13}

About 3,500 years ago, human beings learned the difference between the brutal behaviour of their beastly ancestors, and the humane socially-responsible behaviour of human beings.

Their struggles and achievements were recorded in the Pentateuch <3>, as were the social system and social rules of behaviour which underlie a good life of high quality combining freedom, independence and liberty <4>. Positive and constructive, rewarding what is good, punishing that which is inhuman, providing social security and a good life of high quality.

The whole history of the people and the essential social laws of behaviour and social system, were at that time recorded in the Pentateuch which has been handed down unaltered to this day. <3>

Every social revolution and advance has been based on this knowledge and has attempted to achieve the kind of social laws and social system first described in the Pentateuch.

The beliefs of Judaism, Christianity and Islam include the social laws and social system of the Pentateuch and each of these religions experienced major conflicts and strife between church and state, religion and government. The struggle being about the application in our everyday lives of the benevolent and humane social provisions of the Pentateuch, and also about which hierarchy (church or state) was to rule over, control and benefit from (exploit) the people (the believers).

So first we look at some key social laws of the Pentateuch, and describe its social system, to illustrate what the confrontations between on the one hand God and people, and on the other hand the state or religious hierarchies ('church'), are about. <5>

All persons have the right to be free and independent masters of their own fate and no person may oppress or exploit another. Because people can be exploited through their needs there has to be a system of social and economic security which guarantees freedom from needs and so protects people from becoming dependent on others for essential income, protects against loss of material and spiritual independence.

And this is what is laid down as a matter of law {14}:

1. The community has to provide ('lend') money to those who need it, free of interest.
2. All such loans, if outstanding, are to be cancelled every seventh year.

The laws of the Pentateuch control the behaviour and limit the power of 'rulers', that is of government, of top executives and of the establishment, of those in positions of trust, responsibility or authority, no matter whether secular, religious or military, no matter what the hierarchy or organisation. {14, 15}. The Pentateuch states clearly what they must not do.

They may not amass servants and may not oppress the people. They may not amass possessions and wealth, may not grasp power or behave promiscuously. In other words, they may not put themselves above others by grasping power, may not satisfy personal desires at the expense of others.

And a ruler (person in position of trust, responsibility or authority) has to follow these laws and abide by them every day if he wishes 'to prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children'. For 'kingdom' read 'position' and include 'influence'.

These Pentateuch laws lay down that those in positions of trust, responsibility or authority must not oppress people so as to increase their own possessions and power. These laws forbid personal gain from the misuse of authority, wealth or position. Those in positions of trust, responsibility or authority may not grasp power, may not oppress the people, may not behave promiscuously, may not gain wives or wealth. {14}

The Ten Commandments <6> are so important and are so well known because behaviour in accordance with these rules is the basis for people trusting each other and so for people co-operating and working well with each other. The Ten Commandments underlie freedom, independence and strength to oppose and resist oppression. Wherever there is any independence of the mind and material freedom today it exists because people followed these rules of behaviour and it exists to the extent to which they do so. {14}

Take these two commandments (principles of behaviour):

1. You must not steal.
2. You must not desire anything which belongs to your neighbour.

Much trust and community friendliness is gained when people follow these principles.

But consider that these laws apply equally to the rich and powerful. It is also the rich and powerful who must not steal from the poor even the little which the poor have. It is the rich and powerful who must not cast longing glances at what little the rest of us possess, it is the rich and powerful who must not aim to gain at our expense.

The country's wealth belongs equally to all community members and needs to be shared out family by family {14}, where 'family' is a life-long single union {32} between husband and wife. With shares updated at regular intervals. Each receives a share of the community's total net assets, their 'Asset Share'. An Asset Share cannot be sold but the owner has the right to determine its use and to the resulting benefits.

But only those are supported who themselves genuinely support the Pentateuch's benevolent ideals and principles and their application and who themselves live and act accordingly, who behave humanely. {14}

The Struggle of the Authoritarian Hierarchies ('Church' and/or 'State') against God and People

Summarised here are Manfred Davidmann's groundbreaking discoveries from previously published separate major investigations <7> into the history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The complete sequence of events covering the three main religions was published for the first time in 'Church and State, Government and Religion: Judaism, Christianity and Islam' (29}, and it is clear and to the point.

We now know the history of the two main confrontations between the Jewish rulers <8> and their people, know how they confronted and struggled with each other, from the written records of their times. This struggle was about position, influence and control over communities, about changing God-given benevolent rules of behaviour so that people could be oppressed and exploited.

We see those who ruled using their power for their own benefit and to impose their rule. We see the emergence of those who grasped power and ruled and then weakened Pentateuch law so as to rule more forcefully, so as to oppress, so as to exploit the people. This led inevitably to internal confrontation and conflict which divided the country.

The struggle changed Judaism, determined the fate of the Jewish people and gave rise to Christianity.

Monarchy: Saul, David and Solomon

During the period of the monarchy, which is during the period of Saul, David and Solomon, we see central military authority being more effective in an emergency and see the military leader subsequently taking over the administration, taking over the government. This is followed by increasing centralisation of power and the formation of an establishment (secular and religious) which serves the source of power and is used to oppress the people.

What we see is increasing centralisation of power, increasing corruption and oppression, increasing enslavement of the people with consequent social stress and subsequent destruction.

It would seem that religious and secular authorities were in effect centred on the king (ruler) who soon ignored the God-given benevolent social provisions of the Pentateuch. Authority for belief and practice were combined in the person of the ruler who used his authority (power) for his own personal selfish gain and disregarded the very social laws and system for the application of which the Hebrew people had been fighting for and which underlay his success.

The application of the Pentateuch, the basic constitution which protects the people, had been abrogated and the people were worse off than before, had even less protection against the ruler and his establishment, against the misuse of his power.

It seems to me that during the period of the monarchy and of the two kingdoms there was a continuous struggle between the forces which supported God, Judaism and the people, and those forces which supported central rule, the establishment and oppression of the people. It was the rulers who generally acted contrary to Jewish law and the Jewish religion seems to have been belittled, opposed and in some ways negated by them.

Maccabean Dynasty (The Hasmoneans)    <9> {15}
Rulers and Establishment ('state', government)    <9> {15}

Following the popular uprising for Judaism, for Jewish law and thus for freedom, the rulers formed a dynasty and a supporting establishment. They tasted power, meant to have it and meant to cling to it. Instead of serving God and people, the rulers battled for power with each other, allied themselves with foreign powers against each other. In so doing they divided the people and weakened all. The Jewish leadership, the Jewish establishment, disregarded the welfare of the people, disregarded Jewish law, disregarded the intent and purpose of Jewish law. <9> {15}

The religious hierarchy became subservient to the secular rulers, with the rulers presumably using the religious hierarchy to motivate and tranquillise their people. And two generations after the uprising we see increasing internal confrontation between believing (Pentateuch-observing) people on the one hand against oppressive rulers and their oppressing establishment on the other. {18}

Outstanding is that the people were unable to restrain their leaders. The result was total destruction of people and country, and the dispersion of the Jewish people. {15}

Jewish Belief and Practice    (religion, 'church')    {16 - 17}

The Jewish establishment (secular and religious) had been and were changing the application of God's benevolent social laws so that 'the law was becoming like two laws'. They argued in religious terms about social and political policies. What are recorded are the arguments, misrepresentations and falsehoods (untruths) used by establishment-orientated religious 'scholars' <10> against applying the Pentateuch's benevolent legislation, in effect misleading the population into acquiescing to changes which served the ruling establishment, which enabled the establishment to oppress and exploit the population.

The Talmud describes how the God-serving religious hierarchy was replaced by an establishment-serving religious hierarchy {16}, how the people felt about this {17} and the subsequent antisocial changes to belief and practice. This is conclusively recorded in two different and separate ways which confirm each other. But Rabbinical Judaism (today's Judaism) does not teach this and so propagates the establishment's revisionist version of Jewish belief and practice. {16} <11>

Rabbinical Judaism (today's Judaism) teaches, and Jewish belief and practice follows, the Jewish establishment's version of belief and practice. This version has the essential core benevolent social laws bypassed and edited out from observance, and is followed by Jews at the present time.

And we see that attempts to argue against the rulers and their establishment were by themselves unable to change the course of events.

Jesus Taught

Jewish Christians believed in the laws of the Pentateuch and struggled for the application of these laws in daily life, struggling against an oppressive establishment which argued against and did not want to follow the social laws.

Paul's Ideology

Look again at the social laws and system of the Pentateuch <12> and you will see how the laws of the Pentateuch ensure freedom and material independence and provide a good life of high quality here and now, backed by effective social security. No one may oppress or exploit another and all are equal, as a matter of law.

It is these laws of behaviour, it is these social laws and this social system which Paul opposed and he then attempted to stop people from keeping these laws.

Laws protect people when those who break them are punished. So Paul is saying that there would be no punishment if the laws were abolished, implying that antisocial activities can be allowed to take place without restraint.

So Paul preached against material independence, against social security, against freedom from oppression and exploitation. What he preached was the political ideology of an oppressive establishment.

Matthew's Record (Gospels)

So what happened was:

Jesus taught that all the laws had to be kept, that belief and practice included and had to include the Ten Commandments, the social laws and the social system of the Pentateuch.

Paul, however, acted on behalf of the rich and powerful when he tried to convince people that those in authority were God's representatives on earth and that the social laws did not have to be kept.

Paul's letter to the 'Romans' was written before the gospels. Matthew's later gospel records what Jesus actually taught and clearly makes the point that Paul was trying to subvert and turn upside down that which Jesus taught. As Matthew records what Jesus taught, this outweighs and overrides what Paul said.

Those who later favoured Paul's pro-establishment ideology could not challenge Matthew's record. Hence Matthew's gospel was subtly changed in later gospels, in an attempt to distort and hide that which Jesus had taught so as to weaken arguments against Paul's ideology.

Here also we see the establishment engaged in abrogating, in effect in annulling <13>, the benevolent social laws of the Pentateuch.

The establishment's version became accepted as official Christian doctrine and apparently it is this which tends to be taught today. <14>

According to Liberation theologists, there are two kinds of Christianity. There is the kind of Christianity that serves the rulers and their establishment and thus those who oppress and exploit. And they say that there is also another kind of Christianity which bases its belief and practice on compassion for the poor and according to Christian texts which side with the poor against the rich, with the poor against the oppressor. {21}

Manfred Davidmann concluded that Christianity is struggling forward towards its roots in response to the social and economic problems of global humanity at the present time. Towards what Jesus taught, towards the social laws and social system of the Pentateuch. {18, 21}

Mohammed teaches that God's benevolent social laws and system have to be applied by people in their daily life, that those who in the past erred from God's way are in grave error {27}.

For example, from the Koran:

The book (al-kitab, the Pentateuch) came down (tanzil) from God, the mighty, the wise-one.

The arabic phrase for the Holy Koran is 'al-Koran'. The Pentateuch (the Five Books of Moses) is 'al-kitab', a religious book is 'mushaf'. <15>

{40:002, 45:002, 46:002}

We gave Moses guidance (al-huda)

huda: guidance or guide.

and gave the book (al-kitab, the Pentateuch) to the Children of Israel to inherit.

A guide (huda) and a reminder (warning) to people who understand.

To those who understand its commandments (message), it is a guide (about what is 'good', about what to do) and a warning (about what is evil, about what not to do).

{40:053-54}

And here also we see the two opposed sides. On the one hand Mohammed preaching the words of benevolent and caring God (Allah), on the other side a self-serving ruling elite.

Traditions tell that during and almost immediately after the death of Mohammed, his teachings of revelations from benevolent Allah who cared deeply about peoples' welfare and well-being, were collected and recorded by Zaid bin Thabit. {24 - 25}

Traditions also tell that about fifteen years later Caliph Uthman had an official text prepared which included Zaid bin Thabit's, that he ordered the compilers to change Zaid bin Thabit's manuscripts into reflecting 'the voice of' (the opinions of) the ruling elite, that is to make sure that their compilation stated the ruling elite's point of view. The same tradition states that Caliph Uthman then distributed copies of this ruling elite's compilation (Uthman's Koran) and ordered all other versions to be destroyed. {24 - 25}.

Considering Islam, we know that throughout almost the whole of Mohammed's life as Prophet he struggled against the powerful Meccan family which dominated Mecca, against the Quraysh {22}. And after Mohammed died, the ruling elite took over. Validated hadiths (traditions) recorded that on the one hand we have the word of benevolent Allah as taught by Mohammed that people (believers) should have a good life of high quality in this life, but that on the other hand is the ruling elite's opposing viewpoint that people should be obedient and serve willingly without questioning their condition {25}. Since then there has been continuous confrontation and struggle between secular and religious figureheads and hierarchies, between state (rulers, government) and religious authorities (clerics, religious hierarchy, religion) {24} with each attempting to make the other serve its own ends.

It is this which shaped Muslim belief and practice to this day and it underlies the conflicts and confrontations we see today between Muslim rulers and Muslim clerics, between 'secular government' and 'rule by religious clerics'.

To me it seems that it also underlies the impoverished condition in some Muslim countries of those parts of their populations which are deprived, exploited, oppressed. {22 - 28}.

Summing Up

Underlying the Pentateuch's benevolent and egalitarian legislation are its social laws and social system, including the Ten Commandments and laws protecting the people by limiting the behaviour of their rulers.

The Jewish people undertook to live accordingly, to apply all of these in their daily lives. But their own rulers (kings, state, government, establishment) negated the application of these rules of behaviour and the people were oppressed and exploited. Rabbinical Judaism (today's Judaism) propagates the establishment's revisionist version of Jewish belief and practice. {16}

Jesus taught that all the Pentateuch's laws had to be kept, that belief and practice had to include them. Here again we saw that the establishment in effect negated the application of these benevolent rules of behaviour, that the Christian establishment's version became accepted and that the people were once again exposed to oppression and exploitation.

The Prophet Mohammed knew about the events of the past and called for a return to following the ancient benevolent God-given social legislation. This knowledge appears to have been lost, bypassed or negated and since then there has been continuous confrontation and struggle between secular and religious figureheads and hierarchies, between state (rulers, government) and religious authorities (clerics, religious hierarchy, religion) {24}.

Family and Morality  {32}

We are here examining root causes of major social problems, showing how to resolve the problems by dealing with their basic causes, by countering the secretive anti-social, anti-democratic and inhuman activities of what used to be called 'bureaucracy'.

Family

Trade unionists are courageously struggling for the human rights of the impoverished working population, their strength and support built on the mutual support of their families, on the help in time of need and struggle, which the family provides.

In poverty-stricken countries, it is the family which provides social security. For example, when visiting another part of one's extended family, one takes some food to them which all will share.

Or the family being visited is likely to assume that the visitor is hungry and share what food they have, with the visitor. The food is shared but the visitor eats first.

And this is but one example of the importance of the family, of the social security the family provides. Another is that a clever and hard-working child lives with, and is helped to an education, by whichever member of the family has the means to do so.

In the kibbutzim, that is in Israel's co-operative settlements, children were brought up communally in age groups, away from their parents. One age group would progress together from creche to nursery and then to school, living together during the week and seeing their parents, or living with their parents, only at weekends.

This may have freed both parents for work and defence in the initial struggle for survival. But the practice was continued when successful, possibly to free women for work and so increase production. But it was done at the expense of the family.

Of any group in the country, the kibbutz children consequently showed the highest incidence of mental problems. The kibbutzim have had to backtrack and now give their children a more normal and strengthening family-life experience with their parents. {11}

Members of a family stand by, support and help each other in times of need. Each member of the family gets strength from the others.

Smash the family and you undermine the strength of the people. I understand the resulting disruption was so marked in Russia that they had to back-pedal. One of the first things the Khmer Rouge did in Cambodia was to smash the family to make the people dependent on the state.

It is tough when you have to go to work to earn the money, do the shopping, look after the kids and do everything yourself. The one thing you cannot afford to be is to be ill. And you have no time for the kids either. And in a one-parent family, what the children miss is the parent's caring co-operative behaviour, is the example of responsible people looking after each other. The boy being brought up by the mother knows that both of them were left to look after themselves by the father and that is not a good example to model himself on. If you are struggling on your own so as to survive, you don't have time or energy to think of freedom or to work for the community or for the betterment of humankind. {31}

Morality, Behaviour and Community

Casual sex weakens and deadens feelings of care and affection for the other person, for partner or spouse, changing feelings of care and affection into a desire to use others for selfish pleasure regardless of the cost to the other person. So people who sleep around, who are addicted to casual sex, use other people to obtain sex, do so without concern or affection for their partners. They may then begin to behave in ways which harm other people, and may begin to pursue their own selfish interests. Apathy and neglect towards others can result.

Society corrupts itself when human care, affection and concern for one's own family, and for other people, is weakened, is bypassed by self-interest at expense of others.

There is increasing wanton antisocial behaviour such as vandalism and mugging. There is a loss of internal security, by loss of property and by attack against the person. The quality of life is lowered even further by those who pursue personal gain regardless of its cost to other people.

All this was clear in the nineteen-seventies, about forty years ago:

In all countries where sex education has been introduced the same corruptive pattern of social change has been observed {30}: sexual experimentation starts and promiscuity increases. Promiscuity leads to increasing sexual dissatisfaction, to the weakening of family life and marriage bonds and to sexual excesses. The substitute satisfactions of smoking, drinking, and drug-taking increase and there is a lowering of the age of those involved. There is an upsurge in wanton destructive aggression in the community and a rise in aggressive juvenile delinquency. There is increasing concern over the harm done to young children by the practices and by the lack of concern and commitment of their parents, and concern has already been expressed over increasing male impotence. These effects are now obvious to any intelligent reader of the informed press.

... Increasing divorce rates, the resultant delinquency of children, the casual and inhuman ways some parents treat each other and their children, are almost the direct outcome of pre-marital and adulterous, that is promiscuous, sexual relations.

Destructive aggression, viciousness and brutality of people towards each other, disregard of the value of the individual and of life itself, are not normal behaviour. People who behave in such ways become isolated and divided against each other.

In the family, we see assertiveness and conflict instead of affection and co-operation. Partnerships and marriages break up when difficulties arise. People leave without regard or concern for the interests of the other members, of partner, spouse or children. They leave when they would be better off alone, when there is illness, when their present partner becomes unemployed, when a younger or wealthier 'partner' becomes available.

People who behave promiscuously (permissively) have sexual relations before marriage, or after marriage with a person other than their spouse. Promiscuity turns men against women, and women against men, and robs both of the support of their family.

Let me put it to you in another way {31}. It is only a few years ago that you went out for the evening without bothering to lock the door. Nowadays you make sure you fasten the windows as well and in some areas keep a light on and the radio going. Just think of what has been happening to crime, delinquency, drug addiction, the younger age of those involved and the increasingly brutal way people treat each other, leaving aside dishonest business dealings. Look at the increasing number of divorces and thus of one-parent families, look at the even larger number of children being brought up in this way. ... it is happening in other democratic countries. And it is nothing new. It has happened again and again. Whenever democracy raised its head, the same knife was used to chop it off.

History shows that free societies which allow themselves to become 'permissive' (promiscuous) weaken themselves to the point where their civilisation destroys itself, or is destroyed by outsiders. Those who wish to weaken democracy condone or encourage 'permissiveness'. On the other hand, those who restrict sex to within marriage gain creativity and increase their strength.

Media, Social Engineering, and Bureaucracy  {32}

Media

The media seem to be concentrating on portraying superstition, violence and casual-sex behaviour as acceptable, so strengthening primitive uncaring and antisocial behaviour towards others. And images penetrate deeply into the human mind.

Sexually explicit and pornographic material would seem to be taking this process even further.

So media are at present persuading and conditioning people into thinking that antisocial behaviour will not have unpleasant consequences. However, the cost to the community of the kind of negative and antisocial behaviour outlined in the sections above, of the lowering of the quality of life, is enormous. {1}

What we see is an almost intentional-seeming conditioning towards antisocial behaviour which breaks up families and so weakens individuals, and which divides people against each other and so weakens them even further.

It seems that a process of social engineering is being applied, men apparently being conditioned into opting out of their responsibilities for family, wife and children. Women, on the other hand, are apparently being conditioned into giving away the real support and security they and their children could expect from husband and family, for no real gain, by making themselves sexually available.

Living in a Hostile Environment: The Ruling Class's Social Engineering

In the working environment, women are just as oppressed and exploited as men are. When women receive lower wages for work of equal value, then this is bad for men and women alike. When some people in a group are being underpaid, the pay of the others is being pushed down.

Outside the family a struggle is taking place. The breadwinner is competing for work and income on behalf of the family. He is also struggling against those who wish to exploit him (and thus his family) and who oppress so as to exploit.

So outside the family we see a widespread struggle against those who wish to dominate other people. Against those who want primitive power over others, against those who wish to exploit, against those who may brutally and without feeling oppress human beings so as to exploit them. And 'to exploit' includes the whole range of antisocial decisions and activities of those who put profit before people and community. {1}

What we see in the working environment is a worldwide struggle to achieve a humane way of life, each person, family or community struggling to advance at their own level of development, struggling against those who wish to dominate, exploit, oppress. A struggle whose successful outcome depends on trustful co-operation, companionship and teamwork. {2, 3}

Anyone who sees men and women co-operating with each other within a family, struggling side by side, back to back, and sees them co-operating with each other and helping each other in the outside working environment, for a more secure and better life for their families, knows how strong and effective they are together.

Knows how strong and effective are those who put people first, who know the difference between human and inhuman behaviour, who believe in participative behaviour and in democratic government. {9, 10, 32}

And sometimes one has to fight to preserve a good way of life, to prevent others from taking what has been achieved, to oppose those who dominate and exploit.

Promiscuous behaviour and casual sexual relationships separate people and turn them against each other, turn men against women and women against men. Promiscuous behaviour and casual sexual relationships break up families, isolate people and rob people of the strength to resist exploitation and oppression.

It is those who wish to weaken democracy and freedom who could be expected to condone and thus permit and encourage promiscuous behaviour and casual relationships, as promiscuous behaviour separates people and turns them against each other, as it turns men against women and women against men. Indeed, they will condone and encourage any movement which turns men and women against each other so as to rob both of the strength to resist oppression and exploitation, to rob both of the strength which comes from men and women co-operating with each other.

We know that dominating does not work in normal circumstances. Authoritarian organisations are much less effective than participative ones. In authoritarian organisations, morale is low, people cease to care and tend to work against each other instead of co-operating with each other for the benefit of the organisation. Which applies equally well to a family.

Men and women are struggling together to achieve a better life, a humane way of living and government, and social security.

It is in democracies that high standards of living have been achieved. In democracies, people can struggle openly for a better life but we see that what has been gained has to be defended and extended.

Apparently it is those who wish to weaken democracy and freedom, who condone and thus permit and encourage, promiscuous behaviour.

Manfred Davidmann

Manfred Davidmann is an internationally well-known and respected scientist, consultant and author of a number of books and reports which have had and are having considerable impact. His work usually breaks new ground and opens up new understanding and is written in meaningful and easily understood language. Outstanding is that his work is generally accepted as factual, objective and unbiased.

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