Drucker on Totalitarianism and Salvation by Society | 誠品線上

杜拉克論極權主義與社會拯救

內容簡介

內容簡介 It permeated his beliefs about the empowerment of individuals, and the moral responsibility of organizations to empower the individuals within their sphere. This collection emphasizes the principles of human choice, dignity; self-worth; and society’s role to achieve these ends, within a fair and equitable system. It was based on this shared belief system that my father and Ming Lo Shao developed a warm friendship—a friendship nurtured and maintained, with mutual respect, for many years until my father’s passing in 2005. This collection demonstrates the timeliness of my father’s writings, and their applicability to some of the critical situations facing our world today, almost 90 years after they were first penned. The Drucker family thanks Ming Lo Shao for his work in creating this anthology, and for his dedication to keeping Drucker’s writings alive and relevant for a new generation. Joan Drucker Winstein Denver, Colorado, USA August, 2020 TO OUR READERS I have long wanted to compile a volume that brings together Peter Drucker’s discourses on totalitarianism and salvation by society to make them easily accessible to readers. Now the work has finally been completed. The book is comprised of selections from five of Peter Drucker’s works, The End of Economic Man, The Ecological Vision, Landmarks of Tomorrow, Adventures of a Bystander, and A Functioning Society. My job was to sort the content into nine chapters, draw up titles, and write related introductions to the chapters. Drucker’s reflections on and critiques of totalitarianism run through most of his works, but they are more focused and systematic in the five books mentioned above. Known as “the father of modern management”, Peter Drucker had a lifelong hatred of totalitarianism. He studied management because he felt that only the effective management of pluralistic social organizations—including non-profit organizations, industrial and commercial enterprises, and government agencies—could provide options or alternatives to resist totalitarian rule. Totalitarianism is an ugly phenomenon in human society and politics, and it is also a terrifying disease. It has caused more suffering to humankind than any other tyranny in history. What it seeks is to fully and thoroughly manipulate and control every individual, both in body and mind, turning humans not only into animals but also into machines and tools as well. Totalitarianism aims for absolute power, but no one except the Creator has such power. Hence, it manifests as a state of absurdity and madness in which “the movement (persecution) is everything, yet there is no purpose.” By its nature, totalitarianism cannot tolerate the existence of even a tiny bit of humanity. The Nazis’ “final solution” (genocide), the mass murder of Jews, is its logical result. Today, highly developed new technologies are also providing imaginative physical and psychological methods of manipulation, giving those with totalitarian ambitions the means to carry out a “final solution,” the extinction of unmankind (the extinction of human nature; that is, essentially exterminating the human species.) Totalitarianism is the result of the failure of “salvation by society”. History has repeatedly proven that any perfect, or nearly perfect society that claims to have no conflict, no class differences, complete fairness, justice, benevolence, and harmony, is a utopia. However, using society to eliminate evil in human nature, to save human beings from depravity, and transform them into perfect people, is merely a naïve fantasy. Marxism is the most recent, most rigorous, and most alluring social rescue plan but also the utmost failure at “salvation by society”. Today, political parties and nations still under the banner of Marxist communism or socialism have essentially sunken into totalitarianism. From the perspective of philosophy, “Salvation by society” belongs to the category of absolute rationalism. It originates from human beings’ pride and conceit, is the notion that people can grasp absolute truth and become the master of everything in the world, including their own destiny. Tracing their respective roots in different fields of knowledge, people regard their discoveries as the only correctness. They develop various “isms,” including progressivism, scientism, economic utilitarianism, rational liberalism, nationalism or ethnocentrism, and socialism and communism. These doctrines may be impeccable logically, and some are emotionally moving. But they all have an a priori hypothesis that cannot be empirically proven or falsified—that is, human beings can be absolutely rational and can comprehend absolute truth. Now we finally know this priori hypothesis is wrong, not because of logic’s merits or demerits, but because it simply doesn’t work in real life. So, where is the way out? Peter Drucker suggested that we return to spiritual values and faith: to experience and recognize there is a higher authority beyond society and above human beings. That authority has already planted compassion and justice in human’s hearts, what we usually call “conscience.” If humans indeed have a purely rational nature, conscience is its master. With conscience derived from faith, rationality can perform its beneficial functions. Like the conservatism’s counterrevolutionary movement that took place in the United States and Great Britain more than two hundred years ago, it shines with the glory of true freedom and genuine rationality: Those movements were constructive, not destructive; they appealed to the love, faith, and humility of Christ. Based on religious conviction, they firmly rejected human’s absolute rationality, or irrational absolutism, and were solemnly committed to human dignity. Peter Drucker inherited the tradition of the conservatism’s counterrevolution in the United States and Great Britain. Inspired by observing social and political realities in the United States, he formed a social concept that differs from a social rescue plan (salvation by society): lesser evils instead of greater good. Although imperfect, it would create a less painful and tolerable society. Such a society should have the following characteristics: 1. It would replace solipsistic “isms” with an open and tolerant attitude. 2. It would replace centralized and uniform structures with diversified social organization and decentralized power centers. 3. It would replace revolutionary dogma with experimental, gradual improvement and review from time to time. 4. It would replace the rigid social relationship that mutually exclude and negate between individual and the whole, or between the different parts of the society, with the principle of mutual dependence and mutual benefit to establish a dynamic equilibrium between the individuals and society, freedom and order. Such a society would not follow a preset scientific design, nor would it need to rely on charismatic leaders or supermen. It would not be perfect, but it would be better and achievable. It should be emphasized that Drucker’s openness, tolerance, diversity, and eclecticism are not without a bottom line. The bottom line is that he will never tolerate any form of totalitarian autocracy. Drucker noted that human beings have two essential qualities that other creatures don’t have—knowledge and power. These attributes can neither be removed nor avoided, and their aims and uses must be regulated and restricted. He was wary of sovereign states and modern governments. He believed that regardless of whether they adopted a democratic system or an autocratic system, they were essentially the same but only different in extent, to which they infringed on individual rights and freedoms. Therefore, within every sovereign state and modern government, there exists a gene for the growth of totalitarianism. When any nation abuses its knowledge and power to violate human rights, the international community must restrict or even deprive it of its sovereignty. However, Drucker believed that thus far, the United States may be the only country that has never entirely accepted the concept and system of a sovereign state. Therefore, as the leader of the free world and developed countries in the West, the United States is best suited to be the first to serve as a model for global actions to resist totalitarianism. Constructive frontiers of work are more important and decisive than confrontations in the military sphere. Such frontiers are not found in the East, where totalitarianism is firmly rooted and far-reaching, but in the free world, especially in the West, where the U.S. has an advantage. These “West” frontiers are: • the educated society; • the world economy of dynamic development; • the new political concepts and institutions needed in this pluralist age, internationally, nationally and locally; and civilizations that can take the place of the East that has vanished. Ultimately, when the “West” constructive endeavors bring forth the tolerable new society that Ducker envisioned, restoring confidence in freedom and equality, totalitarianism will evaporate just as the sun rises and the dew will naturally be disappeared, losing its deceptive magic. For those who are not free today, who unfortunately live under totalitarian rule or in totalitarian revolutionary movements, Drucker offers advice on how to deal with the environment based on his personal experiences in Europe as a teenager. The first is what not to do. Power has the potential for absolute and comprehensive control, and human nature is weak, unable to withstand the threats and temptations of power, let alone face the opening of “Pandora’sBox”—totalitarianism.

作者介紹

作者介紹 Peter F. DruckerFOREWORD ON BEHALF OF THE AUTHORIf the author of this book, Peter Drucker, were still alive, faced with the reality of the current rifts in American politics and society, I believe he would warn and advise us all, particularly the young and enthusiastic among us, with the following words from the preface of The End of Economic Man, reprinted in 1969: But can we still be sure? Or are there not signs around us that totalitarianism may re-infest us, may indeed overwhelm us again? The problems of our times are very different from those of the ’twenties and ’thirties, and so are our realities. But some of our reactions to these problems are ominously reminiscent of the “despair of the masses” that plunged Europe into Hitler’stotalitarianism and into World War II. In their behavior some groups—they racists, white and black, but also some of the student “activists” on the so-called Left—are frighteninglyreminiscent of Hitler’s stormtroopers—in their refusal to grant any rights, free speech for instance, to anyone else; in their use of character assassination; in their joy in destruction and vandalism.In their rhetoric these groups are odiously similar to Hitler’s speeches and so is the dreary nihilism of their prophets to hatred from Mao to Marcus. But above all, these groups on the “Right” as well as on the “Left,” like the totalitarians of the generation ago, believe that to say “no” is a positive policy; that to have compassion is to be weak; and that to manipulate idealism for the pursuit of power is to be “idealistic.” They have not learned the one great lesson of our recent past: hatred is no answer to despair. Understanding of the dynamics of the totalitarianism of yesterday may help us better to understand today and to prevent a recurrence of yesterday. It may, I hope above all, help young people today to turn their idealism, their genuine distress over the horrors of this world, and their desire for a better and braver tomorrow into constructive action for, rather than into totalitarian nihilism as their predecessors did thirty years ago. For at the end of this road there could only be another Hitler and another “ultimate solution” with its gas chambers and extermination camps.Those words not only embody the book’s practical significance today but also the historical importance it will have in the future. Editor November 2, 2020, American Presidential Election Eve Los Angeles, USA

產品目錄

產品目錄 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE PREFACE TO OUR READERS FOREWORD ON BEHALF OF THE AUTHOR CHAPTER ONE The Morbid Phenomena of Totalitarian Countries Introduction 1 The Totalitarian Economic System and the “Noneconomic Society” 2 By Justifying Personal Sacrifice to Deny the Meaning of Life and Society 3 Create Enemies and Incite Hatred Between Classes, Races, and Nations 4 Control the Entire Country and Society by One Top-to-bottom Totalitarian Organization 5 Mystifying Leader, Creating an Atmosphere of Personal Worship 6 Encourage Informers and Undermine Traditional Ethical Values CHAPTER TWO The Origins and Essence of Totalitarianism from the Prospective of Society and Politics Introduction 1 The Total Failure of Marxism Had Been a Main Reason for the Europe’s Masses to Supported Totalitarianism 2 Why Can Totalitarianism Win the Support of the Masses? 3 No Revolutionary Leader Can Oppose the Inner Dynamic of the Revolution or Impose Measures That Go Against Public Opinion CHAPTER THREE Totalitarianism Inevitably be Replaced by a New Noneconomic Society Based on Individual Freedom and Equality Introduction CHAPTER FOUR The Origins and Essence of Totalitarianism from the Perspective of Rationality and Faith Introduction 1 From Rousseau to Hitler 2 Why Society Is Not Enough: Introduction to The Unfashionable Kierkegaard 3 The Unfashionable Kierkegaard CHAPTER FIVE The Origins and Essence of Totalitarianism from the Perspective of Technology Progress Introduction Abstraction Part One of The Human Situation Today CHAPTER SIX Criticism of Marxism Introduction 1 How Did Marxist “Political Economics” Be Debunked? 2 Marxism’s Failure CHAPTER SEVEN Do We Want “Salvation by Society” or a Society That Is Not Perfect but Tolerable? Introduction 1 No More Salvation by Society 2 A Society that May Be the Best We Can Possibly Hope For CHAPTER EIGHT The Free World’s “West” Strategy to Resist Totalitarianism Introduction 1 “The Work to Be Done”—The Overview of the “West” Strategy 2 Discussion on the Frontiers of “West” Strategy CHAPTER NINE How Should Individuals Deal with the Threat and Temptation of Totalitarianism? Introduction 1 The Maverick Young Drucker 2 The Monster and the Lamb 3 Abstraction Part Two of The Human Situation Today

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PREFACE
Peter Drucker was a friend and advisor to me during my leadership years at ServiceMaster. Minglo Shao has become a very special friend of mine. We first met as he became a partner of ServiceMaster, assisting us in expanding our business to China and other countries in the Far East. I later had the privilege of introducing him to Peter Drucker, and the two
of them developed a good friendship which extended over the balance of Peter’s life.
Minglo Shao has now developed an abstract of Drucker’s writings reflecting Drucker’s view on “totalitarianism and salvation by society.” As you read this, it is well to reflect upon the application of these thoughts—especially to the young people of today—providing appropriate warnings and excellent advice.
Thank you, Minglo, for the example of your life and your continued friendship.
C. William Pollard
November 2, 2020 American Presidential Election Eve
Chicago, Illinois, USA

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2 By Justifying Personal Sacrifice to Deny the Meaning of Life and Society
The consistent new concept of society which totalitarianism proclaims is nothing but a mirage unless war is accepted not only as legitimate but as supreme. Man’s function and his place in war must lay the basis of his function and place in society altogether. Hitler’s and Mussolini’s entire social and political edifices are necessarily built upon Heroic Man as the concept of man’s true nature.
* * * * *
The anonymous soldier in the trenches, the equally anonymous worker on the assembly line, are fundamental symbols of this new concept of man. And Ernst Juenger, the one really profound German philosopher of the totalitarian state, has therefore consciously based his new society
upon the figure of the Worker-Soldier; physical pain and the ability to endure it are the basis of his new order of values.
* * * * *
The central theory of the fascist concept of Heroic Man is the selfjustification of personal sacrifice—one of the oldest and most deeplyrooted ritual concepts of mankind, which has always been used to placate or to banish demonic forces.
* * * * *
Only through the sublimation of a senseless immolation into a magical offering can the very elements of irrational warfare be rationalized again. The isolation of the individual in machine war, the anonymity of his sacrifice, and the blind arbitrary rule of fate appear as ends in themselves
in the self-justification of individual sacrifice.
It is a common and stupid mistake to look at this exaltation of sacrifice in totalitarianism as mere hypocrisy, self-deception, or a propaganda stunt. It grew out of deepest despair. Just as nihilism in the Russia of 1880 attracted the noblest and bravest of the young people, so in Germany
and Italy it was the best, not the worst, representatives of the postwar generation who refused to compromise with a world that had no genuine values worth dying for and no valid creed worth living for. And like the Nihilists the Fascists believe with religious fervor, genuine conviction, and
complete unselfishness in the self-justification of sacrifice. In the whole Nazi movement there are probably no men more sincere than those few Elite Guardists who have foresworn the will to live and have mastered death by their readiness to sacrifice themselves. All the others are just
camp followers, “Sunday Nazis,” as they are contemptuously called by the radicals who believe fervently in the sacrifice.
* * * * *
From a moral point of view the concept of Heroic Man might therefore appear valid, as it might give purport and sense to the individual. But it cannot give purport and sense to society. Because it denies life, the self-justification of sacrifice not only denies but destroys society. To live dangerously may be all right for the individual; but a society has, above all, to live continuously, and that means safely. If the individual finds his satisfaction and his fulfillment in suicide, then society can have no
meaning at all. And anarchy must appear to be the only legitimate form of social existence.
It is this inner conflict that has foiled the fascist attempt to create a new order. Totalitarianism can banish the demon of unemployment and it can restore the rationality of war for the individual. But it cannot effect this rationalization without making society appear irrational and senseless.
It cannot perform its miracle. The inability of fascist ideology to extend the restoration of the
rationality of war into the social sphere attests this failure.
(The End of Economic Man, 1995, pp.190-193)

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最佳賣點 : PREFACE
My father’s escape from—and opposition to—totalitarianism dominated much of his writing.

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