Great Construction

Isms

　　The motivation for the various ideologies and movements in the world that aim to accomplish a certain purpose usually have -ism attached to their name. Some of these isms enjoy a certain amount of success, but in the end, they fail and disappear. This phenomenon deserves attention.
　　Ideologies are always based upon a contrast. Because opposition always exists between friend and foe, conflict breaks out easily. The result is a victory for one and a defeat for the other. Even when one side predominates definitely, to oppose it, a new ideology will rise, so the strife never ends. The modern age is witness to the continual progression of the birth and disappearance of isms. The number is truly countless, but to name just a few, imperialism, autocracy, totalitarianism, capitalism, communism, socialism, liberalism, democracy, conservatism, progressivism, individualism, positivism, and nihilism. Ideologies are limiting, exclusive, with an exaggerated sense of self worth. Because they focus only on the interests of their own nation, class, or group, they inevitably give rise to strife.
　　If eternal peace is to truly flourish in our world, there must appear something that differs from the ideologies we have so far seen. This something must be universal and it must be altruistic. These terms appear to describe the idea of a world federation and Moral Re-Armament that have recently gained much ground in the United States. As such, they have the same goal as our movement, advancing the birth of a paradise on earth.

　

Essays on Faith (Shinkô Zatsuwa), September 5, 1948, page 48.
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