Since time immemorial socialism has been a pinnacle of many societies and which gradually precipitated to the formation of the today’s society. The story of the naricema tribe succinctly illustrates how communities lived according to their set beliefs and customs. It showed how beliefs connect with faith and also with their destiny. The tribe believed in masochistic practices to be defined as being ritually pure.
Encyclopedists were among of the revolutionary thinkers of the twentieth century who have advocated for equality of the less privileged or poor as they are regarded in the society. The beliefs and values system in a society dictates how the less are treated in the society. Like the case of the naricema tribes group which were deeply entrenched in the culture and norms. A society moral fiber dictates how they perceive and accommodate each other. The naricema tribe had their values deeply rooted in a communal affair and even there was different social class, they all had a unifying factor which bonded them.
The naricema tribes were known for practicing exorcism which also incorporated masochistic beliefs; they subscribed to the belief of self-inflicted pain for ritual gratification in order to be cleansed from diseases and any other malady which they believed were as a result of the body being predisposed to evil spirits. The evil spirits were linked to the impure state of the body and therefore it was paramount that every family to build or own a shrine.
The present modern society is a culmination of years of self-seeking, egocentric and capitalistic society we embraced and ushered in centuries ago. Capitalism has morally crippled our institutions and our society at large. Waking up to banks and other custodians of public investments and securities filing for bankruptcy amidst mysterious disappearance of funds or money. This clearly shows how capitalism has led to greed and corruption. The advent of capitalism has seen the society widely divided, same is our institutions which are mandated to serve each and everyone equally and with fairness.
Socialism unlike capitalism was a system which harmonized a community together and which saw equitable production and distribution of resources and thus could have brought in a fair and just society. It could have churned out individuals of good character and high moral grounds. The story of a letter to a young lady in Paris synchronizes well with the today’s modern society which has placed a lot of attention in material possession and physical appearance.
The results of this are erosion of our moral fabric as today’s life is fast-paced with each individual’s pursuing materials things for gratification. Just like the naricema tribe of the Canada Cree region, the pursuit for material possession has its fair share of deprivation. The deprivation which most of the times has far-reaching implications. The deprivation includes void of true happiness and feeling of contentment. This explains why incidents of suicide, divorce or a home falling apart, abuse of substances among other vices.
Material possession just like the painful ritual can be classified as a form of emotional and spiritual cult because most of the pursuits of it are never satisfied or content. It is usually affects people subconsciously which consciously leads to one trading his or her values or dead conscience for the glory of possessing it or them at all cost, be it legal or illegal.
Socialism and those who subscribe to it or in other words socialist have always questioned the present institutions including governments, the church as one of the protagonists of the economical and social degradation. The twentieth century socialists such as William Morris of England and Francois Marie Charles Fourier firmly believed in freedom, happiness and beauty other than material wealth. Through their school of thought, they believed in equal production and distribution of everything, for a just and equitable society.
Our society places pressure, mainly through the influence of the media. Our media is consumption-driven. This has resulted to people being duped into debts, as everyone is trying to keep up with the latest in fashion or electronic craze. Cases of people spending money they don’t have are rampant and widespread. This type of individuals witnessed the full wrath of tough times or roars during the economic downturn of the year 2007 and 2008 respectively.
Material possession has contributed to the emotional and spiritual void which is never filled or satisfied with material wealth. It has led to the degradation of the moral conduct of individuals and that is why in the recent decades has witnessed unprecedented gap between the rich and the poor in today’s society. The government together with its institution has contributed to the moral menace we are experiencing today.
A society at crossroads with its morals as a conflict of between the embracing of modernism and discerning traditional values. The social changes depicted by the nacirema tribe demonstrated how communal application of values which had cemented their moral structures, had a profound effect on their aggregation as a community.
