Bernard Shaw's Remarkable Religion: A Faith That Fits the Facts

Catching Up with Shaw 241
rialists in their quest to “reduce” the attributes of mind to the physical
laws of matter: they seek a certain simplicity, elegance, order, and harmony
in the world. That was probably not the deciding factor for Shaw; he just
observed that most people had consciences that could be touched and
roused, just as Barbara wakes Bill Walker’s stultified soul by gentle yet
insistent prodding. Fear and hatred are not the enemies of the Life Force,
merely part of its defensive posture when under attack. Selfishness is only
the result of the Life Force needing to satisfy the individual before that
single consciousness can expand to an awareness beyond itself.
Of course, observation is apt to lead one to a monistic view of the moral
universe only if one is endowed with the abnormally normal eyesight of a
realist. When one can see the masks of idealism for what they are, it is easy
to see how often they justify evil by disguising it as good. The diabolical
engines and stakes of the Inquisition performed their evil in the name of
religion and morality. The scientific materialists who see so easily through
the wicked illusions of traditional religion are blind to the pernicious effects
of their own ideals. The Nazi Holocaust, which Shaw almost predicted
but could not see when it arrived, was arguably made possible by the perverted
ideals of Social Darwinism—ideals that still thrive. The Nazi use of
“eugenics” as an ideal to justify atrocity has caused the word to become so
saturated in its evil association that it has become difficult to talk sensibly
about the subject; it continues to be regarded idealistically, but now it is a
negative, not a positive idol. And Shaw, who vehemently denounced the
Social Darwinism that made Nazi eugenics such an effective shield for evil,
is chastised for talking about eugenics without horror, although all he ever
recommended was that the Life Force be allowed as much scope and freedom
as possible to guide our breeding. Idealism clouds our thinking today
as much as ever.
One of the effects of idealism is to allow us to worship an idea without
the responsibility or inconvenience of practicing it. Shaw was, and is,
deemed an impossible eccentric for treating two ancient ideals as practical
programs for social organization: human equality and Christian charity.
Suggest as Shaw did that a college professor and a janitor should be paid
equally and you will be assumed to be joking. Many will not bother to
argue with you; they simply “know” you are wrong. Yet point out that
hierarchy has the advantage of having been thoroughly tried and tested,
while equality remains only a sentimental hypothesis—that we know hierarchy
works but equality is nothing but emotional dogma—and you will
provoke shock or outrage. As for the Christian proposal to cure evil with