Madness and Civilization

 

The 16th Century Dancing Mania

Nietzsche wisely sad that madness, while rare in individuals, is common in groups. Madness is hard to sustain as an individual alone; but if everyone around you is saying the same insane thing, it gets easier.

Having lived in several countries, it seems to me that most nations are collectively mad. South Korea is quite mad. The US may be as mad or madder. The UK, despite seeing themselves as the home of common sense, is barking mad. Germany has a history of going mad, as does the Netherlands, and Japan. China is insane. It is hard to judge, because it is my own country, but I think Canada is maddest of all. 

That is, in each of these countries, a majority of people believe or claim to believe things that are pretty obviously not true. And get agitated if the delusion is challenged. And look for scapegoats.

What country is the sanest? In my experience, the Philippines and Italy. You might object that Italy went mad under Mussolini, but did it? The government went mad, especially later, under the influence of Hitler; it is not clear to me that the average Italian took that government seriously. The Irish in Canada or the US seems saner than the rest of the population; I do not know if the same holds for the Irish in Ireland. The Poles seem sane. I may be missing some entirely sane nations just through lack of experience.

The Arab countries are saner than the US or Canada, at least, but not sane.

It looks as though being Catholic might have something to do with it. On the other hand, this does not seem to have preserved the French, who are batty.

Perhaps one needs to be more than nominally Catholic. France has other influences, and historically flirted with Calvinism. Italy and the Philippines are more thoroughly culturally Catholic, and the Irish or Poles have Catholicism deeply embedded in their national self-image.

It fits with something Chesterton said: once you stop believing in God, you’re liable to believe in anything. The surest protection against madness is a solid and comprehensive religious faith. If solid, Catholicism is comprehensive. More comprehensive than Protestantism or Islam or Buddhism.

It also seems obvious that there is no relationship between sanity and economic development. This stands to reason. The most materialistic nations are likely to be most materially prosperous. But materialism is not a sane view of the world.

I do think there is a relationship between sanity and happiness. Or rather, “happiness” may be too ambiguous here. The link is more between sanity and serenity.