Can the cultivation of the seven classical virtues be a strategy against cunning autocrats and demagogues?

As a young aid worker, I witnessed the devastation that followed the Rwandan genocide in 1994. This heartbreaking experience left me with a serious question: How can we build an inner resilience against agitators who make people lose both compassion and reason?

There is an ancient and proven strategy: the seven classical virtues (faith, hope, love, wisdom, justice, moderation, courage). They are very well chosen because they touch the human soul in exactly the right places.

Learn the classic way to defeat demagogic politicians!

1. Courage – Avoid the Path to the Dark Side

We live in a world torn apart by strong passions. Hate and fear are spread online on a massive scale. Debates have become trench warfare, with people hurling insults at each other.

Consider this quote from a famous film character. Yoda in Star Wars said:

It is, of course, important to be able to feel fear and anger. It could be a matter of survival. Anger can be an important driving force in some situations. But there is a risk.  

• Fear can create delusions.
• Anger can create tunnel vision.
• Hatred can create blindness.

Fear can stir up emotions that cloud judgement and prevent us from thinking clearly. Courage means not allowing fear to rule over reason.

The small, slightly frightening challenges of everyday life can be a healthy exercise in courage. It is about learning to keep a cool head in order to see more clearly. It is not always easy, but it is something you can work on. This is the first line of defence against ‘the dark side‘.

2. Justice – Resist the Temptations of Power

What can drive people to commit acts of violence such as the genocide in Rwanda? I think it was the intoxicating feeling of power. It was evil on an extreme level, but we must not think that we are immune to this. Even we must learn to recognise this emotion.

We must realise that the unchecked exercise of power can be very thrilling. ”If you have power, you can do anything you want” – this is an exciting fantasy that fuels all sorts of twisted ideas, both among leaders and ordinary people.

To counteract this, we need the virtue of justice, or "just-mindedness". It is about being principled and resisting the temptations of power. Might does not make right. In conflict, it is important to follow the laws of war. In our daily lives, we exert a greater or lesser degree of power, whether we are aware of it or not. It's crucial to exercise self-restraint and self-control. Not everything that can be done should be done.

3. Love – Avoid Getting Caught in the Poison Trap

Why is social media so often anti-social? Why are the posts so full of mockery, abuse and petty nastiness? I think the answer is quite simple: Being nasty and mean can be a pleasure.

You laugh and make fun of others because it's amusing. You take pleasure in others' misfortune. Even the feeling of being wronged can become a wicked pleasure. It can provide an excuse to lash out in lustful anger.

This is often the case, but not always. There are bad things that can feel good, for example: the pleasure of being mean, the desire to judge, the sweetness of revenge, the intoxication of power. Is there anyone among us who is completely free of this and who never deceives himself?

Hatred and contempt can be alluring but deeply deceptive emotions. They are "sweet-tasting poisons". They may feel good, but they damage the soul and weaken reason. They inflate the ego and give a false sense of superiority and intelligence. Many are attracted to the “dark side” because it is fun and entertaining.

It's easy to get caught in a trap. We like toxic emotions because they feel pleasant. And we're reluctant to admit this mistake because it feels embarrassing. It's a bit like being stuck in a drug addiction.

There are traditions that have a brilliant way out of the trap: unconditional love as a spiritual life force. Divine Love is like the sun illuminating the dark corners of the soul, but without creating fear. It gives courage for self-examination and self-knowledge.

When we have the courage to examine ourselves, everything appears in a new light. We are liberated from a dangerous delusion: the belief in our own moral superiority and excellence. Complacency and self-righteousness block the way to grow and develop as a human being.

4. Faith – Avoid Forcing the World to Fit Into a Mould

False conspiracy theories often become popular and spread like a virus. They are created by carelessly piecing together a picture of reality. With stubbornness and poor judgement, you can create any image you like. You begin with the image you want to see – and adapt the pieces accordingly.

To get the puzzle right, you need to realise that you can think wrong sometimes. But admitting this can be painful and embarrassing.

It's flattering to think you have a sharp mind that can spot patterns that reveal hidden secrets. Distrusting experts and scientists makes you feel incredibly clever. What they say is rejected with a superior sneer. They become smaller and you become bigger.

Scientists are not perfect, so it can sometimes be justified to be sceptical. But there is an unhealthy and pathological form of mistrust that comes from fear and low self-esteem. Such mistrust inflates a false self-confidence, like an empty balloon.

Trust is a life force and a cure for such pathological mistrust. According to many traditions, there is a Higher Power (God) over which we have no control. Faith then becomes a spiritual exercise in giving up control, an exercise in trust. Trusting faith is like a leap into the unknown. It means accepting that there are things bigger than us and beyond our understanding.

If you have a great need for 'mental control', you will try to cram and force-fit the world to fit the capacity of your brain. The mere suggestion that there are things beyond your understanding becomes offensive. It becomes a bruise on the ego to think that there are scientists who are smarter than you.

With trusting faith, this discomfort disappears. It frees us from the need for mental control. It becomes easier to accept that there are things greater than ourselves and that our understanding is limited. Most importantly, it gives us the strength to acknowledge that we are not infallible and that we can be wrong.

The seven classical virtues. 

The worlds of faith and reason.

5. Wisdom – Avoid the Follies of Stubborn Certainty

The feeling of absolute certainty is often no more than that: a feeling. It is rarely the product of a keen intellect. Not only that. Stubborn certainty is often reinforced by ignorance. The less you understand, the more entrenched you become in your beliefs. This tendency is exacerbated by information bubbles, where prejudices are always confirmed and never challenged.

To get out of this trap, we need to broaden our horizons and explore the world. One way is to meet people from other cultures and countries. Another is to learn about other eras by studying history. The collective experience of humanity is a vast source of knowledge.

When horizons are broadened, a new feeling arises: there is much we do not know. Socrates said that wisdom begins with recognising and admitting our ignorance. This insight makes it easier to put the pieces of life's puzzle together more wisely.

6. Moderation – Avoid Being Drawn to Extremes

Solving the problems of our time requires common sense and good judgement. This is known as practical wisdom. The polarised debate undermines this. This is because many people are drawn to extremes and hold unbalanced views.

Practical wisdom, according to Aristotle, is related to moderation. We often need to find the golden mean and not go too far in either direction. In decision-making situations, it is important not to overreact or underreact.

Sometimes we need to take a clear stand on an issue. But very often we have to find the right balance between two opposing poles. For example:

• Idealism and realism.
• Unity and diversity.
• Collectivism and individualism.
• Order and freedom.

It's about being able to hold together a complex reality – to be able to integrate.

7. Hope – Avoid Cynicism and the Appetite for Chaos

The gloomy state of the world makes it tempting to become cynical. It provides temporary relief and protects us from disappointment. But cynicism can also sap our vitality and deaden our spirit. We lose patience with the slow and painstaking work of improving things in small steps. It tempts us to join forces that tear down rather than build up. Cynicism can create an ‘appetite for chaos’. 

What is the antidote to such destructive cynicism? Naïve optimism and rosy view of the world is fragile and easily shattered by events. Hope, on the other hand, has a spiritual quality that is stronger and deeper. It is a life force that is "not of this world" and transcends the limitations of reality. It is relatively independent of life's ups and downs and is a source of strength even when the future looks bleak.

The anti-Nazi resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer described it as “a living force, a power to hope where others give up, a power to hold one’s head up high where everything seems to fail, a power to bear setbacks, a power that does not leave the future to the pessimist but claims it for hope.”

Time for resistance

Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor in Germany. When the Nazis came to power in the 1930s, he inspired young people to build spiritual resilience and equip them to resist these dark forces. People with faith like his can be the inspiration we need today.

We too live in dangerous times. Autho­ritarian leaders become popular by whipping up hatred and wrecking societies. They make the ‘dark side‘ thrilling and enter­taining. Emotions run high. We should not panic, for fear can lead us down the same dangerous path. ‘Soul-poisoning‘ hinders personal growth and develop­ment.

Let’s counter fear with courage, the allure of power with just-mindedness, dehuman­isation with love, inflated self-confidence with trusting faith, narrow­minded­ness with wisdom, extremism with mode­ration, and cynicism with hope. The seven classical virtues are spiritual dynamite that undermine the power of demagogues!