Written by: Julie Dodge on January 17, 2014

When I saw the title of this book I got so excited: Modern Social Imaginaries[1]! I imagined in my little mind a gathering of great thinkers and innovators; people who imagine the amazing. And then I came to learn that the term modern was of course a reference to the time period of modernists (preceding post-modern, of course).  “Social imaginary” is an abstract construct referring to a collective notion of norms, ideas and images that defines or describes how a group of people (or better stated, society) sees itself functioning and fitting together. I became perhaps a bit deflated. And then frustrated. And then challenged.

Charles Taylor takes the reader on a crash course through history, to which he refers as “the long march”[2], in which western society is transformed from a collective, elitist society, to a society in which individuals are disembedded from the collective and the former understanding of elitism is discarded to support ideas of equality for every man. This process of social transformation creates a new moral order, or a new common understanding (social imaginary) for people about their practices and applications. In this new order, a new understanding of economy is developed in which people exchange goods and services for mutual benefit, as opposed to for the benefit of the ruling elite. The average person is able to enter into the public sphere, where common ideas and conversations can be held. Finally, instead of elitist or sovereign rule, the common man engages in self governance. This long march occurs throughout the course of the 17^th and 18^th centuries, and primarily impacts western society (Europe and North America).

As I read Taylor, I was continuously challenged by the single focus of the discussion. Appropriately, and yet frustratingly, Taylor remained focused on western society, and did not even begin to address the impact of the western modern imaginary on the rest of the world. At the same time that Europe and North America were re-defining themselves through revolution and discourse, the western moderns were colonizing South America, Asia, Africa and Australia. I came to wonder about the results. In Europe and North America, there were revolutions that rejected sovereign rule. At the same time, these same countries of revolution were asserting sovereign rule over other peoples. As the modern westerns began to identify as individuals and equals, they imposed themselves on collective societies and rejected equality in their colonized subjects. They were enslaved, deprived of resources, and treated as uncivilized and less than human.

So I decided to go back to the beginning.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He created man in his own image… male and female he created them… And they were both naked and unashamed. (Genesis 1:1, 27, 2:25). They were naked and unashamed. This phrase catches me because those first two people were innocent before God. They lived in relationship with God, in awe of who He was and conversed with Him as though it were normal. Because it WAS normal. Until they were tempted by a new idea. That they might be like God (though they already were made in His image). They suddenly became aware of their nakedness and covered themselves before God. This, in my opinion, is the beginning of the long march. The two became many people. As they became many they continued to cover themselves before God and think that they could create an order that was better.

It was not better.

God in His mercy has always tried to help us live in a social imaginary that is grounded in His principles of love, mercy, awe, and justice. When God prepared the people of Israel to take possession of the land that He had promised, He described a new social imaginary. He told them to love Him. He talked with them about impartiality, justice, love in action, and shared distribution of resources for the benefit of all (Deuteronomy 10:12-122). But man, in His stubborn ways, continued to create his own ways. Kings, queens, Pharaohs, Caesars… sovereign rule. Anyone who was not of the elite ruling class was relatively powerless.

When Jesus came to restore man to right relationship with God, He said that we would be known by our love for one another. We would be different from other societal structures because our structure would be grounded and formed in God’s love. I often wonder why that is such a radical concept. It seems right, but because man as society continues to fail to recognize our nakedness and our frailty, we govern with pride and power.

I live in a post-modern world.  In the post-modern world we challenge the ideas of modernism, yet we are shaped by it as well. The fallout is great. The social imaginary of the western modern world was one in which individuals were raised out of the collective and the moral order was idealized so that the economy was for mutual benefit (not the benefit of the elite), all men could engage in discourse via the public sphere, and all men could be a part of self governance. Yet this ideal was only realized by a few: the gentlemen of the day. It was denied still to women, slaves, indigenous peoples, and the conquered lands. Its implementation was incomplete.

In the post modern world, the modern ideals are set aside because they were not fairly practiced. The result became, more and more, that a few gained power and privilege, while the majority did not. A new sovereign rule has developed via the economy. The moral order lacks love, justice, mercy and, for lack of a better description, God.

I have written this post three times. I have struggled to summarize my thoughts, because as I read Taylor’s work I was only reminded of the fallen nature of man and our world. I got angry on multiple occasions. I see inequality in every sphere of society. In the United States in our treatment of indigenous peoples, immigrants, women, people in poverty, and anyone who is not of the privileged majority. Globally I see inequality through global economic practices, human rights violations, and continued slavery. I do not see the social imaginary of the modern ideal.

But still I have hope, because I find that I must… MUST  put my trust in God. I dream of a social imaginary in which we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and submit to His sovereign rule. In that paradoxical biblical way, I believe that in submission to God we gain freedom. I believe that there is then equality for people individually and collectively. But I remain frustrated because our world is fallen and does not submit to God. We are not governed by God’s principles of love, justice and mercy. It is people and society with whom I struggle. Fallen, messy, beautiful, fearful, cruel and amazing people. Made in God’s image. Loved by Him in ways that I cannot even fathom.

So I guess that I will follow His lead.

About the Author

Julie Dodge

Julie loves coffee and warm summer days. She is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Concordia University, Portland, a consultant for non-profit organizations, and a leader at The Trinity Project.