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Critical consciousness against Armageddon: The end of capitalism vs. the end of time

In The Muqaddimah Muhammad Ibn Khaldun (2015) [1337] explains the rise and fall of ancient civilisations such as Persian and Byzantine empires. According to Khaldoun, empires are founded when nomadic tribes settle in one place. As they build their civilisations and cities, however, decadence kicks in. While they construct their churches and palaces, and while they write their books and poems, city dwellers slowly but surely lose their barbaric strength and vitality. Attracted by empire’s wealth, new barbarians attack its borders. At first, the new empire easily defends itself from these attacks. As empire’s citizens dive into decadence, however, sooner or later a new tribe becomes strong enough to conquer empire’s armies, murder its leaders, burn its cities, and build its own empire. As the new tribe settles in, and as the new empire grows, its citizens turn into city dwellers and become weaker and weaker. After several centuries, the new empire becomes too decadent and gets destroyed by a new generation of barbarians – and the cycle starts again. For Muhammad Ibn Khaldoun, universal history of humankind is “the endless repetition of political power passing between the desert nomads and the city dwellers” (Jandrić, 2017: 91). With different variations, “a cyclical concept of time and theology” is characteristic for many non- Abrahamic religions (Peters, 2019).

Critical consciousness, capitalism, time

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