FITZEK SEBASTIAN SACRED AND POLITICAL POWER 26.07.

Sacrul şi puterea politică Sebastian FITZEK SACRED AND POLITICAL POWER Psychosocial approaches of collective imaginary SEBASTIAN FITZEK 2 Sacred and political power Sebastian FITZEK SACRED AND POLITICAL POWER Psychosocial approaches of collective imaginary 3 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Colecţia ŞTIINŢE PSIHO-SOCIALE Coordonatori: Prof. univ. dr. Mihaela TOMIŢĂ, CS I Simona Maria STĂNESCU Editat de Pro Universitaria SRL, editură cu prestigiu recunoscut. Editura Pro Universitaria este acreditată CNCS în domeniul Ştiinţelor Umaniste şi CNATDCU (lista A2-Panel 4) în domeniul Ştiinţelor Sociale. Copyright © 2022, Editura Pro Universitaria Toate drepturile asupra prezentei ediţii aparţin Editurii Pro Universitaria. Nicio parte din acest volum (fragment sau componentă grafică) nu poate fi copiată fără acordul scris al Editurii Pro Universitaria. Scientific referees: Prof. dr. Nicolae FRIGIOIU Prof. dr. Constantin SCHIFIRNEŢ Scientific translation and adaptation by: Cătălina Daniela FITZEK Graphics by: Cătălina Daniela FITZEK The book is an English translation of the book "Sacrul și puterea politică. Abordări psihosociale ale imaginarului colectiv" first published in November 2020 in Romanian by ProUniversitaria. 978-606-26-1602-1 https://www.doi.org/10.52744/978-606-26-1602-1 Redactor: Tehnoredactor: Copertă: Redacţie: tel.: 0732.320.664 e-mail: [email protected] Editura Pro Universitaria 4 Elena Onea Liviu Crăciun Aurelian Leahu Librăria UJmag: tel.: 0733.673.555; 021.312.22.21 e-mail: [email protected] ujmag.ro Ujmag.ro Sacred and political power About the author: Sebastian Fitzek (born 1981) is a University Lecturer at the Faculty of Communication and Public Relations (National School of Political and Administrative Studies) and Scientific Researcher III at the Institute for Quality of Life Research of the Romanian Academy. In December 2010 he obtained his PhD in Sociology at the West University of Timisoara, and in October 2015 he completed his postdoctoral studies in the framework of the “Pluri and interdisciplinarity in doctoral and postdoctoral programs” program, according to the information available here http://old.iccv.ro/node/475, project developed under the aegis of the Romanian Academy. The main areas of interest and research are: communication sciences, social sciences and political sciences. Over the last 15 years, together with the distinguished Professor Nicolae Frigioiu, he has coordinated several series of projects and research in the fields of political leadership, public image and political anthropology. Since 2014 he has been a member of the Research Centre of the Faculty of Communication and Public Relations (CCFCRP) in the Image and Identity Studies Lab. Sebastian Fitzek has authored and co-authored nationally and internationally scientifically indexed articles and chapters, participating in more than 50 national and international conferences by 2020. 5 SEBASTIAN FITZEK 6 Sacred and political power CONTENTS List of tables and figures ........................................................................ 9 Abbreviations list ................................................................................. 10 PREFACE ..................................................................................... 13 A word from the author to the reader ..........................................19 A brief introduction to the world of collective imaginary ..............22 CHAPTER I PSYCHOSOCIAL APPROACHES TO COLLECTIVE IMAGINARY ......... 27 CHAPTER II THE PSYCHIC UNIVERSE OF THE IMAGINARY ............................... 57 CHAPTER III POLYSEMANTISM OF THE SACRED ................................................ 93 CHAPTER IV SACRED IN THE FAIRYTALE IMAGINARY ...................................... 135 CHAPTER V THE SACREDNESS OF THE EMPEROR'S IMAGE IN BYZANTIUM .............................................................................. 145 CHAPTER VI THE SACRED AND POLITICAL POWER IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN ........ 151 CHAPTER VII SPECIFICITY OF SACRIFICE IN AZTEC SOCIETY .......................... 167 CHAPTER VIII POLITICAL POWER AND ITS FORMS ............................................. 187 CHAPTER IX THE LEGITIMACY OF POLITICAL POWER AND THE SACRED IN MODERN SOCIETY .................................................................... 227 CHAPTER X RELIGION AND POWER IN POST-DECEMBER ROMANIA .............. 247 7 SEBASTIAN FITZEK CHAPTER XI POLITICAL ELITES AND THE SACRED .......................................... 261 Final thoughts.................................................................................... 277 Bibliographic references ..................................................................... 281 8 Sacred and political power List of tables and figures Fig. 1. The relationship between individual subject, social subject and object Fig. 2. The three characteristics of mental representation Fig. 3. Phantasms as objects of the human imagination Fig. 4. The influence of decisions in Freudian theory; the impact of the unconscious upon the conscious Fig. 5. The supernatural in the fantastic imaginary Fig. 6. Fantastic antagonism in thought structuring at the unconscious level Fig. 7. Privilege and prestige in power equation Fig. 8. The pathology of power and influence in the absence of deontic authority Table 1. Leading elites according to societies and legitimacy types ……… 51 ……… 68 ……… 80 ……… 89 ……… ……… 135 138 ……… 233 ……… 234 ……… 271 9 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Abbreviations list NHAR CC CIR CP BES PC FCPR GTA QLRI IMP WHO CPR RCP RLP CDNPP SDP SSRM NSPAS TVB USSR USAID 10 National Historical Archives of Romania Central Committee Centre for Interethnic Research Communist Party Body - Emotion - Symbol Political correctness Faculty of Communication and Public Relations Grand Theft Auto Quality of Life Research Institute Institute of Marketing and Polling World Health Organization Communist Party of Romania Romanian Communist Party Romanian Labour Party Christian Democratic National Peasants Party Social Democratic Party Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova National School of Political and Administrative Studies Television Bureau of Advertising Union of Soviet Socialist Republics United States Agency for International Development Sacred and political power In memoriam to my father Viktor Fitzek 12 Sacred and political power PREFACE T his work' s emergence has a particular trajectory, in that it has been delayed several times. So far nothing unusual: busy editorial plans, bureaucracy, insolvencies. But less common is the fact that this postponement has come about as a result of religious respect for the written word, a desire for perfection, for self-improvement. All it took was a new theory, a new book, a new author, and each time, one of the sub-chapters of the work entered the field of new edits, as the author expresses: “I have learned from the patience of crawling snails, from the silence of the stones that support our footsteps, and from the seasons, I have observed how ideas intertwine at the whims of man.” (p. 21). Therefore, the work exhibits all the characteristics of the “first book syndrome”, wherein the desire to convey as much information as possible in a limited number of pages has given the work an ideational density in which often the layers overlap and reverberate. For example, the analysis of the sacred in ancient India and China, in medieval Japan, in preColumbian cultures, the very title of the work, all refer to social realities that are sometimes difficult to approach. However, the author manages to unite them in a cryptic denominator in the mysterious categorical relationship: the sacred and political power. Political power is dominant over other powers, while the sacred gives power the moral means of reproduction and legitimation. Moreover, addressing the topic of political power in the social sciences in general and in the political sciences in particular implies taking on a challenge, the consecration of an axiological principle, just as in literary criticism addressing the work of Eminescu, Shakespeare or Goethe implicitly means confirming the value. A good academic tradition, however, urges us to practice the biographical method in order to highlight connections between the 13 SEBASTIAN FITZEK artwork's domain and the author's life and to clarify certain moments and meanings. Like many others, Sebastian Fitzek has benefited from the democratisation of access to higher education, having graduated from the Faculty of Communication and Public Relations and the Faculty of Political Science at the National School of Political and Administrative Studies. A kind of adaptive radiation will be established quite quickly between the intellectual evolution of Mr. Sebastian Fitzek and the unprecedented dynamics in the development of the Faculty of Communication and Public Relations, in the sense that the emergence of new image knowledge branches will produce deep echoes in the soul of the young researcher, opening new scientific horizons. Another stage in his professional development is the Doctoral School at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work from Bucharest, where renowned national and international specialists (such as Professors Elena Zamfir and Cătălin Zamfir) introduce him to scientific research methodology and sociological theories. The work’s architecture consists of two resistance structures: the collective imaginary analysed from a psychosocial perspective and the bonds between the sacred and political power, approached from a hermeneutical and phenomenological perspective. The value of the work will be given by the answer to the question: who and what unites these two structures? The sacred or the collective imaginary: social representations or facets of power? With a solid theological, politologycal, sociological and philosophical background, the author analyses, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the stratification of the political imaginary throughout history and the perpetuation of the images that give it vitality and resistance. As is only natural, the collective imaginary, religious beliefs and representations have proved their usefulness in addressing the sacred and power relations. The transcendent nature of power relations asserted itself to the primitive man as beyond the concrete and immediate horizon of his daily life. Conceiving these relations as something granted, independent of his action on nature and on himself, the archaic man has quite quickly forged an explanatory system of this mysterious and ambiguous phenomenon which is power. More 14 Sacred and political power precisely, aware of his image as a weak and helpless being, the man projected his desires into a world of models, of divinities that represent forces capable of guiding and protecting him. The sacred origin of power stems from the mythical foundation of the world and runs like a red thread through mythologies, fact attested by the genealogy of fundamental political figures or institutions as well as by the divine origin of the founders. From this transcendent horizon of power relations, the sacred has been transmitted into politics in the form of truths that are unacceptable to common understanding through the mediation of political institutions and leaders. The explicit appeal to the model of a divine order is doubled by a founding reference to unacceptable realities and truths revealed through the mediation of interpretations authorised by power displays. The sacredness of power also derives from the fact that it reduces fear of a future which societies are unable to face alone. The mysterious nature of the origin of power presents the same phenomenology as the manifestation of the sacred; something that man can neither dispose of, nor touch, nor name, nor enjoy without an initiatory experience and purifying training. The two features through which the sacred is manifested: human sacrifice and divine sacrifice are reiterated in society through the symbolic mediation of power and the authority of the right to rule. Power thus remains, as the author points out, a reference to the sacred for those who exercise it, semantically unchanged for those who accept it and threatening for those who reject it. The second part, which is application-oriented, deals with the relationship between the sacred and political power by studying myths and political rituals. Myth reveals the presence of the sacred in the world and suggests the correspondence between the hidden order and the real order, preserving from history only those events and characters which, because of their exemplary nature, can serve as models or archetypes. In particular, origin myths have as their central theme the overcoming of the forces of chaos and the beginning of earthly order. In these myths there is a cosmic struggle between life and death, between light and darkness, good and evil, an area of permanent primordial conflict that continues in nature and society. By proposing exemplary models, origin myths guide behaviour and meet the profound needs of people, the dreamers, 15 SEBASTIAN FITZEK seekers of stars and ideals. By living and preserving an awareness of the higher world of beginnings, myth fulfils a fundamental human urge of relating to an exemplary past. Because of this, hierarchies and institutions have a sacred authority that cannot be questioned without committing sacrilege. The rites themselves are complementary to the myths. The author traces how religious rites are transformed into political rites through processes of 'inversion' or 'conversion' and how the relationship between the sacred and power prolongs the relationship between divinity and believers through these highly symbolic solemn acts. The rites structure the political imaginary into a coherent whole and reveal its underpinnings. The rites reaffirm the participants' belief in the legitimacy of the current political order, the solidarity of the group around fundamental values, the cult of ancestors, the sacredness of place and time. Rites also have a pedagogical function because they are rules of conduct that teach people how to behave in the presence of sacred objects. In contemporary psychology the imaginary is no longer defined philosophically as the result of sensory reflection or as an elementary act of reproductive representation, as the fixation and vivid recollection of experiences in the form of images. For current psychologists, the imaginary is the product of the capacity to restructure experiences and to overcome reality through new images that do not belong to memory, but also a reconstruction of collective experiences beyond personal perception. The author of the book follows the same paradigm, adding a psychoanalytic insight. Firstly, these new combinations are more than the sum of the old images, in other words they absorb in their ideational content also the elements of historical life (the psychology of evocation, the value of events, the structure of sensibility, spatial-temporal references, etc.) Secondly, there is imagological syntax distinct from linguistic syntax, both being subject to rules that allow combinatory syntax. Thirdly, the reconstruction of reality through images is related to the relationship of the imaginary to the laws of logical thought or to its freedom of unrestricted reconstruction, as the author rightly observes. At the end of this brief characterization, a difficult question demands an answer, probably in the next volume: in the absence of 16 Sacred and political power the sacred systematically banished from the civitas, what compensatory mechanisms will society recreate in order to counteract the ominous effects of the power that has escaped from the aegis of the sacred? Even here the author attempts a novel answer in the chapter on the fairy tale, a subject worth expanding on separately in another book. Despite the religious upsurge and the return of the sacred in various parts of the world, the secularisation of contemporary societies and the atheism that devours meanings and ideals depersonalises the idea of man and turns him into a homo consumens. The need for a new framework of devotion and transcendence must correspond to a new vision of political power. The question of human historical conditioning must incorporate human objectivity as one of its decisive moments, just as the verb “to deify” embodies supra-historical ontological sacredness, projecting, through the transcendence of the spirit, the embodiment of the message in and through history. Only in this way will the human being no longer feel like a grain of sand on a beach, suspended between nowhere and nothing, abandoned by the God outside and within. The rejuvenation of the idea of man in the two conflagrations and in totalitarian regimes calls for the recovery of his spiritual vocation, which means the triumph of Life over death, and the victory of Good over Evil. Nicolae Frigioiu Bucharest, July 2020 17 SEBASTIAN FITZEK 18 Sacred and political power Motto: SOCRATES: So that he who does not know about any matters, whatever they be, may have true opinions on such matters, about which he knows nothing? MENO: Apparently. SOCRATE: And at this moment those opinions have just been stirred up in him, like a dream… (PLATO, Meno, 85 c) A word from the author to the reader A man has an opinion, but rarely asks himself how he reached that opinion. Let's ask a scientist where his ideas come from? Some will take pride in their scientific activities, studies, research, knowledge, etc. But there are scientists who claim that their ideas were inspired by something, someone, in more or less ordinary ways. Let's call these ideas the results of research and some of inspiration. We do not know the precise origin of inspiration. Innovators take something and add something else, a novelty that gives a change, a redefinition to that which exists. On the same map we find the great inventors in the guise of giants visible from great distances. We invent, borrow and add ideas in an evolutionary movement, on the notes of an unfinished symphony of a world inspired by its own imagination. I have learned from the patience of crawling snails, from the silence of the stones that support our footsteps, and from the seasons, I have observed how ideas intertwine at the whims of man. Daring my conscience, I ventured across a land full of questions and mysteries, and on the traced path through this book, I was left 19 SEBASTIAN FITZEK with only one consolation: that someday, a more knowledgeable person will read gently and seek where the light of science flickers on a flimsy ground. On this shaky ground, the opinion cast on some rugged slopes is no longer safe nor steady as ploughman’s ploughed soil who feeds on his own work. The same man, however, raised his eyes to scrutinize the horizons, contemplated the sky and looked at himself with his mind's eye. From the interweaving of these images’ religion was born, art and science. What do these lights bring and how have they inspired us? Ecce homo: a creature that plows, scrutinises, admires and gazes at the stars, the place from which the strangest views spring. What are dreams? Maybe they are white dots all over the mental sky. Where do primordial images come from and what is the imaginary? We often judge by the standard measures of a group. What is memory and why don't we have access to all memories? Many people remember things from the future or things they have never experienced, phenomena corresponding to a famous French expression: déjà vu. What are phantasms and why do dreams alter states of the soul into either peace or inner conflict? The questions are part of a dreamer's restlessness. On this subject we are in a crisis of scientific imagery, although we have an infinite imagination. The scientific instruments are waiting for their sensitive antennae to be re-tuned in order to properly penetrate the world of psychological representations. “Knowledge is perception” (Plato, Theaetetus 151d-e) and with patience, we can perceive certain complex phenomena. Let us admit, then, that everything has an element of truth and that the task of science is taking a biopsy of the seed of the unseen fruit. The finality of the act of research neither excludes the fruit nor cuts down the tree. Perception of the sensible world is the gateway to the world of the imaginary, and this effort requires special attention to the fractals of a whole called the human psyche. For Protagoras (490-420 BC) “man is the measure of all things, and of what exists as it exists, and of what does not exist as it does not exist” (Plato, Theaetetus 152a2-4). We answer these questions because of our capacity for awareness, accepting that in the strangest opinions there is that hint of an undiscovered truth. 20 Sacred and political power I thank my readers in advance in the hope that they will find a suitable balance between expectations and answers. I would like to thank, in particular, to Professor Elena Zamfir, to Professor Cătălin Zamfir, to Professor Nicolae Frigioiu and to Professor Constantin Schifirneț, scientific mentors, reliable friends and moral models whom I was close to most of my professional training. I thank my colleague Simona Stănescu for the valuable feedback received on the last meters before the “baptism” consecrated by the publishing house and I thank Pro Universitaria editorial office for the “light” of printing. Thank you to Professor Sorin Cace for his inspiring speeches developing practical thinking and tenacity, two indispensable skills for a young author. I would like to thank Professor Dean Alina Bârgăoanu for her confidence in my professional maturation and thank you to Professor Valeriu Frunzaru for his millennial patience in constantly reminding me to complete my work. Thank you to Professor Nicu Gavriluță for trusting me as “salt in the pot”. He made me feel the classics next to me and through his books I have the courage to believe that some dreams can materialize. I thank my colleagues Mălina Voicu and Laurențiu Tănase for the encouragement they gave me at moments of hardship and for their feedback as researchers in the sociology of religion. Thank you to Professor Diana Cismaru for the discussions in the fall of 2019, an inspiring dialogue for the psychoanalytic deepening of the collective imaginary. I convey a warm sense of gratitude to my mother (Ana Fitzek) and my wife (Cătălina Fitzek), my guardian angels on every known and unknown path. Sebastian Fitzek Bucharest, June 2020 21 SEBASTIAN FITZEK A brief introduction to the world of collective imaginary The extent, role and significance of the “collective imaginary” are relatively well known in academic society. We are under the impression and often even the belief that we ourselves are the masters of our own thinking and the actors of freely formed behaviour. The illusion of freedom again offers a dose of naïve, utopian fanaticism. We are often like the child eager to slide into the enthrallment of an enticing story, plunging into the fantastic universe of a fairy destined to open the windows of other enticing micro-stories. O you sweet Fairy of phantasms who lull us to sleep like the sons of the moon in the crates of your imagination! But since nothing is eternal on the white spans of life, every dream has an end from which we wake, asking ourselves an old question: what is reality and where is it? Waking up from one state to another state seems like an endless string of parallel worlds; the question becomes more interesting when, aware of the continuous transition of the present, you realise that you are in the mirage of concentric circles only to suddenly wish to rush towards the light ahead. The journey towards the ultimate reality becomes the greatest challenge that human daring can conquer, a kind of mountaineering of the conscience, struggling with the abysses of human weakness. Forcing the thresholds is a wager with the softness of the flesh that slumbers on the bones, for in the bones is the character with the iron will by which sleep is vanquished. The choice lies in us, in every climb through which we overcome the platitude and convenience of the full stomach. As we follow these lines together, and in order to come to peace, the following truce came to mind: let us all accept that we once had illusions, or at least once (for the most zealous readers) illusions fed by externally 22 Sacred and political power induced dreams. Some of these dreams have been created by the machinery of the “collective imaginary”, and in this book, I will detail some analyses and explanations on this subject. The influence of personal thinking on group or group thinking on the individual, the corruption of the personal imagination, of fabricated dreams by the mass media or the virtual world of games, the adoption of behavioural sets fabricated in the laboratories of studios, all these form an orchestra conducted by a society in which the individual lives the illusion of freedom. Could there be versions of our personalities as people formed in different societies? Probably, but in this life, we have the chance of free choices. A quick introspection brings us a simple answer: there are days when we look different, we are never the same. Our evolution is obvious, however the direction seems uncertain. To be truly free is an ascetic effort and not a right obtained by contract. Awareness comes about as a result of optimal intellectual effort, the relinquishing of pleasures, and knowledge requires patience, a threefold process of spiritual asceticism. And if a philosopher were to ask us where the boundaries between sleep and reality are and how we measure them, thinking in terms of numbers and distances, we would show him the sky and ask him to tell us where the earth ends and the sky begins. Distances don't matter and neither can numbers limit the courage of those in love with the stars. The abundance of numbers is tempting for science, especially for those obsessed with measuring everything, but the human universe and the universe beyond have made something else: a celebration of records without numbers and a space that transcends the finitude of human reason. In this book, the collective imaginary is analysed from a psychosocial perspective, with a focus on the relationship between the sacred and political power. Are there connections between the two vectors in supporting a theory of the imaginary? The answer to this question has awakened an avalanche of ideas and analysis crammed into the confines of the following pages. The coupling of the two terms was based on the historical and symbolic interferences between politics and the sacred as participating vectors in the shaping of the collective imaginary. The collective 23 SEBASTIAN FITZEK character derives from the presence of behavioural styles, language, value sets and interactions, through which individuals claim and preserve their group identity: 'Behavioural styles are considered the language of social interaction, they define the plot and semantics of interaction between groups. “Behavioral styles are considered the language of social interaction, defining the intrigue and semantics of interaction between groups. These styles are the actions of each group (majority or minority) necessary to either preserve its own identity or not, to value other identities or not, or simply to influence or be influenced by other groups” (Pérez, Dasi, 1996: 63-64). Any individual who joins a secondary group assimilates various behaviours and habits specific to that group, as well as beliefs, such as thought structures, which align him or her with the beliefs of other members. In this process, the individual is more accurately assimilated, negating much of the contribution of his or her authentic personality. Adaptation, in this case, means assimilation, an effect of the inequality between group power and personal power. However, man is the social product of his reference environment, which forms the deepest sub-stratum of his personality. The further the group gets from its original references, the more superficial its adherence becomes. Origin requires interaction with endogenous and exogenous environmental factors, starting from the primary group, and then to the secondary groups in which it develops as an individual. The concept of personhood fits into a broader view through a triple symbiosis: the perception of the self as an individual, the perception of belonging to a primary group and the perception of belonging to an extended group. The ascent from simple to complex through the three levels of perception also implies an inversion from complex to simple, whereby the individual modifies and adapts his/her personality to the group personality. The community is the repository of a huge semiotic legacy of collective images, values, perceptions and collective beliefs that form its historical and social memory. Memory plays a key role in shaping the sense of belonging, a process that becomes possible through the exercise of group rituals. Remembrance of key events or heroes, historical personalities, founders or commemorative days strengthens group unity, emphasising the need for continuity. 24 Sacred and political power Knowing the personality of a group is equivalent to knowing the biography of an individual's personality. However, the relationship of influence and control is unequal, in favour of the group. Between the individual member's memory and the collective memory there are interesting interferences that cause a more or less strong cohesion. The more this circulatory memory, from group to individual, diminishes in intensity and importance, the greater the danger that the group in question will disappear. If we doubt this phenomenon, we can think about the relationship between spoken language, the individual and the community. A dead language is the outcome of the enforced or deliberate decision of several generations to express themselves in a different language. By analysing these relationships and phenomena, it can be said that local images (geographical memory), language, behaviours, customs, beliefs, prejudices, stereotypes, local values and historical data make up the collective imaginary space. These particularities are perceived through the identification of representations, as microelements of the psychic universe. Collective representations form the basis of symbolic thought. In 1898, Émile Durkheim introduced the concept of collective representation, laying the foundations of social psychology with the aim of gaining acceptance as an autonomous science. For Émile Durkheim, the relationship between nervous impulses and individual psychological representations constitutes an associative argument with the relationship of control and influence exercised by society over individuals (Durkheim, 2002: 17). In any state, control manifests itself through authority, which in symbolic language is a collective representation of power. The political and social dimension of representations abounds in images of an individual's mind, without precise differentiation. “We can assume that these images are categories of 'mental sensations', impressions that objects or persons leave on our brains. At the same time, they keep alive traces of the past, occupy certain spaces in our memory to protect them from the disturbances of change, and fortify the sense of environmental continuity, as well as of individual and collective experiences” (Moscovici, 1997: 36). Their presence shapes the space of the collective imaginary, in which historical memory and ideology 25 SEBASTIAN FITZEK converge in the form of a political imaginary. At this point, ideology becomes a system of political values rather than a status-quo. In the literature, the subject of the collective imaginary requires new attention in terms of formulating the themes that are the subject of the analysis of social constructs. The concepts sacredness and political power participate in the forming of a distinct categorical couple, each word being analytically identified with the terms power and sacredness of power. The model proposed here is complementary to other well-known models, such as the sacred and the profane, which Mircea Eliade proposed for the interpretation of religious phenomena. In the first part of the book I have made an analysis of the concepts in order to support a proper theory of the imaginary, and in the second part I have highlighted the role of the sacred in the development of political power, as a model of interpretation of social representations. The first part includes chapters 1-7, psychosocial studies focusing on the question of the sacred in relation to religion, history and the collective imaginary; the second part includes chapters 8-11, with detailed studies on the relationship between the sacred and political power. The multidisciplinary approach to terms is the tangible and significant objective in the complexity of the domains included in the study of the collective imaginary. The methodological apparatus is mainly supported by the convergence method and symbol analogy. Convergence is a proposed and applied method by the anthropologist Gilbert Durand in the interpretation of the great reflexologic gestures (sexual dominance, postural dominance, digestive descent and rhythmic gestures) by which he explains the formation of perceptions in the fixation of different objects and habits (Durand, 1992: 45). The convergence method contributes to the identification of constellations of images and symbols common to groups of individuals in the formation and structuring of a collective, supra-individual, impersonal thought with a major impact on each individual. The isomorphism of symbols in language is close to the psychic images through which convergent relations are established between different groups of elements in contact, action or symbolisation. 26 Sacred and political power CHAPTER I PSYCHOSOCIAL APPROACHES TO COLLECTIVE IMAGINARY1 The study of the collective imaginary has a relatively recent history and has emerged simultaneously in several new schools of thought in sociology, anthropology and communication. In this chapter I have listed a significant part of the currents and researches that concern this topic from the perspective of multiple approaches. In the first part of the 20th century, the study of the collective imaginary was founded as a scientific field through the contributions and merits of established philosophers, sociologists, psychoanalysts and anthropologists: Henri Bergson, Carl Gustav Jung, Jean Paul-Sartre, Gaston Bachelard, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Paul Ricœur, Charles Baudouin, Jean Piaget, Gilbert Durand, Jaques Lacan, Henry Corbin, Roger Caillois, Cornelius Castoriadis, Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, Manfred Steger and Paul James, etc. Today, this field has become widely popular with all who are interested in community research, based on six complementary approaches: a. Psychosocial approach to the collective imaginary from the perspective of the social representations present in the cultural context of the communities. “Their common feature lies in the fact that they express a social representation that individuals and groups form in order to act and communicate. Such representations are, obviously, those that shape "The scientific imaginary is always restricted to the limits of probability". that half-physical, half-imaginary Thomas Huxley reality that is social reality” (English biologist, 1825 - 1895) 1 This chapter contains modified parts from a personal study: Sebastian Fitzek (2016), A semiotic interpretation of collective imaginary, in Social inclusion in digital era, Cristina CârtițăBuzioianu, Elena Nechiță (coord), Cluj-Napoca: Science Book House, pp. 83-96. 27 SEBASTIAN FITZEK (Moscovici, 1997: 13). In this view, two key concepts are presented from a psychosocial perspective: “social representation” and “social reality”. Social representations in a group have the role of unifying images among all individuals, building a universal semiotic baggage of communication, valuation and expectations. Social reality is a space in which physical reality merges with the collective imaginary, resulting from the personality of the respective community. “The personality of a community is not evidenced by the vocation and the number of its core members, but by the competitive cultural environment it adopts” (Necula, 2011: 182). In traditional communities, the oldest social representations are drawn from the founding myths that underpin their political and cultural identity. Founding myths contain a set of representations embedded in the social memory, in the form of canons that justify the need to preserve values, continuity and future projects. Cognitive psychology has contributed decisively to the analysis of groupthink in terms of the universe of social representations. In his studies on personality development in children, Jean Piaget demonstrated the existence of natural connections between the representation of physical objects, social representations, psychological representations, intelligence development and motor skills, identifying three schemes for structuring intelligence:  behavioural (sensory-motor) schema, which is designed to represent, react and respond to external objects;  symbolic scheme, (physical representations of objects and verbal codes) derived from lived experience at the level of social representations, which become mental representations;  operational scheme, mental activity, acting upon objects present at the level of thought (Piaget, J. 1952: 226-243). The imaginary also manifests itself through imagination, as a bridge to fantasy, fairy tales and fantastic worlds. There is a proportional interdependence between the capacity for imagination, memory and intelligence. Geniuses are said to have possessed a huge memory, rich in knowledge but also in fantasy, and this is no accident. A relevant aspect is the way memories are structured in an individual's memory, the priorities of certain characters, experiences 28 Sacred and political power or events, some more present than others. Memory is actually a mental image, a term used in psychology to refer to the human mind's ability to mentally perceive objects and things outside ourselves. A clear definition is difficult, given the wide range of elements that enter into the constellation of mental representations. The research of psychic images becomes a subject of the collective unconscious, a term proposed and analysed by Carl Gustav Jung in his book “Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious”. The unconscious is the invisible part of the human psyche, a space responsible for memory and imagination. The presence of the unconscious was explained by Sigmund Freud in his book “Psychopathology of Everyday Life” (1901), through the theory of failed acts, arguing that human memory often produces errors of language or words through the conflict between conscious and unconscious. The lapse is evidence not of a lack of memory, but of contact between conscious and memory, the assumption being that memory is in the unconscious and not fully available to the conscious. Invisible space is an extension of the conscious, with which it relates. To deny this extended psychic universe is to amputate the human personality, which sometimes calls on a complex memory, going beyond the acquired or lived experience of individuals. b. A semiotic approach to the collective imaginary from a communication perspective, as a paradigm of symbolic 2 interactionism , an important sociological trend that emerged in the late 19th century. Symbolic interactionism applies and explains the exchange of values and ideas through intercultural communication. “The mental structure (mind) is the result of the social process of interaction or interactional communication based on the conveyance of meanings and symbols through language” (Vlăsceanu, 2008: 65). Language not only provides a simple interaction between two subjects, but at the same time helps to raise self-awareness as a complex part of the human personality. Through language we 2 A sociological trend that emerged in the Chicago School in 1892 in the sociology department of the same university, and was initiated by C.H. Cooley, J. Dewey, W.I. Tomas, G.H. Mead and R.E. Park. The person who developed and introduced this current under the name of “symbolic interactionism” was H. Blumer, who in 1937 took over some of the ideas and principles developed by G.H. Mead and R.E. Park. 29 SEBASTIAN FITZEK develop the extraverted side of personality, manifested in the act of interaction with another actor, and in the environment of psychic representations arise perceptions of the self as well as perceptions of the other’s self. “Symbolic interaction and inter-action, the formation and becoming of the self, the self, the symbol and its meaning, the situation and the becoming of the situation, and so on, are notions that have already joined the heritage of sociology and communication, associated with the Chicago School and its most enduring product.” (Dobrescu, Bârgăoanu, 2003: 54). The theory coincides with Cooley's vision, supported in the phrase “mirror self” in his books Social organization: a study of the larger mind (1910) and Human nature and the social order (1922), in which the author explains the importance of interpersonal relationships in the perception of the self. By interacting with others, we perceive a reflected image from which we acquire part of the perceptions of others. The same can be extrapolated into what others perceive in turn into what we transmit back, a phenomenon that indicates an interdependent relationship on the transactional principle: “if you love me and I love you” or “if you hate me and I hate you”. Lack of appreciation can become a source of frustration and even conflict. For example: we have a positive image of ourselves, but if others give negative feedback, this affects us and leaves us worried. Group influence becomes a negative, disturbing pressure, where personal comfort disappears. If the feedback is instead positive, then selfesteem increases. By interacting with others, we become very influential, and others in turn become influential to what we are conveying to in turn. Appreciation, neutrality, indifference or rejections are at the heart of emotional interaction with others. Depending on these positions, there is also a hierarchy of members, a game in which pro or con attitudes become inevitable. The presence of a hierarchical top generates a state of submission or domination. The struggle for power becomes an unconscious behaviour that is difficult to avoid. For this reason, secondary and extended groups are inherently confrontational, eventually leading to the exclusion or exile of those who rebel as a result of aggression. For example, in archaic societies, one of the greatest punishments was banishment from the community, a punishment considered 30 Sacred and political power worse than death. Exile was a form of identity rejection, denial and enforced alienation, which altered the perception of the self and in some cases suicide, was preferred. A strictly semiotic approach can be found in the work “Words and Things”, more precisely in Michel Foucault's episteme, which launches a new theory of knowledge, based on the representations of language specific to an era. “The fundamental codes of a culture those that govern its language, its perceptual schemes, its exchanges, its techniques, its values, the hierarchy of its practices establish from the very beginning the empirical orders each person will have to deal with, into which he will find himself” (1996: 38-39). The paradigmatic development of language has influenced empirical thinking, perceptions, representations, as well as the sciences that have developed under its configuration. Thus, Foucault distinguishes the succession of three successive specific types of episteme in the history and culture of the European space:  the pre-classical period fixed in the 16th century;  the classical period between the 17th and 18th centuries;  the modern period, from the late 18th to the 19th century. Knowledge, in the three historical periods, is determined by the different practices of discourse. For example, in the pre-classical period, the episteme was built on the power of the signifier which translated everything into the image of the Divine. Knowledge thus becomes a sacred act through which man becomes closer to absolute truth through divination, an orphic, mystical and enigmatic initiation practiced only by higher spirits. The semiotics of divine language is the text and the proposed object of decipherment, inaccessible to ordinary people. The classical episteme is defined by the analysis of representation, as an act of courage in itself, freeing man from the fear of questioning or doubting the sacred act. In the first stage, there is an association between the sacred and the profane, in the form of a comparison between the divine 31 SEBASTIAN FITZEK text and the tendency of human thought for questioning everything. The change from the old order is obvious in the violation of a taboo in which God is distorted with the Reformation period. In the second phase the critique emerged as an analysis of language construction. In the classical period we see a return to the forbidden sciences: rhetoric, taxonomy and grammar of languages. The modern era is characterised by the disappearance of the indestructible relationship between things and representations, economic, political and social factors, leading to an exploration of languages dependent on history and technical civilisation. The triple relationship: work language - life reconfigures the philosophy of modern man, who imposes his own rhythm of life and appreciation of values, time and his own existence. The sciences are retreating to an applied, commercial and consumer development in which the law of the market dictates a new vision of the human being. “What a consolation, however, and what a profound reconciliation to think that man is only a recent invention, a figure that has not yet completed two centuries, a mere crib in our knowledge, and that he will disappear once it has found a new form” (Foucault, 1996: 450). Let us hope that the new form, capable of redefining the human being, will also include its spiritual, transcendent nature; otherwise, we are heading towards a materialistic vision dictated by the ambitions of the stomach and the ego. But who is the self? On duty in moments of solitude, the one who answers the mind's questions, who challenges plans, judgements and ideas, approving or disapproving from behind some moral court. The self is the silent adviser heard only in the stillness of thought. Its awareness is similar to an obscure perception of a separate personality, an intimate shadow in a dialogue with one’s inner self. Its emergence demands a continuous effort of the mind, attention and return. Beneath the garb of the prophet it answers often and rarely asks. Self-projects connects things, conspires, embraces and creates a possible future in moments of existential doubt. Paradoxically, an intimate dialogue with it rests the brain, freeing it from worry, bringing clarity and peace. The self is the hidden friend within us, on the way to any glimpse of life. 32 Sacred and political power c. Psychoanalytic approach to the collective imaginary, by appealing to the imagination, is the leading challenge in this field. Imagination is a function and ability of the human mind, through its ability to generate, encode and decode mental images. If we were to identify a study object for the imagination, the mental image is the right answer. After reading Carl Gustav Jung's work, we found that the author extends the imagination from the individual's personal space, which includes the “personal unconscious” described by Sigmund Freud (1906), to the complex space that defines the “collective unconscious” (1933). The personal unconscious stops at the particular vision of man dominated by sexual instincts where he cultivates his ego, while the collective unconscious is a phylogenetic acquisition due to the experiences of the human species. Within these relations, “historical realities” and “imagined realities” are constructed, as a symbiosis of the present with a primordial world, mythical in the Eliadian sense, of an uninterpreted history. Imagination is a point of convergence and connection of multiple realities. In the key of psychoanalytic interpretation, the history of social representations is, to a certain extent, a result of the imagination, a huge, infinite database through which the human mind recreates objects and facts by symbolizing the external world. It all depends on man's ability and strength to be aware of existence, of pure imperishable energy and of the fact that nothing is lost. Man values the existence of the universe, and the universe provides him with everything. From a philosophical perspective, imagination becomes the attribute of the imaginary and not of the image. “The fundamental word that corresponds to the imagination is not the image, it is the imaginary. The value of an image is measured by the halo of the imaginary. Thanks to the imaginary, the imagination is essentially open, elusive. It is, in the human psyche, the very experience of openness, the very experience of novelty.” (Bachelard, 1943: 10-11). The imaginary becomes a huge library that influences the human mind from the outside in, beyond the lives of individuals, and is preserved in a global unconscious of humanity. The collective Psychoanalytic 33 SEBASTIAN FITZEK character presupposes a universal memory and a state of affairs, whereby the previous experiences of ancestors are detached from the anonymity of particular experiences. Archetypal images are primordial images, coming from the deepest substratum of history, through which the collective unconscious is explained. In the theory of archetypes, Jung explains why psychic images are stronger than the object itself and their value is greater. “When it comes to archetypes, things are different. By archetype I mean what I have called, in a term borrowed from Jacob Burckhardt, “primordial image”. The archetype is a symbolic formula encoded in a set of collective representations that come into operation whenever either conscious notions do not yet exist or are absolutely impossible, for internal or external reasons. The contents of the collective unconscious appear in consciousness in the form of marked conceptions and inclinations. As a rule, the individual interprets them as being determined by the object - in fact, erroneously, since they come from the unconscious structure of the psyche and are only triggered by the action of the object. These subjective inclinations and conceptions are stronger than the influence of the object, their psychological value being greater, so that they overlap all impressions.” (Jung, 1997: 408). The spirit of free will is often altered by the psychic predisposition to choose or value something. Objectification becomes an exercise in detachment from the object only when human nature, introverted or extraverted, can become aware of this tendency. Jung regards primordial images as archetypes that generate predictable actions, which can be discovered and studied through an effort to decode and encode the norms of behaviour. Jung focuses on the primordial image that explains the presence of the collective archetype beyond the personal image. The primordial image is transmitted or inherited, giving groups a certain local colour. For Jung, the archetypal image has an unconscious nature that can be detected in religious experiences. How could one decipher such a statement: “The Holy Spirit is a transcendent fact which presents itself to us as an archetypal image” (Jung, 1989: 138)? Jung sees the Divine as a projection, which does not reveal us the true face of God; man, however, imagines the Divine as something akin to 34 Sacred and political power perfection. For the religious man, the association of perfection with divinity becomes the measure of all things, through which he weighs both the inner and the outer world. In the case of traditional societies, the primordial image has an archetypal character, rooted in the collective unconscious, through which the individual associates with the spirit, history and personality of a community. The collective unconscious is the hidden chamber of a human society, the place where all individuals interact and relate on a global psychic level without being aware of it. What happens to one individual in particular is reflected, in one way or another, to other individuals. Any vibration, emotion or thought influences other members directly or indirectly. The only problem with these relationships is that we don't realise them as the effects of causes in which we are somehow dependent on each other. This is why the role of psychoanalysis is relevant in researching social representations and how they influence human thought and behaviour. Archetype theory completes the semiotic approach by moving from the analysis of language as a mode of cultural interaction to an analysis of behaviour, replacing the concept of social representation with the concept of mental image. Sartre's perspective is also relevant in its clear distinction between the concept of image and perception as a mnesic doublet (Sartre, 1936: 115). In the imaginary, the image does not double the perception in the process of visualizing an object, but recreates it in an artistic model through the symbols with which the unconscious operates. Artistic value is clearly evident through the process of synaesthesia, of remembering and identifying with something already existing. The imaginary is the reason of the soul, as though defines the reason of common sense. The distinction is visible in Blaise Pascal's statement: “the heart has its reasons which reason does not know”, but nevertheless communicates to reason through imagination. What it communicates and how it communicates would belong to a hermeneutic system of less intelligible symbols; this area, however, remains a little explored area of science. The result is a product perceived by the conscious, which projects a psychic light on the object, like a photograph, in which the exposed light reveals the image in a slide film. 35 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Are there any similarities between the imaginary, the unconscious and the process of awareness? The answer is yes. To “imagine” is to “become aware” and not necessarily to think. The object in the external world is reflected in the unconscious, a space beyond reason and physical laws. Perception is the result achieved at the confluence of the two worlds trying to create a compromise between reality and phantasm. Mental perception diversifies the simple physical content of an object into a number of multiple ideational representations. Each representation is unique, and its particularity is rendered by the microphysical structure of its emotion. On a broad level, their ensemble is interconnected, a property that gives them a certain logical coherence, but also a depth resulting from the micro and macro particularities of the image. Take, for example, the image of a library in a house. Its physical representation is complemented by other images that are part of the landscape. The room is the overall image, and the library is a substructure of great value in terms of depth. The library holds a whole arsenal of books, which in turn enter the subdivisions of other universes and memories. By zooming in and choosing a book we enter a different universe with different stories and characters. The shift from the simple to the complex is reflected in the infinite possibility of a book to hide microuniverses, which only the reader can patiently discover. Zooming to page size, we discover stories and characters that in turn open up other micro universes. Images follow one another, each micro image becoming the foundation or portal to other spaces and worlds, and the process can go on forever. In reality, these micro and macro images communicate perfectly, without us knowing their upper or lower limits. The link between library and book is not apparent, nor is it accidental. The man who has gone through the reading of a library in his life acquires and develops his imagination unceasingly through this long exercise. The brain encodes and decodes, not just reads, like a sign-recognition machine, which enables it to absorb a huge body of 36 Sacred and political power knowledge. That's why zooming in or out reveals the complex dimensions of a single image and its infinite array hidden from our view. The thread of zooming out or in is a journey or an option towards which we strive. The thought is like the tip of a pick-up on the surface of a record of many songs, a special record that, unlike the classical ones, also has the property of holding an infinite number of other mini-discs lost in the immensity of its surface. The connections between micro and macro images are supported by the relationships of a structure to its substructures. The phenomenon is present in nature and is explained by fractal theory which analyses this phenomenon. “It is well known in the literature that fractal theory outlines the idea that any element or phenomenon in the surrounding reality represents or can be represented as a fractal. Therefore, it should be appreciated that fractals can be seen as simple processes that generate complex results because through its intervention, chaos causes a unique output with a chaotic dimension directly proportional to the complexity of the phenomenon under analysis” (Stancu et al, 2013: 89). The term fractal was introduced, in 1975, by Benoît Mandelbrot and comes from the Latin word fractus meaning fractured, broken or split stone (Mandelbrot, 1982: 6). This key also symbolises the mental images that coexist in a relationship of structural interdependence. d. The ethnocentric approach to the collective imaginary comes from the perspective of differences, signalled as stereotypes and prejudices in political, economic and social spaces. In Europe in recent years, the problem of mass Muslim migration has been associated in the Western imagination with the scourge of terrorism, which has distorted the image of a civilisation in two ways: racially and religiously. Economic, integration and coexistence causes have generated aggressive inter-ethnic relations and, in many cases, neighbouring areas have become areas of conflict. The “enemy” or “invader” image is propagated as a stereotype in the society and politics of many Western countries, according to the premise that migrants are mainly to blame for the economic problems that have arisen since the 2008 crisis. 37 SEBASTIAN FITZEK For Taguieff, behind the economic interests lies the issue of territory as a space of resistance against the invasion of migrating peoples (2001: 174). Since 2008, the European world has been changed by demographic changes over the last ten years. I recall here that in 2015, Germany officially received more than 800,000 migrants, most of them from belligerent countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine and Libya. With the escalation of this phenomenon generated by the conflicts in the Middle East, we have seen an increase in intolerance, which, in these situations, has taken on a racist character. Collective thinking structures the way we perceive ourselves and others and, thanks to it, a set of prejudiced and stereotyped images is perpetuated and passed on from one generation to the next. Collective thinking is rooted in inherited memory, handed down from previous generations, except in societies that have decided to make a sudden break with old traditions. In the case of globalisation, a global collective thinking is formed, reflected in the concept of world citizen. Every human being is the subject of an identity claimed from the past and cannot escape this process. The structures of the local imaginary of communities are opposed to the process of globalisation, which aims at a universalization of individuals rather than an isolation into fractions. The utopia of universalization is confronted with the problem of identifying with the past, which claims its uniqueness and cannot be lost in a Universalist vision. People are prisoners of a past and heirs of solid relationships. The rejection of globalisation also conceals a defensive attitude to the danger of the past being cancelled out. In the case of migrants, the same conflict is found, which prevents them from changing old representations with new ones, changing their perception of identity. Acceptance of the migrant by others is only confirmed when they adapt to local values. The migrant is obliged to adopt new values through acculturation, which overlap with the old ones, otherwise he risks coming into conflict with those around him. Globalization faces a huge challenge, so the question arises: how can conflicts generated by particular structures of collective thinking disappear, as long as any human community tends to preserve or 38 Sacred and political power reject what does not correspond to itself? This question has yet to be answered. For some globalists, the education of new generations would be a possibility, given that there are already these education systems designed to form the “new man of globalisation”. The proposed solution works relatively well for traditional societies that are the majority in the world. The two alternatives therefore generate a crisis situation, which explains why globalisation is a dilemma, risking another utopia of history. The ethnocentric approach to the collective imaginary is also based on the study of cultural, historical and linguistic enclaves in the same territory. The hot zone of interaction and neighbourhood with other ethnic groups has caused many problems in the 20th and 21st centuries. Among the most important empirical analyses carried out in Romania on otherness and interethnic relations, three representative reports are worth mentioning here:  report of the Institute for Marketing and Surveys (IMS) commissioned by the Korunk Foundation in 1993-1995;  report carried out by the Centre for Interethnic Research (CIR) in 2000;  report conducted and funded by USAID (Kivu, 2002: 75). The three reports provide interesting arguments about the tragic events of the early 1990s, when an avalanche of inter-ethnic conflicts broke out in Romania, especially in the Transylvanian area (Târgu Mureș, Baia Mare, etc.). The need to assert the identity of minorities was born out of the silence imposed during the communist period. The affirmation of minorities, recognition and liberation from the shackles of totalitarianism has been raised as a cry against the tyranny of the majority. The approach between minorities and the majority became difficult and delicate, especially when the Hungarian minority demanded political autonomy, at the risk of blowing up the principle of national sovereignty. The solution to mitigate ethnic conflicts at European level failed under the banner of multiculturalism, which unexpectedly created and generated other problems by promoting positive discrimination policies. The same cannot be said of pluralism, a politically encouraged way in which individuals, regardless of ethnicity or race, are treated as equal citizens before the laws of the land. 39 SEBASTIAN FITZEK For Culas and Robinne, the ethnic collective imaginary becomes necessary in researching and understanding ethnic communities as an act of constructing “living space” (2010: 9). The national geographic area and the presence of fictional ethnic boundaries determine or justify the spirit and chronology of a historical community, which has established itself in these places and enters the collective memory of the natives. The ritual of commemorating important dates and the presence of symbols, as an identity, have the role of reviving the past through the immutable presence of the sacred. This principle of continuity is representative in relation to others, to the majority or to other ethnic groups. The psychological need to be different from others creates the motive for identity rebellion through differentiation, detachment and the valorisation of one's own group at the expense of neighbouring groups. The territory of the ethnic group is a physical space with a sacred character, delimited by the presence of religious beliefs, culture, languages, traditions and customs, which are gradually assimilated into the collective memory of the people. In African literature, the collective imaginary appears as a key term used in the interpretation of civic culture in a multi-ethnic space. Ebenezer Obadare believes that, in Senegal's democracy, every community must be represented politically. Ignoring this principle inevitably leads to “serious conflicts” (Obadare, 2010: 60). In the last two centuries, African history is replete with unfortunate examples, reported in Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Mali, Sudan, Nigeria, Libya, etc. The purely political approach to conflict has not stopped the string of horrors and massacres. The African imaginary is an inter-ethnic imaginary based more on neighbourhood relations and less on the centre-periphery segment. The observation was attested to by research carried out on the African continent by the American anthropologists E.E. Evans Pritchard and M. Fortes (1940), authors who concluded that there was a complementary opposition between non-state, segmental and state societies, noting a different evolution of the polity from the Europocentric view. In the same view, the French anthropologist Marc Abeles analyses the two spaces: African and European, by comparing the notion of 'static society' with the notion of 'segmental society', in which groups appear that are not centrally controlled administratively, 40 Sacred and political power politically and militarily. The effect of these disorganizations operates a change in the relations between different segments, in terms of locality and language (Abeles, 1977: 6). The opposition between the state and the local political imaginary of the tribes is based on a segmental vision of linear societies, interested mainly in neighbourhood relations, to the detriment of the central political system. e. The religious-Christian approach to the collective imaginary is rooted in the phenomenology of the sacred, most appropriately reflected in the interpretation of images in medieval icons. For Georges Duby, the icon is an artistic approach necessary to comprehend and know the spirit of the age. The icon is a window to the transcendent, a mental structure in which man enters into communion with divinity. An icon, in which God the Father appears, is a representation of the unrepresented. The icon becomes a window of the soul, beyond the world, in a space designed in the simplest forms, to make the fruits of a life of meditation perceptible to those on the first stage of initiation (Duby, 1998: 104). For the French historian, reality had to be replaced by exemplary images, in which society was not represented truthfully, but only as an image in a utopian world. In the thematic of Christian icons, the religious imagery is accompanied by the power of the representation of the ideal city, a food for the soul and a hope in which man fixes the edges of happiness at the cost of any sacrifice. Death itself becomes a simple bridge between two opposing worlds, a theological thesis necessary to justify the afterlife. Through this relationship, icons become gateways to the divine world, the representation of the Unrepresented contributing to an awareness of supernatural characters. The face of God is, in turn, anthropomorphized according to certain canonical rules and typologies, His image being assimilated by the perception that the “unperceived” can be captured in the ephemeral hypostasis of an instant. Artistic suggestion intervenes like a photograph revealed in artist's mind, 41 SEBASTIAN FITZEK forced to respect certain canons; however, his own imprint differentiates his work from another painter's work. The representation cannot be entirely the same, even if the subject is the same, just as the signified might be altered by the signifier. The image of Christ changes at the level of representation, depending on the thesis of His nature, just as the Arian teaching of the 4th century (at the first Council of Nicaea in 325) tried to change it at the canonical level. f. The electoral approach to the collective imaginary derives from the study of the public image of political leaders and institutions. Public image and political image are two distinct concepts used in the image science and electoral marketing. Reproducing and cosmeticizing the image of electoral candidates are specific activities of political marketing. Public image goes beyond the prefabricated image, drilling into the core of social representations. Unlike the public image, the political image has an unprocessed nature, being a generated and regenerated perception of groups regarding the memory of a personal figure or the memory of a historical event devoid of ideational content. Both images make up the collective imaginary space, combining processed and unprocessed images in a mixture dominated both by reality and fiction. The ideational image has a wider sphere of representation than the political image, due to its link with idealised memories retrieved from social memory. Psychosocial practice shows that ethnic groups generally idealize the past in comparison to the present. While the image is the attribute of an active force generated by the guide-image, the representation has a more or less rationalised character, influencing behaviour. "First of all, the model that defines a structure (spatial structure, social structure, behavioural structure) was distinguished from the ideal model that causes attractiveness and resembles a guiding image". (Chombart, 1983: 217). In political marketing, the effect of modern campaign strategies has altered the relationship between the electorate and the political class in the collective imagination. Rarely has the image of the 42 Sacred and political power candidate matched the reality of the political mandate. One of the explanations for these failures stems from the artificial image excessively reflected in the demagogy of electoral discourse. The absurd, empty promises of most candidates often end up in an arena of illusions. The relationship between candidate and voters has become a stage for populism, degraded and cultivated through the theatricality of politics. The politician of the 21st century is a kind of “stooge”, a kind of victim of public entertainment, where swearing and mockery have replaced the seriousness and respect of the past. And, to make a mockery of it all, narcissism has become another form of personality development with totalitarian roots. In terms of the electoral imaginary, dominated by the spread of populism, I have chosen five collective obsessions that widen the arena of political illusions: 1. the obsession for a massive TV presence is highly demanding on resources; the candidate needs a lot of money, thus becoming indebted to certain personal interests towards sponsors; 2. the obsession for success stories denies the very human nature of imperfection following the fashion according to which only celebrities are capable of leading; 3. the obsession with making a redundant discourse, in which the candidate has to portray archetypes generating desirable images, by referring to the political myths described by Raoul Girardet: the myth of the conspiracy, of the saviour, of the golden age and of unity. In this spirit, the candidate is tempted to abuse expressions and words in order to position himself on one of these myths. In many election speeches, one can see the repeated use of clichés such as solidarity, brotherhood, unity, continuity, a return to the golden age, as well as imperative verbs with a message of cohesion: “let's be united!”, “let's be together!”, “let's all go together!” etc. In this way, the originality of a candidate's personality is overshadowed by the standardisation of a classic structure, taken from the yellowed pages of a school lesson; 4. obsession with popularity, in the competition to become “the most beloved of all people” or to acquire the aura of celebrity 43 SEBASTIAN FITZEK image diminishes the candidate's chance of being a serious politician; 5. the obsession with the cliché of private life, according to which a good politician must also be a good family man, and when he encounters personal problems or is alone, trust begins to break down. Naturally, any political discourse is loaded with symbolic violence as a pretext to justify domination. Bourdieu detects here a subtle form of political power control, capturing the rule of the double game manifested in public discourse:  the politician's tendency to distinguish himself from other politicians through positioning and authenticity (the logic of representation);  the tendency to universalize discourse as an attempt to get as many votes as possible in order to gain power (the mobilization game) (Bourdieu, 1996: 16). The contradiction between the two trends highlights the effects of the double game in voting logic. Another example would be the nomination “X President”, an electoral message used in the candidates' strategy in the game of representation as a legal rule of social perception. The proper noun is paired with the common noun “President”, capitalized to mark or induce a possible variant to a proximate reality. At the research level, there is a major focus on the field of the imagination, with the creation of more than 50 laboratories in countries in Europe, Africa and America. In the literature, we note a diversity of currents and orientations of thought on the subject. In the most recent studies, the term “imaginary” is being explored in depth in educational psychology, more specifically in the formation and education of children as future adults and citizens with civic responsibilities (Fleer, Peers, 2012: 414). For Vidergarr (2013: 5), the collective imaginary is an oscillatory combination resulting from a person's individual experience and cultural context. According to the researcher's background observation, in the post-1945 period, an Armageddon literature emerged in the wake of the disaster caused by the two atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 44 Sacred and political power In fields such as fiction, cinema, and generally in any work of fiction, the narrative imaginary has changed its repertoire to an apocalyptic tone. The nuclear age is a mad race, in which the individual becomes a player in a collective imaginary that hangs between death and survival. In Romanian literature there are various studies focused on the imaginary, most of them centred on historical research, such as those of the Centre for Research on the Imaginary "Phantasma" in Cluj-Napoca. In the works published here, the collective imaginary is defined by Romanian researchers as a historical construction of mentalities with an impact on the social environment. In the book "The violent imaginary of Romanians", researcher Ruxandra Cesereanu analyses the ethnic imaginary through two components:  the historical component, which justifies identity through the need for continuity;  the social component, reflecting relations with other ethnic groups. Another important research group is at the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (NSPAS) in Bucharest, where the Laboratory for the Study of Image and Identity was created. In the book “The Europe we vote for: National and European topics of the 2014 elections for the European Parliament”, authors Chiciudean and Bîră address the issue of the electoral imaginary in the European and Romanian spaces, research that links this universe to the online environment. The evolution of the internet implies a new approach to mass communication under the key of social networks, a revolutionary, unpredictable medium with a major impact on group behaviour. All these laboratories have deepened and broadened image research through valuable studies that have changed the scientific perception of the subject. 1.1. The role of social representations in the universe of the collective imaginary What is representation? Representation is, in short, an object already perceived or known by our mind, acquiring the halo of a mental image. The anthropology of object representation in 45 SEBASTIAN FITZEK non-places (using the imagination) appears to the French anthropologist Augé as an evolutionary relation of modernization caused by technique and perception (1998: 92). The object invented by an initial group ends up being innovated by another group, in a successive generation, without making a substantial change in the structure of the original object. The process of object modernisation is determined by successive new perceptions over time. The original representation persists; perceptions diversify and can be changed. Consider the depiction of early ships structurally similar to modern yachts, dating from around the 6th millennium BC. Innovation followed invention, and perception followed representation. Almost any visual object retains some of the structure and form of the original object. The production techniques of ships have evolved and are now called yachts, but the primordial image of the ship remains intact at the level of mental representation. In conclusion, if we look back over 8000 years, we see that the structural evolution is not radical; the technique differs following the succession of many eras and civilisations. For Augé, the modernisation of space is a natural process of collective technical imagination, with groups gravitating towards the same object at different technical stages of development. Serge Moscovici proposes and analyses the term social representations, defined as tangible entities. The plasticity of expression is justified by the capacity of social representations to intertwine, to crystallize in our minds and in our daily lives, through language, gestures, clothes, by means of which emotions are transmitted and social relations are built in a continuous interaction (Moscovici, 1997: 31). Social representations describe the environment, to which individuals relate through their own perceptions. The values, norms and customs of place describe the world in which we act, think, judge and react. The reference model is built according to a certain pattern of social images partially inherited and enriched by each generation, thus the oldest societies also have the most developed structures in terms of human representations of the world and life. The mythical dimension cannot escape from the eschatological or epic story of a people, which passes on its entire message in the form of an everlasting Bible through symbolic 46 Sacred and political power language. Emblems on the flag, the national anthem and the heroes are only the vanguard of structured political and social representational systems in which the individual finds himself, thus escaping anonymity. He becomes a descendant and follower of the old titans on which a story with moral obligations for his entire existence rests. In traditional societies, the collective imaginary abounds in archetypal representations present in the behaviour of the masses, in desires or frustrations manifested according to the challenges of history. The inexplicable in the irrational behaviour of individuals contributes to describing the personality of the masses in the most unpredictable ways. Political representations shape the political imaginary of the masses. Characteristic aspects acting on the group will go beyond the personal will of individuals in a group. All these emergent or convergent elements ultimately serve to strengthen the relationship between individuals and the community. The sense of solidarity present in national symbols is expressed through a specific political ritual. Benedict Anderson explains in his book “Imagined Communities” why belonging to a community is stronger than the individual will, such that an individual could never get to know all the other members; nevertheless, he is prepared to sacrifice himself for the others, taking the symbol of the unknown hero as an example (2000: 136). From this perspective, it is possible to explore the collective imaginary within the ethnic groups as historical and cultural entities that interact subtly through the relations of power: domination-submission, order-obeying. Serge Moscovici captures through these relations the most subtle “conducts of the imaginary” as symbolic premises in the life of a community (1997: 62). The struggle for space and resources has generated different relationships between neighbouring ethnic groups, sometimes shaping a subjective history. The vector of political power is based on a representation of the sacred in the primordial past, lost today and projected as a hope in the programmatic future. The ideological projection of power is a utopian history of a perfect world in which cosmic immensity orbits the individual. The argument, which justifies the ideology, stems from the need to revive the glory of the past of those who act now: hic et nunc, continuing the project 47 SEBASTIAN FITZEK founded by the unheard voice of the ancestors. In the novel The Soimaresti Clan, chapter XXXV, Mihail Sadoveanu writes: “The dead command the living”, an unwritten rule valid for any historical community. In the great religions, the eschatological story carries the same message in which the sacred participates, through the presence of the Divine, in the foundation of a Covenant which people have a duty to preserve and sacredly respect. The first institutions that justify the sacredness of human individuality in the relationship between man and divinity appear in religion. Since religion is closely linked to the transcendent, the sociological study of religion cannot avoid the question of whether the analysis of the social implications of religion also integrates the sacred (Schifirnet, 1999: 53). The answer is yes. The temple, the church and the mosque are the first sacred spaces in which the vows of unity and continuity of the most ancient traditions, legends and customs are linked. Sacred representations go beyond the feelings of belonging characteristic of family life. Man finds himself before the Divinity, which demands total obedience and submission. His will is united with the will of the angels, beyond all human power, logic, laws or earthly desires. Who could convert a religious man to become an atheist, if the whole area of his representations is part of another world and order? A communication between two worlds with opposite representations does not seem possible. The core of the representations lies, then, in the personal choice of beliefs. Is a world without representations possible? The answer is no longer a matter of choice, but of how we understand the role of human thought. The structuring of human thought occurs as a result of representations, which we inherit, choose or invent. Without them, we cannot call ourselves thinking beings; otherwise, everything is a choice of what we want to believe, defend and love. We all have a personal imaginary, in the form of rooms in a palace, in which we have chosen to live. The choice belongs to each one of us, because no one can remain a prisoner of alien wills. The dissimulation and imprisonment of totalitarian systems of thought have failed on this point, and history has proved it at immense cost. What are the basic representations through which man relates to sacred space? The good parent is an example for his child, who imitates and follows him with admiration throughout his life. 48 Sacred and political power For the religious man, admiration is the hidden mechanism that reveals supernatural authority. Admiration implies a direct relationship between something inferior and something superior. Through this act, representations play a key role in explaining the whole religious phenomenon. Just as the little one feels attracted to the high, by the law of compensation or attraction born of the law of opposites, by the same unwritten rule, individuals borrow, imitate and admire the behaviour of their ancestors, based on the belief that they have proved themselves superior to people today. In monotheistic religions, the mirage of the “golden age” or “paradise lost” always appears. Following this re-envisioning, man structures his thinking through decisive actions in order to return to happiness. Returning to the primordial Adamic status becomes the ultimate goal of life. Ideology and political thought have confounded the whole archetype, conceiving the present world as perfectible. Political discourse always appears laden with the allure of messianic promises culled from the archetypal sacred texts. Reaping without sowing remains a dictum that reality applies. The paradox of time in political discourse is hit by the juxtaposition of the past in the future. This thinking has its origins in a biblical representation present in Yahweh's3 promise to the people of Israel to give them the land of Canaan as a promised land. Another paradox appears in the motif of paradise lost, an archetype of Genesis, in which man becomes an athlete in search of a lost right. The quest for happiness is a universal archetype transformed into a mad rush for material achievement. The representation of promise, the common good and salvation becomes the discursive mainstream of all electoral messages. The effect of structured archetypal thinking generates two ideals:  the belief that there is a better place we are heading to;  the futuristic goal proposed to the public in the electoral discourse only becomes feasible if character X is elected. The two archetypes act in electoral logic, by voting induced in favour of X in order to obtain the ideal Y promised by X. Commitment and promise become just a matter of choice, trust and 3 YHWH, the Old Testament name for God, which in Hebrew means “He makes to become”. 49 SEBASTIAN FITZEK choice of a room in the palace of the imaginary, and there are other possibilities. Not all voters appreciate in unison and not all candidates have the same level of confidence; this is where the force of persuasion (sometimes manipulation through propaganda) that the communication strategy propels comes in. People choose because they believe in a futuristic version of X, Y or Z, corresponding to the biblical model of representation. The whole axis of electoral thinking, specific to democratic regimes, orbits around this model. In competitions with many candidates, the problem of dissension between groups arises. The winning group ends up discriminating against the other groups on the assumption that the best candidate is chosen by the majority. The illusion that the majority chooses the best candidate is the classic illusion of democratic regimes. Minorities of political groups are undermined, especially in a semi-consensual system where power is taken by the winning faction. Yesterday's and today's politics ends up in a strange race, in which errors can occur, given that the majority is infallible and that numbers prevail over the quality of individuals. The dream towards the Y ideal remains a hope, which gives us wings to carry on, even though we sometimes sink in the same waters of the Styx, a subtle cunning of history. 1.2. Social imaginary The aggregate of real or imaginary things, through the collective perceptions of a group of people, forms the space of the social imaginary. The imaginary is generally identified with terms such as: social memory, the media imaginary, the virtual imaginary, the political imaginary, the religious imaginary, the artistic imaginary, the sporting imaginary, etc. All these associations can be considered as sub-menus of a human imaginary. The differences are extensive and not causal, and the semiotic interpretation is infinite. The denotation of the term has been preserved, regardless of the area and purpose applied to the associated meanings. “Social memory” is an exception, however, although it comes from the same family. According to Maurice Halbwachs, social memory is knowledge of the past as a moral reconstruction of past images (1924: 63). The writing 50 Sacred and political power of history books conceals, in this sense, a dose of local exaggeration, designed to strengthen the collective spirit of a nation. “Social memory” cannot be confused with “historical memory”, the object of research for some historians in an effort to detect the truth. “Social memory” is not scientific and cannot be regarded as such. Its semiotic universe is loaded with perceptions, attitudes and behaviours formed as a result of common knowledge, sometimes imposed by the tyranny of media manipulation through huge flows of information. The news carried by the media lately creates an apocalyptic imaginary, while the boundaries between truth, information selection, repetition and style exposure are very small. Distinguishing between reality and illusion is a difficult exercise, a mental effort that does not feed solely on the images served up by television. We can understand the relationship between the individual subject, the social subject and the object in the following diagram provided by sociologist Serge Moscovici: Fig. 1. The relationship between individual subject, social subject and object Object (physical, social imaginary or real) Ego Alter Source: (Moscovici, 1997: 15) Positioning in relation to the other in regard to an object has three connotations of appreciation: 1. we see in each other a resemblance and a closeness; 2. we see in the other a mere alter ego who induces indifference; 3. we see the other as a potential competitor or enemy. Relating to the dimension of the object does not differ from its physical characteristics, but its representations may be more or less similar to the perception of our fellow human beings. The social imaginary is a huge source of perceptions towards different objects or actions that colour the realities of our lives. 51 SEBASTIAN FITZEK The social imaginary also undergoes an active process of structuring representations, through which individuals appreciate and interpret a subjective reality, due to the sense of common knowledge. Social representations are the colours of the external world, which are reflected in our minds in the form of a picture known to memory. Pixels of every detail already exist on the mental map of childhood places, and revisiting them in adulthood is a faithful recognition of the past. Starting from children's instinct of belonging to their parents, in successive stages of growth, a complexity of feelings towards the environment is formed, at the centre of which is the home. The shift from the particularity of the place of birth to the genesis of extended space is part of the natural maturation of the individual. Social relationships and feelings in turn expand, spiritualizing the perception of the world and life. Longing for parents takes on cosmic proportions, and longing for home becomes longing for country. Bright memories of childhood strengthen the indestructible links with the sacredness of the original space. In the space of the social imaginary, there are also the results of associations between certain cultural, social and historical syntheses and a series of mentalities of the time. The architecture of houses, street names, statues, commemorative plaques or photographs in a city history museum pays homage to the past. Stone witnesses in the urban environment induce a process of public anamnesis4. The valorisation of the stone witnesses bears the imprint of the feeling of respect towards a mythical past, at the confluence between life and death, inscribing itself in the transcendence of power on the temporal axis of the imaginary. 4 The term anamnesis is used here in the Socratic sense. Anamnesis is an analytical reidentification of a memory about a subject, thing or phenomenon that exists somewhere in the undiscovered memory. The halo of these images comes into being through an effort of selfawareness and self-search. The experiences brought to light are not necessarily related to what happened in a person's life, but rather, to something inherited from other existences or from the lives of other individuals. The technique of anamnesis is also based on the theory of metempsychosis, which explains the need to recall experiences that have ended in the cycle of other lives. Anamnesis is not only approached philosophically, but also in psychosociology or regressive psychoanalysis. 52 Sacred and political power 1.3. An anthropological interpretation of the imaginary The imaginary in relation to the imagination is like the subject in relation to the logical predicate. The first concept describes the universe of mental representations of an individual or group, while the second concept defines a property or ability of a mental nature. The etymology of the two terms comes from the same semantic root, which is based on the term mental image. “The imaginary” has been the subject of philosophical essays and theses (Descartes, Hume, Spinoza, Leibniz, Sartre, Spaier, Taine, Girardet, Durand, Bachelard, etc.); a term which is ambiguous, but also strongly similar to the simple image as representation and Olin Levi Warner, Imagination (1896). the mnemonic double of perception. Husserl is Library of Congress Tomas Jefferson, the first philosopher to make this distinction, Washington, D.C. distinguishing the physical content of the image from its intentionality as a product of synthetic consciousness (Husserl, 1970: 594). It suffices to think that imagination is an ability of the human psyche to create perceptions or mental images (unreal or real) as well as multiple sensations that the mind generates and perceives, starting from the original content of an imaginary object. The intentional structure is detached from the original non-intentional structure, at which point the process of representation can create an image different from the original mnemonic. Intentionality is an act that enters into the mental reflex of relating to an object. Perception is an awareness of the object, while the act of imagination implies a certain emotional state towards the object, depending on attraction, rejection, admiration, love, desire, hatred, etc. The product of imagination has a unique and complex character, as an ambivalent form: perception and sensation. On a social level, the imagination also has the role of finding novel (intuitive) solutions to certain problems that concern us. In education, the imagination can be a self-taught tool necessary for study and a way of accumulating different experiences stimulated by the mental senses (such as perception of the outside world through intellect, empathy, pity, detachment, intuition, etc.). The collective feeling is 53 SEBASTIAN FITZEK also the product of a primordial image, such as longing for one's homeland, one's parents or family, the place of childhood, history and the stories that have created that intimate space for the formation and development of each individual. The concept of the “collective imaginary” has developed first in philosophy and then in psychoanalysis, anthropology, etc. The scientific directive would be to create an alternative system of analysis that would provide the necessary explanations for the concept. Is the imaginary an important factor in structuring perceptions and collective thinking? This curious phenomenon has become a symbol of our own entrapment, a kind of inevitable partner of our reason and beliefs. We cannot exclude our own imaginary from the thinking process, even when we approach abstract thinking. Our own imagination influences our thinking, our behaviour, our decisions, and sometimes dominates us through demons or phantasms that spring from the depths of the unconscious. According to some researchers, such as Durand or Wunenburger, the imaginary is glued to the soul through thought, being the result of individual experiences. The relationship between the mind and one's imaginary is therefore inevitable, and man, as a social being, cannot escape its influence. Man is always thinking, symbolising through images. Wunenburger interprets the symbolic image as an initial state, which then develops into a phase of perception and then into a phase of imagination, a structure that is personalised to each individual. Wunenburger sees archetype as a world of symbolic images in which perceptions are formed. The image may not necessarily have a real substitute; it “represents something that can never occupy a place in the order of real facts, in the possible field of the perceptible, like an unrealizable fiction (a mountain of gold)” (2004: 21). If we put the same image on a white table, the structure of that object would change according to the perception of each observer, changing the initial state of the non-intentional representation. The individual imagination is therefore a machine for fabricating perceptions in the light of particular (unique) images specific to each individual. In the author's view, the matrix of the imaginary would lie between perception and reason, between sensory representation 54 Sacred and political power and intellectual notion, constituting a substratum without which the activity of the psyche cannot be understood (Wunenburger, 2004: 23-24). For Gilbert Durand, the imaginary is “the museum of all past, possible, produced or to be produced images”, with an intuitive futurist side, bypassing deduction or abstract logic (1999: 125). The intuitive side plays an important role in the slide of future images, a phenomenon worthy of quantum physics that we cannot easily explain. Probably the becoming of images depends on the sum of decisions made in the past and present, and the sum of them continuously influences a possible version known or intuited only by one who understands its mechanism. At the level of the individual, Gilbert Durand considers that each person's way of thinking is based on a succession of symbolic images, which allow the human psyche to understand or perceive the world outside itself (1977: 35). In the case of collective thinking there is a symbolic structuring of archetypal images. Archetypal imagery has thus become an anthropological theory that explains why individuals in a social group tend to accept the same beliefs and values. The phrase: “that's the way the community thought” becomes the result of collective thinking in which reference is made to the authority of the past. Such semantics enters the complex universe of the imaginary, representing its compositional matrix from which a mythical world and a thinking accompanied by a vast semiotic cortege develop simultaneously (Durand, 1992: 438). The imaginary is therefore the raw product of the imagination, which is conscious both in the light of personally acquired experience and the sum of collective experiences. From imagination springs the phantasm. “Love is an infection of the subtle body or phantasy caused by the pervading through the eyes of the beloved object's phantasm into the imagination of the subject. Now, imagination is that principal machinery of the subtle body which converts the language of the senses into phantasms, without which there would be no possible communication between the soul and the sensible world. Indeed, the soul understands only the language of phantasms, the code of which is in the possession of the spirit alone (called, after Aristotle, the internal sense or common sense, 55 SEBASTIAN FITZEK i.e. the sense that unifies the messages of the five external senses into a fantastic language)” (Culianu, 2003: 28). Supposing that love is not really an infection of the subtle body, Culianu makes an interesting point when he associates this noble feeling with image and word in a phantasm, crossing the boundary of reason and logic. The language of the soul thus requires a knowledge that presupposes the art of encoding and decoding the mystical universe of phantasms. The soul cannot understand anything without phantasms, forming its own specific language. “Numquam sine phantasmate intelligit anima” (Culianu, 1999: 29). The investigation of the most intimate space of the human universe reveals both a gnostic and a scientific dimension. 56 Sacred and political power CHAPTER II THE PSYCHIC UNIVERSE OF THE IMAGINARY The knowledge of the indigenous interethnic social environment, through perceptions and attitudes, led me to a possible theory of the imaginary, as a tool for understanding and interpreting the “collective psyche”5. Research into the imaginary is therefore an imperative and a path towards a deeper understanding of human behaviour at group level, especially when ethnicity is involved. To look at and judge things outside human subjectivity and to arrive at the dialectic of archetypes that explains the ontogeny of perceptions between us and others is to penetrate the foundations of social thought. The collective imaginary feeds on the pool of memories deeply embedded in social memory, regenerating itself in relation to the relatively recent movement of public landmark events. The imaginary is a “route in which the representation of the object allows itself to be assimilated and shaped by the impulsive imperatives of the subject” (Durand, 1977: 48). Historical memories are of a collective nature and, passed through the filter of personal experiences, form holograms in the form of micro-films of existence. These spiritual monads arise according to the character of the individual or the existence of stereotypes, as filters of thought under different degrees and hierarchies. The very right to opinion, agreement, consensus or disagreement represents the deliberate form of imaginary freedom that influences, without our awareness, our choices and decisions in any important area of public or private life. 5 The expression "collective psychism" is used here in the sense of a map of the collective imaginary which also implies a knowledge of crowd psychology in the terms used by Gustav Le Bon. 57 SEBASTIAN FITZEK 2.1. The concept of “interethnic imaginary”, a division of the collective imaginary Every educated human being tends to think abstractly, sometimes reaching a form of perfection. But these ideas belonging to the rationalist philosophical current have pushed the boundaries towards an ideal, neglecting the fact that reality cannot be replaced by an anthropological utopia. The motivations of our thinking and of our own actions are causes of a conscious nature, alongside those of a subconscious nature, which are less detectable. The “interethnic imaginary” is a result of the otherness present in the border area of two neighbouring ethnicities. Otherness is the fruit of a thought pattern, formed and cultivated in the relationship between “us and the others”. In the condition where there is no objective perception of the individual we observe, appreciate or judge, the comparison between otherness and identity becomes a subject of semiotic interpretation (Van Alpen, 1991: 3). Favourable or unfavourable attitudes towards the 'other' or 'others' depend on 'good' or 'bad', 'pleasant' or 'unpleasant' perceptions generated by questions such as 'do I like or dislike', 'am I equal or inferior' (because it goes without saying that, most of the time, I am good and I value myself...).” (Todorov, 1994: 173). At the ethnic level, the image of “the others” takes on an impersonal character that often escapes one's own filter and is diluted under the cloak of easily accepted stereotypes. The quality of these more or less friendly, passive or hostile group perceptions is determined by the presence of two image vectors: firstly, by what a group perceives itself to be, and secondly, by what that group perceives in the image of the identity of other neighbouring groups. The state, as the main institution of politics, assumes a collective identity made up of several local identities (ethnic, cultural, religious, etc.), aiming to keep differences between groups as small as possible and in line with official stereotypes ('normative fit') (Andersson, 2010: 48). Beyond the interest of the state, the confluence of these spaces of mutual perception becomes the space of the inter-ethnic imaginary. The interethnic imaginary thus becomes a branch of the collective imaginary, differentiated by the ethnicity of the groups. 58 Sacred and political power Perceptions of the other acquire a certain stereotypical character, as a result of a process that tends to apriori favour the image of the in-group at the expense of the out-group (Chelcea, Iluț, 2003: 345). In the area of ethnic minorities, the sense of belonging is highly developed, anchored in a history of the sacred as the generator of a transcendent destiny. The actualization of these tasks, memories and duties is preserved through the vivid flame of traditions, through the power of rituals and commemorative celebrations. The imaginary of ethnic minorities generally acts on its members as a regenerative force of memory that revives a story, a myth or a legend of the founders considered mythical figures. “The relationship between the collective imaginary and history is a complex one. There is a conflict between history's attempt to remove the white stains of the past and the collective memory that always introduces a mythical vision of the past. Historical memory and collective memory are in a conflict-based relationship generated by the two supporting faculties: memory and imagination” (Pop, 2003: 226). The exaggeration of personal facts is a natural process that usually occurs in individuals at the confluence of reality and imagination. Another interesting phenomenon occurs through the repetition of the story, which, in a long series of retellings, can gradually acquire new, unreal, fantastic elements that each narrator adds in a more or less conscious way. The theme of the interethnic imaginary has become a topic that can deepen the knowledge and objectification of an indigenous civic culture. The subject of integration of ethnic minorities is a widely debated topic in any European country, as well as in Romania in the last 30 years. Following the numerous researches on this subject, two approaches to ethnic relations have emerged in the literature:  the universalist attitude, where differences are seen more as a product of history;  ethnical attitudes as specific forms in both minority and majority populations (Zamfir, Zamfir, 1993: 12). On the ancient Saxons, Zăloagă Marian (2015: 70) explains why an ethnic Roma was considered an Egyptian in the Saxon culture of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Saxons considered the 59 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Roma a kind of immigrants from Egypt. The theory of the Egyptian origin of the Roma was first put forward by the English, an idea later uncritically taken up by some scholars (see the names: English gypsies, a perception later refuted by anthropologists, historians and linguists (Burtea et all, 2008: 31). Indian origin of the Roma is supposed to be the only current that remains today. The arrival of the Protoromans in Byzantium in the 11th century and their spread two centuries later to south-eastern, central and south-western Europe has not been ignored by foreign chroniclers. Spain's Roma, gitanos (xiˈtanos), formed a community integrated into the national culture through dances, traditions and customs. In the Wallachian area, few documents have survived that attest to or describe the life of the Roma in these areas; there is, however, evidence of their role in the division of specific activities. The few data on the presence of Roma in Romanian literature and historical documents over the centuries reveal that a universalist-determinist paradigm was followed, without taking into account the systemic problems of the state. The criticism is not addressed to the presupposition of the universalizing tendency, but to the fact that, underneath it, the cultural domination of the majority is hidden (Zamfir, Zamfir, 1993: 12). In the 19th century, ethnic groups (ethnische Minderheiten) were considered the natural structures of a nation, whereas in the Romanian Pasoptian view, the nation was only a component of the ethnic majority. The inheritance of this view led to a different development for Romanians compared to other countries, resulting in a different process of forming perceptions of 'others'. Against this background, ethnic assimilation in 20th century Romania became difficult and the phenomenon of ethnic cultural mixing (ethnischer Kulturkreis) became slow. In extremis, “marginalization and social exclusion went as far as ethnic cleansing programs, either through expulsion or forced population displacements” (Zamfir, Zamfir, 1993: 13). The case of the Roma in European history is relevant in terms of sad situations resulting in pogroms and concentration camps. The process of physical-geographical marginalisation of the Roma is referred to as marginality by Vasile Burtea (2002: 135), as a form of imposed or self-imposed segregation. 60 Sacred and political power The structuring of collective thinking in Roma is the result of a complex process:  „A historically settled, predominantly defensive way of life, adapting to social situations of marginalisation and severe poverty.  High birth rate, which has strengthened their marginal position. Marginalised conditions should also have required a policy of increasing the quality of births.  The attitude of the majority, also historically solidified, of marginalising/discriminating against Roma, even if not overtly, often implicitly/indirectly.” (Zamfir, 2012: 7) The contribution of the Roma to the national heritage is another topic, which is part of the cultural imaginary. Even if it is not explicitly mentioned, the contribution of Roma elites to Romanian culture (music, art, literature, science and other fields) should be noted. Roma elites define those people who are successful role models for the local community and for the whole Romanian society. The Roma elite are characterized by multiple patterns of success and socio-professional achievements, including a wide range of intellectuals, political leaders and important businessmen (Zamfir, 2013: 57). Unfortunately, after more than three decades, an inexplicable silence is still kept on this ethnic group regarding its contribution and the shaping of the socio-cultural heritage of Romanian society (Burtea, 2010: 3). On the other hand, poor education unfortunately affects young Roma, who are not adapting quickly to the demands of a market dominated by professional globalisation and the ever-changing technological revolutions. From an interethnic perspective, fear of the other is an anthropological archetype that contributes to the structuring of groupthink and is transmitted or learned from one generation to the next, and is rarely caused by personal experience. Fear of the other induces a state of insecurity that is also felt in response. If A is afraid of B, in time B comes to feel the same way about A. If A feels fear of B, over time B will experience a negative pressure that A is constantly transmitting. Fear can easily degenerate into conflict, and B may experience this as a form of persecution. The two situations create a 61 SEBASTIAN FITZEK relationship of mistrust, conflict and on-going persecution. The executioner-victim analogy removes the chance of reconciliation by forming positive perceptions. For this reason the slide towards conflict generates a toxic inter-ethnic imaginary. Romania does not currently have the necessary strength to constructively unite citizens' interests under a single umbrella, without the help or intervention of the European Union. The lack of a common vision capable of improving interethnic relations is a handicap that blocks social symbiosis. On the other hand, Romania is in dire need of improving the level of education in order to create a conscious and active electorate, regardless of ethnic colour. Confidence at the top of the social pyramid is lacking, and education has become an absent factor among local and national politicians. The post-December Romanian interethnic imaginary is an attribute of history, but also of the very present reflected in the symbolic violence of political communication. The case of ethnic Hungarians in Romania is another example of intercultural failure, politically manipulated for personal gain. A healthy interethnic imaginary finds a positive correspondence between past and present, which contributes to strengthening the solidarity and civic responsibility necessary for a participatory political culture. These changes therefore require moral reforms in education, not just in laws or institutional reforms. Reform in this context means improving the professional and moral quality of the political class that represents us as a model for future generations. 2.2. A psychoanalysis of religious representations in Genesis There is no greater freedom than the freedom of thought, the master of the human universe. Nothing compares to this vehicle that has conquered infinity through awareness and imagination. For the French philosopher Brunschvicg, every thought causes “a sin against the spirit” (1950: 98). However, there is a chance that this sin explains the fantastic virtue of symbolization through communication and knowledge. Religion and imagination go beyond the empirical here and now, intertwining in a different kind of knowledge of a spiritual world, eluding the measurements of science (van Mulukom, 2020). In any process of imagination, the psychic 62 Sacred and political power image is a living photograph of the mind that lies at the basis of the imaginary. The encoding and decoding of images is the master skill of homo symbolicus, a being capable of internalizing the world outside itself in an infinite palette of meanings and representations. In the Christian mythical worldview, the sacred comes with the power of the word: “in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and God was the Word” (John 1:1). Man, as the apotheosis of divine creation, identifies himself in the image of the Creator. The portrayal of representation is established on the sixth day when God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Mirroring in the image of the Creator induces the special nature of man that definitively separates him from other species. Another portrayal is that of God as the trustee of human happiness. In Genesis the archetypal Adam-happiness appears which is not appreciated by Adam at first because he does not yet know unhappiness. The fall into sin ennobles him through the first act of awareness of unhappiness. Banishment and alienation are stages of spiritual evolution through which the sense of guilt and abandonment awakens the longing for paradise lost. In the new hypostasis, Adam becomes a relentless athlete in reclaiming primordial space. Life is a stroll out of Eden, where the future promises a return to his first home. The equation of the future is, in fact, a return to the past in which time closes. Adam desires his return and, less so, his becoming. So does a memory of a man's life, when longing makes you go back to the past and not forward. Memories produce a closure of time, abolishing linearity in favour of cycles. A final aspect emerges from the confusion of the archetypally transcendent happiness which is reiterated by the archetypal earthly happiness, hic et nunc. Modern man has lost faith and patience in sacrificing his life for a prize he would receive beyond his existence. The transcendent meaning of happiness moves to a mundane meaning that he now desires here and now. The life of the alienated becomes a continuous search for pleasure from which 63 SEBASTIAN FITZEK suffering is eliminated. Thus the structure of the new happiness becomes the price tag of consumer societies. The representation of the spoken word occupies a special place in the act of man's communication with his Creator. The word is the definition of eternity by which Thomas Aquinas explains the being of the world through the Divinity. The Aquinas theory of being through divinity is a thesis of natural theology which justifies the creation and power of the revealed word as the foundation for the education of the spirit. The semiotics of each revealed word is the semiotics of the sacred and has a double meaning: 1. as the visible part of matter, which is under the transitory dominion of time or space; 2. as the invisible part, this addresses the being under the law of eternity (Aquinas, 1947: 199). The representation of cosmogonist myths in world history highlights the indestructible connection between man and divinity. Myths are the first artefacts of collective consciousness to awaken feelings of religiosity. If, in the most ancient cosmogonies, the birth of the world is the attribute of supernatural forces, then the transcendent-immanent ambivalence is the foundation of the religious imagination. Religion stems from primitive man's admiration of what he cannot perceive rationally. The more man today explains to himself the things and phenomena that surround him, the less religious, but no less spiritual, he becomes. Primitive man's imagination is caught up in the mythical realm of supernatural histories, in which he finds the source of his thinking about the world and life. Animism and totemic can be seen as the first stages of a long process of becoming aware of existence, in which the universe acquires the complexity of a mystical understanding. Animism also represents the beginning of religious history, of the times when society began to take shape in the form of communities without a clear political hierarchy, but with a marked personalisation of power. “We can say, in this sense, that there has not existed and does not exist any religious system that does not contain, in different forms, closely linked and yet distinct, two religions. The first refers to natural things, whether they are the great cosmic forces - winds, 64 Sacred and political power rivers, stars, sky, etc., or all kinds of objects on earth - plants, animals, rocks, etc.: this is called naturism. The other refers to spiritual beings - spirits, souls, genies, demons, proper deities, animate and conscious beings like man - but which differ from him in the nature of the powers attributed to them and, above all, in the fact that they are not perceptible: they cannot be seen by humans; this religion of spirits is called animism.”(Durkheim, 1995: 55). Animism and then totemism or naturalism marked the beginning of man's religious life, which personalised supernatural power in various forms. The social power of the early communities was, in this sense, closely connected to their relationship with the forces of nature. The world of animals is the world of spirits, and their magical power links the two realms of life, linking the living to their ancestors, who were usually reincarnated in animals, plants, stones or even in symbolic objects considered taboo. In the long process towards the first forms of sacred awareness, the first result of independent thinking comes with the prohibition of incest as a rule of behaviour. Incestuous relationships between family members are gradually eliminated from the landscape of the human species. Intermarriage between a parent and his or her own child is perceived as a sin against the gods, because the gods also oppose such relationships. For primitive man, political power derives from a sense of submission and respect for the supernatural. The inferior's relation to the superior was achieved through admiration, as the first form of recognition of a hierarchy. The superior acquires ownership over the perception of the sacred through the concept of taboo - associated with the untouchable, the immortal, the incorruptible or the ideal. This landmark facilitated the creation of the first systems of political representations, invading collective memory through the mythical and cosmogonic narrative of a world beyond our world. The parallelism of the two worlds becomes a process of awareness and comparison of two distinct existences: the sordid life of fallen man and the life of his spirit thirsting for the light of the lost world. The human imagination approaches the word through representation, passing on the same characteristics. Let's take, for example, the word “flower” and observe the two perspectives: 65 SEBASTIAN FITZEK  its objective and botanical representation, which is subject to biological laws;  its mental and subtle representation of being subject to other laws. We are simultaneously aware of both aspects: in a physical way and in an ideational way. Words describing beings subject to death acquire both references as representation. The same is true for the perception of a simple object. The psychic representation of the object also brings with it a sensible, ideational representation, in a somehow immortal form of what our mind operates (by “immortal” I mean something that is no longer subject to physical laws). All objects are memorized and retained by their immortal, unalterable character in which the distortion of time and the atrophy of matter are lost. If the physical description is also common to other objects, the representation is preserved in a unique and personal way. Thus the imagination generates a series of sensitive representations with a unique character. 2.3. Representation and artistic imagination Imagination is the engine of the human mind which, according to Gilbert Durand, is responsible for the formation of perceptions through the activity of memory and through the process of awareness of something that both exists and does not exist, a form ready to appear or, at least, as a particular reality of a psychic nature (1998: 25). For the physicist Albert Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination goes around the world”6. The machinery of thought is the imagination, a space of psychic journey into the world of the possible and the impossible. Thought is the sovereign of human courage that can reach to the farthest corners of the universe and is not subject to any physical laws, having the capacity to accept or deny everything, without anyone being able to control or limit it. Thought is the owner of the imagination, and its space of freedom is 6 Interview with Albert Einstein by George Sylvester Viereck, October 26, 1929, What Life Means to Einstein, in Biographical Portrait. 66 Sacred and political power the infinite world of the human imagination. How else can we explain Protagoras' maxim that “man is the measure of all things, and of those that exist as they exist, and of those that do not exist as they do not exist”. Where does this bold thought spring from and to whom is its strange appearance in the human mind due? Inspiration or intuition are answers to these unsettling questions about the relationship between thought and the infinite possibilities of the human imagination. But another question arises: what mechanisms or scientific explanations might lie behind these two terms? Intuition and inspiration define the human capacity to imagine, manifested through the process of transmigration of representation to other representations, as a natural act of symbolisation. The two concepts can be separated by this general category, by which we understand how the human psyche functions. Wunenburger defines imagination as “a mental activity of producing images, sensible representations that are distinct both from external perceptions and from the conceptualization of abstract ideas” (1995: 3). However, as a critical note, the product of the imagination can be influenced by the state of the emotions of the moment, even if it is differentiated from external perceptions, as the author argues. External images are therefore dependent on the mood at the time, since imagination is part of the introverted nature of one's personality. The objects of the external world are perceived in an inner process, depending on the individual's psycho-emotional state. The mental image of an object is a representation that has at least three essential characteristics:  physical body - a perception of the object that is not a mental copy, but a reproduction of its structure (mind) obtained according to perception;  the emotion of representation - the object in our mind is an ideational model present in the form of a psychic light with a unique imprint, which is deposited in the immense areal of memory; 67 SEBASTIAN FITZEK  symbolization of representation - the represented object acquires an extension, association or transmigration to other similar representations as a psychic process of imagination. Fig. 2. The three characteristics of mental representation Psychic object === > B.E.S. (BODY - EMOTION - SYMBOL) Source: personal creation On the first issue, it should be noted that “the image is not a psychic copy of the external object, but rather a representation coming from the field of poetic terminology, i.e. the imaginary representation that refers only indirectly to the perception of the external object. Rather, it is based on the imaginary activity of the unconscious; it manifests itself in consciousness as an unconscious product, i.e. more or less suddenly, somewhat like a vision or a hallucination, but without its pathological character, i.e. without ever being part of the clinical picture of a disease” (Jung, 1997: 476). The relationship between psyche and object is consummated in the same way as the relationship between a painter and the painted object. Psychic representations can be of a conscious or unconscious nature, acting as a translator between the external world and the psychic world. In the historicist perspective of the French historian, Jaques Le Goff, the imaginary can be defined as a psychic representation at the confluence of reality and imagination, being the term that encompasses any mental translation of a perceived external reality (1991: 6). We only have to think of an object, a ship, for example, and we will see how, associated with this word, the act of representation intervenes. The image is first abstracted from its physical model of perception, and then associated with other representations, such as water, sea, travel, sky, etc. The act of imagination produces a transmigration of the initial representation to a complex of representations associated with the initial object. For a painter, the ship takes on the 68 Sacred and political power complexity of an artistic painting with infinite resources of representation. The mental image therefore has unlimited descriptive and narrative potential, unlike its physical image, which defines the object as a visual structure. The artistic imagination knows an infinite multitude of possibilities which, starting from the simple ideational representation of an object, can construct an entire universe. Symbolisation, through representation, translates the real world into an imagined world, in which reality coexists with the artist's fantasies. The ship, in a poet's imagination, goes through the same structure of representation. „She looks as in the distant seas He rises, darts his rays And leads the blackish, loaded ships On the wet, moving, ways.” (Eminescu, Lucifer) The interpretation given by the poet is different, depending on the perception of the reader. The differences stem from the association of representations in the vicinity of the word and not strictly from its psychic hologram. The Eminesque metaphor “Blackish, loaded ships” can be interpreted as a funerary act, in which every man is subject to this law, or it can just be the shadow of his image receding on the horizon. The semiology of the image is rich in possible interpretations, depending on the process of association, transmigration and soul experience. The human mind is for Jung “a pendulum oscillating between sense and nonsense, not between good and evil”7. In the psychic world, the non-sense is a category with meaning in relation to imagination and the imaginary. Just as a real image stands in relation to physical reality, so an unreal image stands in relation to imagination. The antithesis of the two worlds is an illusion and merges in the world of the human psyche, and the opposites coexist in parallel universes without apparent exclusion. The error arises in man's effort to cling to reason, without realising that imagination contributes to a greater extent to the activity of thought, to the emergence of ideas or inventions. People can fly with their minds, 7 Electronically recorded quote from a lecture given by Jung during his 6 lectures on psychoanalysis at Fordam University, 1912, USA (source: Discovery Education). 69 SEBASTIAN FITZEK they can move to any corner of the universe and the impossible becomes possible. First it was the idea, then the deed. First it was thought, then action. Design precedes action and so the future precedes the present in a backward-looking relationship that reason often overlooks. I would venture to say that the universe of imagination precedes the universe of reality, otherwise how else would the physical world have been projected without someone imagining a possible future. If this claim is accepted by the thread of doubt, then reason must accept the primacy of the universe of representations, of imagination as retro causal to the real world. The human imagination personalizes death, and life becomes a variant or a moment in an infinite string. The successive and structured connections that produce an imagined world are said to lie somewhere at the level of the unconscious, and these can be analysed through the hermeneutics of symbols and metaphors in the realm of psychic representations. Disassembling a mental symbol lead to the original meaning of the representation. Imagination is therefore a generator of psychic representations that constantly participates in and enriches the world of the psychic imagination. The link between the imagination and the imaginary is demonstrated by the role of each: the former produces a sum of unique images, while the latter stores them in mental memory. The generation of artistic images are generally empirical in nature, constituting a sensitive world in which the representation absorbs the tacit beauty of a personal sensation that opens up to the outside world. The introverted nature of the artistic imagination chooses the path of extroversion through the acute need to expose itself to the whole universe. In the view of the philosopher Gaston Bachelard, who defines the artistic imagination as a form of mobility of the spirit, all research on the imagination is troubled by the false lights of etymology (2003: 9). There is a temptation to think of imagination as a faculty of forming images, but in fact it is the faculty of deforming the images provided by perception. Artistic imagination frees us from our first images, transforming them into what we wish to represent in our inner selves. Without this image exchange, we cannot conceptualize imagination, thus the process of imagining would be non-existent. Let's imagine how a deaf-mute 70 Sacred and political power thinks and communicates from birth, a person who has never heard or developed sign language. Can we think outside a language, an organised system of sounds and gestures loaded with signs and symbols? What does the blind from birth dream? What is and what is the imaginary of a blind person who has never seen? If man is the measure of all that can pass through his own filter, what does his imagination come from? It originates largely from his inner world. If thought precedes language, then imagination precedes the imaginary. The artistic imaginary, the poetic imaginary and the literary imaginary acquire the most intimate and specific features that contributed to the flowering of the personality of an era. These images constitute, through their semantic richness, invaluable sources describing a world imagined by the most cultured and enlightened minds. In the Renaissance, the paradigm of thought draws its inspiration from the ancient Greek imaginary, placing man at the centre of the universe. God was not necessarily banished, but rather personalised and rediscovered in the beauty of female amphorae and the perfect anatomical relief of the human body. Rebirth means inspiration and revelation, two words that describe how the imagination works. The artistic creations that abound in painting and sculpture are associated with the scientific, futuristic visions of Leonardo da Vinci. Tiziano Vecellio and Michelangelo Buonarroti are painters who had the courage to introduce the nude into church representations. The presence of nudity of the human body in the sacred precincts was no longer considered blasphemy. Astonished by Michelangelo's audacity in painting nudes on the Sistine Chapel vault, Catholic Renaissance theologians succumbed to the painter's genius. The Adamic nakedness of Genesis represents the purity of Creation before the fall into sin. Victory over the old canons reveals the beauty of Creation, which even the highest prelates accept as a divine act. In “The Prince”, Niccolò Machiavelli overcomes Greek fatalism, elevating modern political science to a work of art. The politician emerges victorious in his struggle with destiny and frees himself from the chains imposed by the will of the gods, radically changing his system of reference. Political power must be conquered and controlled so that no one can shake it. The concern for the image of the new Prince is based on the premise that what is seen is real, 71 SEBASTIAN FITZEK and that enemies respect what is transmitted to them and not what is true. Illusions begin to play a key role in shaping power relations, and the Prince must know and use these principles. Fortune, a capricious goddess, can only be tamed and mastered by the powerful, and this new paradigm led to the fortification of political life, the militarisation of kingdoms and a preoccupation with the image of kings. The beauty of the imaginary of the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries is brought to light by the patristic theology of the great Christian scholars through texts of rare value, such as the Summa Theologiae by Thomas Aquinas. The theory of Natural Law and the theory of Creation of the world by the Divinity are reminiscent of Divine Law, which acts on all people, giving them rights of participation in political life. We find such ideas in their earliest forms in Plato and Aristotle. The case of Athenian democracy is relevant to understanding the birth of modern democracy, and the examples could go on. 2.4. The categorical couple: sacred and political power approaching the collective imaginary The political imaginary is the result of general perceptions accumulated over time and passed down through generations that citizens find in their own community. On the first stage, there is a major historical dimension that acts on individuals through its power to regenerate feelings about a past worth defending and preserving. The most important moment of remembrance is the celebration of the National Day. The image of the personalities, deeds and events of the past are part of the arsenal of historical memory that underpins the political imagination. The act of remembrance strengthens cohesion and a sense of unity. On the second stage, the political imaginary critically relates to the present in relation to the aura of times gone by. Political power and the sacred are the vectors that define and engrave a people's collective memory. The categorical couple involves both the ideological factor of power and the sacredness of a vision of existence, world and life. The main characteristic of power is morality and the belief in a superior existence to life here and now, reiterating 72 Sacred and political power the same principle found within the religious phenomenon. The right to rule in the Ancient Oriental State derives directly from the sacred authority of power, adding a sum of mystical, revelatory experiences in the act of ruling and in the act of submission to divinity. The king or pharaoh borrows the authority of the gods, and the subjects worship them as personalized manifestations of the sacred. Since then, the hierarchy of the whole world, from nature to culture or society, from the poor to the rich follows a hierarchy modelled on divine authority. The presence of cleavages is natural and does not generate a social imbalance. Each individual knows his or her place in a cosmic hierarchy. The hierarchical line from king to slave respects the 'command-and-obey' relationship in perfect order, contributing to the harmony of the world. One of the oldest forms of power is symbolic power, an ancient way of subduing the “plebs”, but also a strategy full of inexhaustible resources. The fear of death and the punishment of exile are forms of political power that make it obey without the intervention of force: “Symbolic resources are those that help to maintain and perpetuate the social order without recourse to force. The creation of new meanings of power conceals the relations that lie behind” (Frigioiu, 2007: 80). Communication, through symbolic power, is also a means used by today's societies through the deployment of military parades in order to deter possible invaders. In fact, any structure of power includes that peculiarity of the sacred generated by the moral authority of the right to rule. If moral authority is damaged, in a functioning democratic regime, all authority and legitimacy suffers. Ignoring this aspect entails the decline of an entire civilisation, as in the case of the Roman Empire. The Western European and especially the American model are following the same path, and we are helplessly witnessing a collapse in full swing. From this we can conclude that any other civilisation or nation that preserves or defends this moral ingredient of power can withstand the storms of a changing world. The categorical coupling of political power and the sacred is therefore an important relationship at the basis of the state and politics, regardless of historical time. The distinction between the two concepts does not lead to a clear separation in terms of the semantics of the terms. The word “power” has its roots in Sanskrit 73 SEBASTIAN FITZEK “patis” translated as husband and master and also from the term pater familias which, for the ancient Romans, meant the head of the family (Frigioiu, 2007: 68). Respect for the head of the family has profound connotations in respect for the Divinity. In line with Greek philosophy, Thomas Aquinas considers power an active form of politics (definition quid rei), which generated and transmitted the moral order of things, ultimately contributing to the maturation of the state (Battista 1991: 472). The morality of political action is reflected in the degree of competence and efficiency of a state, just as the church proceeds with its own religion. St Thomas Aquinas pays homage to the political in the sense in which what defines the political must relate to the state the same way the church relates to religion through the same morality. As an object of study, power has been considered by some scholars as a fundamental concept to be analysed in all social sciences. The research area of power has become so broad to the extent that no science can restrict it to a single field of research. This is why the English philosopher and mathematician, Betrand Russel considered that: 'power is the fundamental concept in the social sciences in the same sense that energy is the fundamental concept in physics' (1975: 3). Power is not just brute force or a military type of subordination, and here it refers to the meaning that comes from conflict. In the same way, power can be approached as a socio-psychic perception, the term running the risk of being interpreted and limited to the enforceability resulting from the domination-submission relationship. Power, in its pure state, is constituted of body and soul, like the individual. The soul of power is its sacred part, and it’s materialized power concerns the meaning given by man as strength submitted to his own will. At the same time, power is like an electric current, which revitalizes matter in the form of a divine breath: “Social power is like electric power. We see the effects and manifestations of both, but not the phenomenon itself. Social power is transformed into order, force and authority; electrical power into light, heat and movement. Their misuse can bring death. But the essence of these phenomena escapes us” (Bierstedt, 1975: 226). Politics was embodied by power, as the representative of a field of action, which became the most important manifestation of social 74 Sacred and political power power. Politics was established from the moral authority of power, derived from the cosmogony of sacred beings. The gods have made up the world in various mytho-magical guises and have ruled over people since the earliest times. Their gradual withdrawal from the landscape in favour of the first kings was achieved through a symbolic process of transmission of power: from the deity to the sons of men. The sociological analysis of the sacred is of great relevance to secularised societies, its visible and invisible manifestation emerging from within political rituals. As a rule, heads of state also take advantage of the occasions when they can show themselves, alongside ordinary people. The need for legitimacy stems from the lack of credibility that politicians are aware of. The compensation for trust is built by their presence among the crowds, which gives them the opportunity to communicate a tacit message. Repeated crowd baths at every opportunity have become a feature of populism; this phenomenon is explained by the desire of people to watch them closely and not from the height of the stands. Leaders are aware of these relationships and allow themselves to be seen, greeted, touched, praised or publicly criticised, thereby risking embarrassment. Self-flagellation comes from the unconscious need to confront reality. Negative tension, coming from the public and felt by a high state official, can be discharged in direct confrontation with the street. However, not all politicians adhere to this mode of confrontation. Avoiding confrontation can be seen as a sign of cowardice, heightening tension. Many officeholders intrinsically understand these relationships and choose or avoid direct confrontation with an aggressive public depending on the strength of their own character. Sometimes it is wiser to confront the street, not avoid it, to self-regulate tensions! This psychosocial mechanism operates on the criterion of courage, with the courageous correcting their mistakes, sometimes very big ones, as opposed to those who refuse confrontation. People are ready to forgive, but they do not accept cowardice, and a politician of vocation understands the spirit of these street laws. Since the process of organising human society has ramified, the sacred has expanded as a field of research into all three major dimensions: religion, science and politics. The common feature of the three dimensions is found in the relationship between 75 SEBASTIAN FITZEK sacred and power, starting from the existing multidisciplinary social relations studied in political sociology, political anthropology and political science. Rudolf Otto replaces the sacred with the numinous, a term that defines the state of ''creature'' capable of reflection in self-consciousness (2005: 14). By analogy with the sociology of religion, the sacred refers to the idea of space outside our world; sacred, however, cannot be limited to the transcendent or to religion alone. Sacred floods the profane by its invisible presence within all human rituals, being difficult to be aware of because of its abstruse nature. Human consciousness, for example, is a presence of something we do not know how to define or scientifically delineate. The reference to this term indirectly refers us to 'divine consciousness'. Are there links between the two terms? Both terms share the subject of consciousness, separated only by their association: divine and human. Isn't human consciousness divine consciousness? The Bible says, right from Genesis, that man was created in the image and likeness of the Creator. The biblical argument explains the transition of divine consciousness to human nature. Man's resemblance to God therefore comes through his conscience, which demonstrates the presence of the sacred within man. From this derives the deep feeling and need for justice that every man feels in the face of injustice. How else can one explain why human conscience is an attribute, a trait, a superior property by which man has definitively separated himself from other species? For those who don't accept the biblical argument, things can be approached differently. How do we differentiate good from evil or a good deed from a crime? An animal kills its prey out of need, but it can also kill for pleasure (the tiger usually kills for pleasure). Regardless of the two situations, one truth remains valid: no animal can tell the difference between killing and murder. Human perception, however, feels pride, defiance, regret and repentance, states that do not exist in the animal world. Correcting these differences and overturning the biblical argument, one can see that the presence of conscience is a superior ability, unique to the human species. Its light ennobles thought through the mobilizing force of facts, being an extraordinary quality that can be seen as a correlation between the human and the sacred, as an invisible space intuited through consciousness. 76 Sacred and political power The social sciences offer many interesting approaches to the question of the sacred, without neglecting its presence in secularised societies. In my perspective, the contribution of the sacred to the modern world is as important as in the past, but less observable. If a politician or a scientist ignores the perception and the extent of this phenomenon, it is enough to look at the world with one eye, and its panorama will be dwarfed. Accepted or not, the sacredness of the Weltanschaung is visible in every action, behaviour and mentality of modern man. The sense of the sacred is awakened in any society by participation in the collective activity represented by ceremony (Durkheim, 1995: 7). Ritual is another element of the sacred, without which we cannot imagine the world. Is there life outside ritual? There probably is only in the case of artificial intelligence, but not human intelligence. Humans are built, act and live through rituals, starting with routine habits: daily meals, bedtimes, the need to read or go out with friends, etc. All these habits are ritual acts, and to imagine a human without rituals would be a blatant aberration. Ritual plays an important role in reinforcing habits and mentalities, and therefore in structuring thought. The term comes from the Hindu language rita and designates a religious custom, especially cultic, well established, ordered and inherited by tradition (Bertholet, Camphausen, 1995: 396). Another meaning of this term refers to the idea of mystical relationship specific to initiates. In time, however, under the need for scriptural fixation, a whole hierophany was established through the ritual books: Liki, Engishiki, Norito, Brahmanas, Rig Veda, Codex of Priests, Romanu Rituals and others (Kloppenborg, Dirk, 1983: 207). We find ritual not only in studies of the history of religions or in acts of religious worship, but also in the modern life of every human being in the form of rites of passage. The term was first used by A. Van Gennep (1909). Through rites of passage, each individual crosses several statuses during his or her life, and transitions are often marked by rites that are diversified from one society to another (Bonte, Izard, 2007: 586). Thus, any major vital event such as birth, baptism, coming of age, marriage, and death is always accompanied by ritual acts that become customs or habits inherited through tradition. 77 SEBASTIAN FITZEK 2.5. A hypothetical theory of the collective imaginary The collective imaginary fully absorbs the memory of a community, through the sum of experiences, representations and perceptions of a public nature, from its beginnings to its disappearance. Just as in the life history of an ageing human being, collective memory needs training and stimulation in order not to fall into oblivion. Its atrophy makes the process of remembering vulnerable, a relationship that is also true of country projects. Young generations are like neurons that pass on a complex identity with specific data and feelings. Interruption of the transmission process accelerates irreversible senility. Against this background, we perceive the importance of memory training at a collective level, understanding by the vulnerable lives of communities, the lives of young people who prefer to forget or not to learn. New communities are just as vulnerable, and here we are referring to newly emerged states with a history no older than 200 or 300 years. But one thing is certain: the more intensively the collective memory is cultivated, the more resilient it is over time. Memory training is the same as strengthening education, rituals, a sense of pride and belonging essential conditions in the process of maturing young people. Countries, large and small communities that ignore this law of preserving values and learning from experienced generations are subjecting themselves to the process of memory alteration, knowingly eliminating national memory. The choice to break with the past belongs to each generation, but the consequences can be irreversible. The right to opinion, agreement, consensus or disobedience is a deliberate form of freedom, with a direct impact on community life. Hence, the survival of communities depends directly on the choice of generations to preserve or break with the past, like a human body regenerated by young cells that decide to contribute more to the life of the whole or to break, bringing an end. How do memories, the images inside the memory and the collective imaginary act? To answer one of the most difficult questions addressed in this book, I will engage the geometric imagination of readers through spatial analysis and arguments in favour of a possible theory. The influential power of imagination acquires a bidirectional nature, as a result obtained at the confluence 78 Sacred and political power of the real image of the object (recreated by our mind, according to Jung) and its ideational representation (in the light of its psychic form), from which the hybrid of a new image results. Hybrid images therefore have a real and an imaginary content, without cancelling each other out. The result is seen in the prototype of a real image and an unreal image, in which both are associated without rejecting each other. The paradox and strange construction shows that the possible embraces the impossible in a possible formula. The real/unreal association demonstrates that anything, thought, object, action, feeling and anything we imagine are possible in our minds, a fair argument when we think of the infinite possibilities of imagination. The disappearance of boundaries, of limits, shows that in this universe everything is possible and that the laws of physics with which we usually measure reality disappear in the context of the psychic world. Let us call these hybrid results phantasms, as objects of the imagination and of the imaginary of which they are a part. Do phantasms have their own laws? For the moment, they seem to be unknown; a law, however, exists when we say that the vehicle of this space is thought. Thought is where we fix our attention, and if attention flies, thought flies, attention is merely switched. The phrase “to pay attention to me” means to have, in that moment thought. In all versions, we are somewhere in thought, and you, the readers are now in thought about me and what I want to share with you next. Thought is the vehicle of the mind that flies through phantasms, and not in vain do some affirm (even the Bible) that where your thought is, there is your heart and treasure. So be careful where we wander our thoughts or attention. Why this reminder? Do we have another new law to discuss here? Thought not only travels between fantasies, thought also manufactures them. In short, we have the following scheme: 79 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Fig. 3 Phantasms as objects of the human imagination Actual Image of the object The interaction process of the imaginary Ideational object representation Hybrid result: phantasm (a combination between the object's reality and its ideational representation) Phantasms are imaginative objects accessible to thought as a vehicle in the starry skies of the imaginary Source: personal creation The scheme provides a hypothetical theory by which we understand phantasms' role and function in supporting the imaginary. A developed critical mind might argue that there are phantasms that have no connection to a known real object, and here I have to agree. Phantasms can therefore also be purely imagined objects, monsters or unseen beings from the space of a children's fairy tale. The inclusion of reality is therefore not a prerequisite, although one might say that nothing can be born of nothing, and then any imagined form or creature starts from an existing image, even in the form of a shadow lost in time. Overcoming the dispute between the two views, a first conclusion would be that imagination trumps reality in any field, including science. Speaking of the scientific imagination, it suffices to invoke a further argument to give credibility in the minds of the pessimists by asking: how do we explain invention? Well, imagination is at the root of many inventions, and if we look in the Encyclopaedia of Scientific Discoveries, we find countless examples. All I want to say is that the scientific imagination exists and that it has its importance; I also add that phantasms help us comprehend the greatest of the unknowns and even further discoveries. Another example: the world of the 21st century is preoccupied with discovering exoplanets (Earth-like planets outside our solar system that might harbour life). The premise of life outside the Earth starts from a scientific imagination. Many scientists believe there is a huge 80 Sacred and political power chance that we are not alone in the universe. The scientific imagination has chosen the future, anticipated it, shaped it, including the scientist who measures distances and trusts in the god of numbers, even he has a vision of a possible future drawn in numbers. The scientific imagination generates plans to revolutionise the way we travel to the stars, using technologies described by science fiction authors. Where do all these crazy ideas come from? Not from the playful spectrum of fantasies that serve the scientific imagination with verve? Imagination, then, is the reactor of energies that propel the future towards a chosen present. The projection of the impossible into the possible is an exercise of the mind, the arena of challenges where man has surpassed himself. 2.6. Media imaginary and its influence in the formation of human personality What role does the imaginary play in our lives and how does it influence us, given that image and text now dominate the global thought process through the power of the media? How free and in control are we of our own thoughts and decisions in the face of the alluring mirage of the screen? The answer depends on the number of hours we spend daily in front of these machines for manipulating the human mind. Excessive television consumption seems to absorb everything, generating changes in attitudes and perceptions with a direct impact on human behaviour. Change occurs almost unnoticed, and when there are signs of concern, we hide behind pitiful arguments like a heroin addict. Life in front of the screen lures us with various temptations that blur the reality around us, alienating us from our true interests. Endless strings of images are dripped drop by drop, effecting changes in our perceptions of the world and life. And then, something serious happens: we lose our freedom, becoming addicted to virtual heroin. In this sub-chapter, we will trace this subtle process of almost imperceptible change in our personality as a result of media influence. 81 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Are there positive sides to these changes brought about by modern technology? It's no secret that excessive exposure to screen light causes a mental disorder and a worrying decrease in attention, especially among young people vulnerable to the multi-coloured mirage of images. The addiction to images, and especially to games, is proven on a daily basis by those who waste their free time on entertainment at the expense of study. As of 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) has listed game addiction as a mental illness (https://www. who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/gaming-disorder). A quick honesty test, of those addicted, would help us notice changes in attitude towards others, especially through carelessness and increased nervousness. For the sake of screens, especially smart phones, we forget important details, affecting our memory and attention. Worrying about a screen takes priority over a conversation with loved ones. This is where the first visible signs of TV addiction begin to appear. Do we realise that exposure to television night after night formats and empties the mind from its own thoughts, replacing them with prefabricated mass thoughts? Acquiring such a habitus is negative for any individual, and it affects the members of his family in the same way. Numerous studies on the subject warn that prolonged exposure to video games increases aggression in the family, school and society. In a study conducted by two Romanian researchers, the figures demonstrate this manifest trend: “High levels of physical aggression are found in 12.00% of computer-dependent adolescents and in 11.11% of adolescents at risk of developing addiction and in 6.52% of non-dependent adolescents” (Racu and Racu, 2015: 118-119). Nervousness and the development of a heightened negative sensitivity towards peers are the first worrying signs. In the case of television, there are also positive aspects if there is judgement. “Television does good and bad, helps and harms. It should not always be praised, but neither can it be condemned without discernment” (Sartori, 2006: 31). Discernment would be a 82 Sacred and political power point of resistance to a temptation that gradually conquers you. The uncontrolled attraction to the universe of screens denotes a weakness towards visual pleasure. The claims are backed up by the explosive growth in purchases of colour TVs since the 1960s. The phenomenon is explained by people's fascination with the colour screen. As of January 1968, the TVB (Television Bureau of Advertising) informs us that American households owning colour TVs consume 40 to 70 minutes more daily than households with black and white TVs (Murray, 2018: 62). The preference for colour has a visual anthropological explanation in the need for primitive humans to colour the walls of their home, bedroom or even their grave in contrast to the old colourless and monotonous environment. In the year 2020, audio-video technologies have continuously improved, making them attractive to all age groups, regardless of their educational level. We met grandparents who disapproved of their grandchildren using tablets and smartphones. Later, we found the same grandparents frequenting various video games or social networks in the evenings, on the grounds that they want to keep up with their grandchildren. Have grandparents stopped reading stories to their grandchildren? What is happening to the old guardians of children in the face of increasingly invasive technologies? Many video clips are produced with high-performance graphics, some even surpassing reality. In the case of a state-of-theart 4K or 8K TV, we find that the images are much clearer and more attractive compared to visual reality. This is due to the huge number of pixels and intense colours compared to naturally perceived images. The effect of sharpness and intense light creates, for example, the perfect mountain scenery on a state-of-the-art screen. We will soon be connecting to a universe of virtual pixels. At a 3D or 5D cinema, you can enjoy watching a film, experiencing it at maximum intensity, participating with all your being in the story of a sympathetic director. The effects of the technology shock you with: the explosion of blood in space, the sound of bumps heard through the shaking of seats, coffee spilled in warm water splashes, gushing directly onto the skin of the audience, all these crazy inventions are beyond imagination. The multidimensional confusion of parallel worlds is already possible. A virtual world is an environment comprising an infinite 83 SEBASTIAN FITZEK number of worlds rendered through films, video games, etc. By entering and leaving these multiple worlds in the screen imaginary, we risk losing sight of reality; for example, in the American film 'Total Recall', Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a fighter who ultimately emerges victorious over obstacles in virtual worlds. Professor Giovanni Sartori writes about the emergence and spread of Homo videns, a prototype that will soon replace the old Homo sapiens. Homo videns is easily recognised by his Google Glass glasses and the slightly hunched position he occupies as a consumer of coloured screens. An exemplary Homo videns possesses a chameleonic ability necessary to assume multiple identities, depending on the world it connects to online. There are complex video games that involve following certain social customs and rules. The first people to marry virtually have also emerged; I cite the example of the young Japanese Akihiko Kondi who married the hologram of a cartoon character. The attachment to video games is one of the most difficult challenges for young people. Online games have become the new social networks for young children, who experience situations that adults face in a world without clear rules. Like killing someone? To find out the answer, we log on to the computer and open a shooter game. Like robbing a bank and vandalising a street, we get on the same computer and play a GTA (Grand Theft Auto). What would it be like to feel like a great footballer? In all these examples, we need that tool that conquers us virtually effortlessly. New challenges are now driven by artificial intelligence. There is talk of a new kind of teacher, a robot with answers to all questions. Human interaction is no longer important, and the old teacher could quickly be replaced by someone perfect and flawless. Latest generation media advertising has a potential for retro causality8, designed to program future consumer behaviour. Subliminal advertising is a form of unconscious induction (das 8 Retrocausality is a relatively new theory in quantum physics which claims that a certain event in the future can influence the present, in the opposite direction to causality and temporality. Quantum inseparability shows that while T0 influences T1 and T1 can influence T0, in other words, the law of causality is not the only law at work in the universe. The reverse of causality is retrocausality which is also verified in psychosociology by the need to explain terms like intuition or déjà vu. Although difficult to explain logically, scientists certify the existence of these phenomena. 84 Sacred and political power Unbewusste) of sequential images played repetitively over milliseconds. What escapes the eye, however, does not escape the unconscious, an optical process of a psychological nature. Subliminal advertising can also program dreams. The phenomenon is explained by images entering the unconscious chamber without being stopped or controlled by the conscious mind. The presence of a commercial product in a dream triggers the formulation of a wish. In this way, freedom and discernment disappear. When subliminal images in advertising reach the unconscious, it seems clear that we no longer have the freedom of decision. The human brain perceives the sequential image without being aware of it, thus the conscious filter is fooled by the very brief presence of a frame. The battle is fought at the border between conscious and unconscious, because images that penetrate beyond the conscious filter acquire unsuspected powers over our desires and decisions. It is well known that the unconscious is the most complex space of our personality, for it becomes vulnerable without the watchful activity of the conscious mind. As in political marketing, specialists anticipate key stimuli and factors in the collective unconscious in order to ensure the success of an electoral strategy. Sampling the target audience in order to construct the right message is, in fact, a market research of the collective unconscious specific to those groups. An unfocused message can hit like a nut against the wall. Targeting the message requires an in-depth knowledge of group psychology, which is necessary to construct winning messages. Neuromarketing is the spearhead of advertising, which uses neuroimaging techniques9, studying brain activity in decision-making. If we ask ourselves what is the point of these huge efforts by big companies, we find a wellknown answer: money and the desire to control. I conclude by calling for moderation, for reflection, especially when we unconsciously take on certain media models without prior selection. Any excess of television, computers or other virtual spaces does nothing to help shape the personality, whereas books, meditation and dialogue will always chisel the soul. 9 Neuroimaging is a technique that uses electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography or nuclear magnetic resonance to study the brain's activity under certain stimuli. 85 SEBASTIAN FITZEK The state of psychological imbalance can be explained as a consequence of rumination of less pleasant memories, making us vulnerable. It is therefore important to be aware of what ends up in the unconscious space. Exposure to a string of images of poor moral quality can have a negative impact on us. In conclusion, manipulating the unconscious mind through subliminal advertising techniques is, in my opinion, immoral and would fit perfectly with the Machiavellian maxim: 'the ends justify the means'. 2.7. A new theoretical perspective on the unconscious The analysis of unconscious phenomena and processes has been hampered by the difficulty of research methods, rejected by the reluctance of radical behaviourism. Recently, however, the subject has aroused interest in psychology, neurology and psychiatry, with the detection of obvious links between memory and perception in the dissociation of the conscious from the unconscious. The first concrete evidence emerged from memory performance tests carried out by American psychiatrists and neurologists on groups of amnesic patients. Subjects were asked to read a list of words and then recall them from memory; they would then reconstruct the meaning of the memorised words using other words and compound expressions (Jacoby, Yonelinas, Jennings, 1997: 13). The association and dissociation of words by other words with the same meaning also occurred in normal people when they were confronted with the phenomenon of lapses, a theory first formulated by Sigmund Freud. The dissociation of the missing word, by association with other words, is evidence of unconscious perception emerging, as an image, towards the conscious, through other words and expressions replacing the forgotten word. The unconscious mind thus works with a series of perceptions that cannot be expressed in human language, but, using a restricted vocabulary, it manages to reproduce the original meaning in other ways (words, expressions). This explains the frustration felt by children learning to speak in the absence of words. In children, the perception of an object or an intention is clear, but their conscious mind has a limited vocabulary through which they make themselves understood. 86 Sacred and political power The search for the right words is a permanent state of any communicator, an arduous process that returns to the conscious mind. The time between the intention to communicate and the act of communicating is sometimes consumed in the effort to find the right words, a translation of perceptions and representations of the mind. Clarity of expression depends on the ability and speed of the conscious mind to discover the most appropriate expressions, as well as on the vocabulary background learned. Analysis of mental activity reveals the continuous active connection between the unconscious and the conscious, which the act of language involves and explains in the clearest possible way. As part of the human personality, the unconscious has several unique characteristics which differentiate it from the conscious or other hypothetical personality structures. But first, let me define the semantics of a well-known term. By conscious, I define the totality of an individual's senses and perceptions of the external environment, which both directly and indirectly influence his or her thinking, behaviour, volition, emotions and decisions. Introspectionists consider the whole of mental life to be conscious, whereas behaviourists advocate the elimination of this concept from psychology. The French psychologist and psychoanalyst Norbert Sillamy defines “consciousness” as: “a form of immediate knowledge that each of us has about one’s existence, one's acts and the outside world. Consciousness organizes the data of our senses and the memory that situate us in space and time; it does not exist as a particular function that is organized and has a seat in the brain and is without inferiority and without exteriority, a relation with the perceived world” (1998: 78). The author of the definition tries to describe, in a clear way, the state of awareness (con-scientia, conscience), a form of reproduction with science or rather a synchronization between scientization through knowledge, gathering of information and awareness through inner understanding of “being”. The reflection of reality from the outside inwards is induced by both mental activities: the gathering of data, of information from the outside, and their objectification as perception and mental representation within. 87 SEBASTIAN FITZEK It can be said that man becomes aware through the stimulation of the whole organism, which implies the totality of knowledge forms in contact with the outside, through a limited set of senses, which are more or less developed. The whole complex process of contact and cognition forms the operational theatre of the conscious mind which perceives, thinks and acts, as the visible part of the personality, the same conscious mind which acts through memory, forgetting, reason and irrationality. The conscious mind can also be seen as the repository of mental clarity, as a continuous activity of clearing perceptions coming from the unconscious through a process of awareness (Overgaard, Rote, Mouridsen, Ramsøy, 2006: 700). In general, we visualize the same relatively similar objects, the perception being different, unique, due to circumstances that belong to the unconscious. The conscious mind is determined by the unconscious mind and is in fact an extension of it, a body out of another body, through which we perceive the corporal world. From the perspective of visual anthropology, the image of the object is obtained thanks to the bodily senses (sight, hearing, smell, tactile senses, etc.), and the clarification of these perceptions is achieved through the process of awareness. There are therefore three types of perception:  the unprocessed perception of an object obtained through the senses (as it physically appears in a photograph);  conscious perception that modifies the initial image with a representation (a translation that the conscious mind adds by transforming the initial object into a mental image);  unconscious perception, as a representation of the object associated with a sensitive body lacking the linguistic expression of its name. The unconscious does not possess a vocabulary, but it is the repository of a huge memory of representations, which the conscious uses, materializing itself through the language learned. Without exaggeration, the dimension between the conscious and the unconscious can be compared in proportion to the dimension between a button and a planet. When we speak of our personality, 88 Sacred and political power we are tempted to limit ourselves to the conscious part, to that ergo (in the sense of ego) springing from the vanity of the ego, forgetting the role and the fantastic dimension of the unconscious as an integral part of our real personality. The relationship between a button and a planet describes exactly the global dimension of personality, as we do not usually perceive it. The giant planet is a metaphorical expression, with no metric measurements, boundaries or delimitations known to us humans. Through the unconscious, each individual retains, in the deepest substrata of the unconscious, links with the universe of representations manifested through the imagination. Another argument derives from Freud's premise that 'every behavioural act is rooted in the unconscious' (1992: 277). In conclusion, the unconscious is a giant platform of the personality that influences the conscious mind, its behaviour and decisions according to inner desires. In the following diagram, we have created a pyramid based on the unconscious as an influencing factor of the preconscious and conscious. Fig. 4. The influence of decisions in Freudian theory; the impact of the unconscious upon the conscious Source: personal creation How else would one explain this personality scheme? According to Freud, the unconscious manifests itself exclusively through dreams, the birthplace of logically unexplained desires (2011: 26, 27). Dreams arise from the deepest desires and anxieties. As for unconscious desires, they cannot be easily explained because they are difficult to be aware of. The dream memory of a pleasant 89 SEBASTIAN FITZEK place, the feeling of longing for a loved one, the memory of a familiar scent or landscape is representations that spring from the deepest layers of the unconscious. The feeling of longing shows that the representation of that person is in the unconscious memory. In the same complex of representations, other pleasant or unpleasant memories migrate to the conscious mind, like an image or state that is often inexplicable. The unconscious is a huge repository of memories that manifest themselves in the form of phantasms. Their (conscious) outburst gives us a wide range of emotions and feelings, known or unknown, pleasant or sad, composing the whole personal imaginary. Their baggage is immense and is more easily detected by remembering our dreams. The dream does not completely put the conscious mind to sleep, becoming a kind of pre-conscious or a form of waking; in another hypostasis, the pre-conscious (subconscious) could be the translator between conscious and unconscious. In the Grand Dictionnaire de la Psychologie, the subconscious is defined as 'the set of psychic states of which the subject is not aware but which influence his behaviour' (1994: 760). Partial and temporary disconnection from consciousness is possible during sleep or loss of consciousness. The law of temporality that applies perfectly to the conscious does not apply to the unconscious. The unconscious is the most controversial term related to the organisation and functioning of psychic life, a term confirmed and refuted depending on the position taken and the arguments for and against of each researcher. Psychoanalysts generally confirm it. Carl Gustav Jung believes that “the unconscious would contain, so to speak, only those parts of the personality which might as well be conscious and which are repressed, in fact, only because of the education received” (1996: 11). In short, the individual unconscious includes all psychic material, which differs from the conscious, making up together the complexity of the human personality. Jung's definition goes beyond Freud's reductionist perspective, which is limited to an unconscious composed only of infantile and repressed tendencies of psychic contents, separating it from the conscious by limiting it to memory access. In his theory, Freud stipulates that the conscious access to the space of memory, located in the unconscious, is delimited 90 Sacred and political power according to the influx of the repression of unconsumed, unsatisfied or repressed impulses, which are generally of a sexual nature. The more these unrepressed urges, the greater the negative pressure on the conscious mind and behaviour. However, Jung believes that the latent nature of the unconscious is not defined by the principle of the repression of sexual impulses, simply because their absence should create evidence of the acquisition of a huge memory. The unconscious, in my deduction, survives the conscious even in the case of a person in a coma or clinically dead. How do you explain this inference? The unconscious is not totally dependent on the physical functions of the body, as the conscious mind (the famous button) is. First of all, the conscious mind obeys all physical laws through shock, artificial interruption, or death. The unconscious lies and exists beyond the “muffles” of the physical body, it never closes, it cannot fall asleep (as is the case with the conscious), nor does it know any other state of transition (closing or opening); from this, we deduce that the unconscious survives time, not subject to any physical law. My thesis is based on the deductive chain of these arguments, demonstrating that a part of the human personality survives, under the action of other unknown laws. Time, as a perception, is an instrument valid only to the conscious, always concerned with measuring its temporality, the presentness of becoming in relation to the two hypostases: past and future. The development and end of consciousness corresponds to the development and end of life, to the extent that time becomes a value of its limited existence. The unconscious, on the contrary, cannot depend, work and perceive temporality. In the unconscious, time does not exist as such it does not act as a law upon itself. The passing of years and seasons does not age it, but only enriches it, as an experience of life, without atrophying or disappearing. The premonitory feeling known by the French term déjà vu is not accidental. The inexplicability of these phenomena in people's lives is due to the ability of the unconscious as a unit outside of time. Time is a great illusion from which we cannot easily detach ourselves and an instrument of the conscious mind. Dreams are a space touched by the timelessness of the unconscious. We often dream things in the past, present and future without perceiving 91 SEBASTIAN FITZEK time. In this way we understand the mechanism of the unconscious and its difference from this perception of time. Time helps us in terms of the organisation of our life, our becoming and our historical evolution; only by accepting the other reality of the unconscious, do we understand the correlative difference of the two theses:  the temporary consciousness subjected to the law of time;  the surviving unconscious that does not obey the law of time. The two theses make up and define the human personality as a whole through its mortal and immortal sides. Both sides make good home, describing both the temporality and atemporality of our personality. 92 Sacred and political power CHAPTER III POLYSEMANTISM OF THE SACRED The definition of the sacred originates in the model of interpretation of the religious phenomenon. In this respect, specialists in the history of religion have contributed a wide range of ideas, theories and definitions. The most famous interpretation belongs to Mircea Eliade, who gave universality to the whole phenomenon beyond the topography of religions. “The historian of religions conceives the sacred as an intrinsic element of consciousness, thus denying the rationalist approach according to which the religious phenomenon is a pre-scientific stage in the evolution of mankind” (Schifirneț, 1999: 54). Eliade highlights an interesting anthropo-logical side: the sacredness embedded in the human genome of homo religiosus, indirectly stating that man is not the inventor of religion. According to his thesis, the sacred manifests itself everywhere and, in the most common cases, through the phenomenon of hierophany. The delineation of this concept goes beyond the case of a statistical phenomenon, as the sacred manifests itself in different forms. The abundance of the sacred, i.e. of sacred facts, requires enormous patience on the part of any researcher eager to tackle such a subject; the effort is twofold through selection and, above all, through applied hermeneutics. The heterogeneity of these “sacred facts” becomes paralysing when these phenomena are extracted by specialists from rites, myths, divine forms, sacred objects, symbols, cosmologies, theologies, animals, plants, sacred places (Eliade, 1992: 21). The manifestation of the sacred goes beyond the imagination of the uninitiated researcher who opens only one window. Life is a miracle full of inexplicable things, beyond reason and physical laws. In the search for the first evidence, it is enough to see that our own apparently 93 SEBASTIAN FITZEK limited existence has a biological meaning and a spiritual meaning that defines us as human beings. Spiritual meaning separates us from everything around us; otherwise we remain prisoners of a species similar to other animals. Man is not just a biological creature subject to the laws of Darwinian evolution, and reason is not an accident on the way to the top of the pyramid. Intelligent life exists everywhere; man, however, is conscious of intelligence in a way that sets him apart from any other species. The differences from animals are the certainty of a miracle, of a hierophantine manifestation existing in every human being. 3.1. Sacredness and hierophany - insights from sociology and the history of religions Hierophany (Ancient Greek: ἱερός - sacred and φαίνειν - to reveal) is the visible and tangible expression of the sacred, the divinity manifesting itself through persons, objects, stories, rites or deeds. Thaumaturgy, heraldry and theogony can be linked to hierophanies, terms that appear at the borderline between two seemingly opposite worlds. The sacred is not only a form of human manifestation and interaction with the divine, but also a philosophy of life and sociology of inter-human relations. Sacred life is a personal choice of the one who follows unusual rules in order to detach himself from earthly ties. Its orientation implies isolation, solitude and renunciation, its whole project being outlined in the light of an unseen angle. Its rotation is reversed: with its back to the world and its face to the invisible. The semiotics of the sacred abounds in symbols within a system that can no longer be classified, going beyond the logical finiteness of things. Thus, we cannot comprehend the whole or its centre, but we can fathom it through inner knowledge, without altering the mystery of its own becoming. Eliade has simplified this task and discerned a feasible solution, each document chosen being considered a proof of hierophany, a mode of manifestation of the supernatural extracted from a specific historical context, marked by a unique experience. Any such testimony is relevant because of its double revelation: 94 Sacred and political power  as hierophany, highlights a path of the sacred;  as historical moment, reveals man's position in relation to the sacred (Eliade, 1992: 22). His method has many similarities with ethnology, which makes use of the spirit of synthesis necessary for practical research by systematising and classifying the data obtained for general conclusions. Eliade realises that the scientist is limited by his own tools and, above all, by time, to engage in every detail. Collecting whatever exists is already sufficient, while classification and conclusions belong to the specialist. Another manifestation of the sacred is found in the ritual of prayer. People pray in almost all religions, from primitive to modern. Prayer is a dialogue with the Divine, a dialogue where man addresses a sacred authority and involves a form of communication between two entities, the visible and the invisible. The incantation of religious texts is another form of communication aimed at transposition into a special state. The sounds have a deep tone, are usually prolonged and interfere with meditative states. The hierophony of communication through prayer or song creates a fusion between man and divinity, either through silence, words or melodic sounds. Calling the Divine by a particular name, word or gesture is the most common procedure for bringing together the conditions of hierophany. In this act, the role of the priest is the key to a mystical vision. In his definition of the sacred, Mircea Eliade takes up the sacred-profane dichotomy proposed by Émile Durkheim's research, while approaching another interpretation. According to Durkheim, the sacred is a manifestation of the religious phenomenon that separates the profane world from the world of the forbidden (1995: 54). The separation of the two worlds seems a little premature, according to the French sociologist's explanation, which attempts to describe an incompatibility, possibly even a contraposition or rejection. The unification of the terms is much more plausible; otherwise we run the risk of placing religion at the centre of a phenomenon opposed 95 SEBASTIAN FITZEK to the human phenomenon. Durkheim opposes those who propose a unification of the two perceptions, arguing that in the history of human thought no such antagonistic categories appear. For the French sociologist, the good-evil antithesis is insignificant, given that they belong to the same categories, namely that of morality, just as health and illness are two different aspects of life; in contrast, the sacred and the profane have always been perceived by the human spirit as separate genres, as two completely distinct worlds (1995: 47). Consequently, man is not a creation of the Divine, but only corporality and no more. Is the whole world built on the same principle? Then how does one explain the fact that man tends towards a spiritual life, formulating questions and answers beyond the biological mechanics of things. According to logic, we can say that air is separate from earth, being distinct categories, as is water from other chemical elements. Symbiosis, mixing or fusion is missing from the angle of the author, who intuits, in my opinion, only half the truth. Sacred and profane are not the same as good and evil, health and sickness, plus and minus, always classifying everything that seems contrary. To propose monochordal thinking in such a complex matter is like dividing people into two distinct categories: friends and enemies. In ordinary life we see the widespread presence of the sacred in various forms and beliefs, more or less mystical. If we analyse the phenomenon closely, we learn that in every place or social space there are characteristic signs, some hidden or considered taboo, others auspicious, such as the attraction of good luck or the rejection of bad luck (through artefacts, gestures, words, greetings, customs, prejudices, etc.). Other forms or customs specific to the mystical world (belief in horoscopes, fortune-telling, fortune-telling, witchcraft, magic, superstition, etc.) may also be mentioned. A final group is the philosophy of living close to religious practices by choosing a specific way of life: Feng-Shui, Zen, Bahaism, etc. Man has the urge to surround himself with things that attract the good and guard against those that attract evil. Religious trends are also emerging in order to assimilate various local beliefs. Even if economic or proselytising interests intervene, the phenomenon shows that man has remained the same homo religiosus who tends towards a concomitant 96 Sacred and political power relationship with both worlds. Even if religion has become a commercialised form, the sacred and the profane are indissolubly linked to the human imagination. Durkheim intuitively sees that the sacred must be appreciated in all its complexity, not just its irrational side. The concept does not include a class of things that are distinct and separate from the reality of our world; the semantics and manifestation of the sacred differ profoundly from one religion to another. “This is why Buddhism is a religion: in addition to the gods, it also admits the existence of sacred things, such as the four sacred truths and the practices derived from them” (1995: 45). In this context, Buddhism directly influences a civilisation and a culture, becoming a reference beyond the religious sphere, and acquiring some dogmatic particularities. In turn, dogma is a form of institutionalisation of unquestionable and non-negotiable sacred values that constitute a canonical system of norms and values. Political and religious rites reinforce these value structures and revive them, fixing the past in the present. Political relations are included in the sphere of relations with the divine, which leads to a shift of authority from the sacred to the profane. In Christianity, the salvation of the soul becomes a brilliant political path supported by the philosophy of obedience. Why should we submit to political power? The answer is this: the nature of power is divine and through it the world was created. Disobedience is the equivalent of the Luciferian rebellion of fallen angels, while submission is the reward of those who choose redemption from the original sin. Submission and acceptance of suffering are welcomed by Christians, appeasing conflict through tolerance and humility. Christian ontology thus offers the best response to the invasions of the early centuries. The pagans are not affronted and are not withstood in the slightest. The result is a miracle to any observer who sees their conquest from the inside out. Without attracting worthy opponents, without meeting resistance and without crossing swords, the pagan warriors increasingly marry Christian girls, receiving the Baptism of the new religion. Once Christians, they embrace a new philosophy of life, discovering a pacifist value system in a doctrine of non-violence. The new 97 SEBASTIAN FITZEK semiology is superior to the old beliefs and is based on love of neighbour and the doctrine of forgiveness. Christianity won the most important battles in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd centuries, making it the largest religion on earth today. Its ontology promotes a salvation of souls according to the teachings of Christ, the Son of God, sacrificed on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins. The Christian faith becomes the most complex and profound thesis of those who accept the ministry of an incarnate God, receiving the light of a relationship based on love and forgiveness. By conquering souls in need and suffering, the new Christian faith spread throughout the Roman Empire at the end of the 3rd century and later laid the foundations of European civilisation. The Christian way of salvation differs from the Buddhist way of salvation promoted by the four noble truths of the Buddha's first sermon: 1. Dukkha suffering or pain manifested especially in birth, old age or illness; 2. Tanha or Samudaya reflecting the origin of suffering in desire, thirst or craving, all of which are causes of reincarnation; 3. Nirvana or Nirodha through the quenching of desire in which thirst and pain cease; 4. Magga cease of suffering representing the 8-armed way or path to attain Nirvana and cease of metempsychosis. In the Buddhist universe, the body is considered a prison for the soul. Freedom from the body is the secondary goal of the passage to other existences, and stopping reincarnation becomes the main goal of salvation. Detachment from the world, as a natural process of detachment from all desire, becomes the goal of the Buddhist monk, choosing dharma (a concept common to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, etc.) in accordance with Rta (Rita, the principle of natural order and the universe). Suffering must be alleviated, but the sufferer must not be helped to pay for kharma (the principle of retributive justice whereby one pays for one's sins through suffering and the cycle of successive reincarnations). Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Asian religions in general do not know the doctrine of forgiveness nor that of immediate freedom 98 Sacred and political power from suffering, but together they promote a moral order of all things and a belief in the immortality of the soul. In all the world's religions, techniques for communicating with the sacred space arise from the need for purification through the participation and ritual exercise of magic formulas, prayers, forms of meditation or other procedures and manifestations included in a concentric and unitary circle of values that only faith can use and understand. Is it possible for science to capture the phenomenon of faith without altering its meanings? The definition of the sacred is also a definition of the act of faith, because its perception leads to its belief and existence, as well as to its fantasies. Faith is the reference system of the human soul, which wishes to overcome death. Faith extends man's life towards a universe in which he places his hopes for a better world. Finally, faith is thus another dimension by which we define human nature as the apotheosis of supernatural creation, without separating it from its biological nature, in two distinct worlds, as Durkheim understood it. Faith unites man with God at a point where it overcomes death and any limitation of reason which thinks itself to be all-knowing. The sacred is a subject of consciousness, the very essence of religion recognized as an inner experience. “The manifestation of the sacred ontologically grounds the world. In the homogeneous and boundless expanse, where there is no point of reference and no possibility of orientation, hierophany reveals a fixed point, a Centre” (Eliade, 2000: 19-21). The centre of the manifestation of hierophanies appears in a certain place and moment, but it can be omnipresent in the same way that we define infinity as a divine quality. The issue is rather one of perception in the sense that at certain times and places, hierophany is revealed to us by divine will, and less so by our will. The universal category of the sacred, along the lines of Durkheim, Cassirer and Caillois, belongs to an absolute reality that is opposed to the non-reality of the profane and, therefore, the manifestation of the sacred ontologically grounds the world (Casajus, 1991: 641, 642). However, the resistance of the term derives from the reverse direction. No religion rejects the profane life, even if in Buddhism, for example, the critical view appears that the body is considered a prison of the soul. The body is meant to wash away the sins of a 99 SEBASTIAN FITZEK present or previous existence, and the suffering caused to the soul then justifies the act of purification. The body is a prison of the soul which limits a freedom conditioned by the doctrine of the washing away of faults, and man is obliged to pay attention to the body in order not to become a slave to carnal desires. In this way, a balance is created between body and soul in favour of the soul, in the desire to help it wash away the sins of the past. In Christian doctrine there is a perfect harmony of dogma between body and soul. The body is the centre of temptations and major trials and the same body is the church of the Holy Spirit. According to the Romanian sociologist, Constantin Schifirnet, it is well known that religious institutions and faith in general compel people to adopt health-related behaviours, such as dieting, sanctioning/renunciation of some negative practices (alcoholism), recommended by religious groups promoting new values for this purpose (1999: 54). Cleanliness and care for the body is akin to the purity of a place of worship. If we identify in man both elements: faith, through the soul, and the body, as the seat of the Holy Spirit in relation to the sacred and the profane; then the profane, through the body, becomes a necessary component of the unity of the human being. Their unity is reflected in the two judgments of those who have passed into eternity: the judgment of the body and the Last Judgment. The body and the soul experience a temporal symbiosis at birth, then separated by death and reunited at the Resurrection of the Last Judgment. For human reason, symbiosis is a barometer indicating the health and cleanliness of both components and their balance is a sign of harmony. The state of conflict and dissatisfaction affects the soul that desires peace and detachment from everyday problems. The crucial issue, which intervenes at this point of the analysis, is to identify the reasons for the soul's detachment from the noisy tumult of the world. Hierophania usually manifests itself in a quiet and still place, acting as an alkaline substance on pain; moving into a noisy sphere means returning to the profane world. All religious acts have a symbolic value. If any religious act is a hierophany for the one involved, then it is undoubtedly accompanied by a symbolic representation. The symbol remains a core structure of 100 Sacred and political power the sacred, making hermeneutic analysis accessible (ερμηνεια - to interpret, to translate). Through the hermeneutics of the hierophants, a fantastic world is revealed to us, starting from the symbiosis of soul and body. Aristotle's theory of the phantastic pneuma demonstrated the existence of a connection between blood and pneuma as a subtle form of the soul; pneuma is a kind of etheric body that operates with images, by means of symbols. “The Aristotelian theory of fantastic pneuma did not arise out of nothing. On the contrary, it can be said that it has nothing original, apart from the assembly of the parts of which it is composed. The system belongs to the Stagirit, while the elements of the system are pre-existent” (Culianu, 1999: 30-31). The fantastic world is an extension of the profane world, a language understood by the soul and partly by reason, through decoding and imagistic interpretation. The fantastic is the source of the religious imaginary, which is particularised by the vision of certain groups of people according to their specific perceptions. The fantastic is the first world structured according to the principle of hierarchy. The premise of all religions, according to which the world seen here is not singular, is based on the hierarchical theory of worlds. Our world could not exist without being preceded by a higher world. Creation presupposes that something emerges from something else; as a result, we are tempted by the following logical deduction: if something emerges from something else, then there is also a reverse meaning. We are not capable of creating another world, and therefore we are not superior to other beings. By superior being I mean someone who can create another being. As long as we humans are not able to come into being (I'm not talking about birth in this context), it means that another world cannot appear beneath us. The earth beneath us is the limit of our world, the boundary and threshold imposed by the presence of matter. The world above is therefore the fantasy world that we cannot rationally understand, but we intuitively sense through the already demonstrated causality. The centre of the fantasy world lies in the attempt to restore the imaginary to its ontological dimension. The symbolic image here becomes a transposition of a concrete representation through an abstract meaning. The symbol of the fantastic is defined as a 101 SEBASTIAN FITZEK representation of a mystical order, which keeps a coded secret, thus becoming an epiphany of a mystery. The awareness of epiphany is a revelation of sacred symbols through which we interpret the congruence between myth and saturated archetype (a concept proposed by Jung and used by Rudolf Otto as a key element in the analysis of religious phenomenology). Numinous, the totality of irrational elements in the human universe, induces a state of permanent anguish in the face of the inexplicable. More precisely, the phenomenon of epiphany has become, in reality, a direct manifestation of hierophany. The transcendence of numinos refers to the symbolic world of myths and cosmogonies. Rudolf Otto's noumenon escapes the moral relation, transcends the physical world and becomes a concept appropriate to human experiences, feelings and reactions to the inexplicable. Through these extraordinary states, pleasant or unpleasant, man experiences the sacred in its entirety. Man has an enormous potential for profound experiences of which he is only aware at the time of religious experiences. From a philosophical perspective, Sartre recognizes that the imaginary, through the power of symbols, acquires a qualitative superiority over the extent of perception: any spatial determination of an object in the image presents itself as an absolute property (1936: 165). The deciphering of the signifier is a complex hermeneutic process and not merely a logical decoding. In this context, the soul becomes a cosmic observer and a partner of the imaginary operating with transcendental symbols and meanings, a language that remains unknown to reason. Another important element in the phenomenological panoply of the sacred is the ethnographic term taboo, which leaves the environment of primitive cultures to enter decisively into the formation of a hard core around religious dogma. The taboo10 thus 10 In the Eliadian view, taboos are "in any case, kratophanies, manifestations of force and are therefore feared and revered. [...] However, the mechanism of the taboo is always the same: certain things, persons or areas participate in a totally different ontological regime and consequently, contact with them produces a rupture of ontological level that could be fatal. The fear of such a rupture - necessarily imposed by the differences in the ontological regime between the profane and the hierophanic or kratophanic condition - occurs even in man's relations with consecrated foods or those supposed to contain certain magico-religious forces" (Eliade, 1992: 33-35). 102 Sacred and political power becomes a first legal form of regulating the social relations. The concept of taboo suggests that original indistinction between pure and impure, an incipient act of the religious phenomenon in human history. Here we find a symbiosis of opposites: veneration aversion present in the sacrificial act. In the linguistic perspective proposed by Roger Caillois, the sacred is defined in relation to the taboo, as something intangible, without being tainted nor defiling (2006: 39). In other words, the taboo confirms the relationship of the sacred to our material world through the image of a virgin fleeing from her pursuer, a young man marked by the intentions of the profane. Emile Durkheim published an entire chapter on this subject in his work Les formes elementaires de la vie religieuse, in which he analysed the ambiguities caused by the terminology of the word sacred. In this case, religious forces are classified into two opposing categories, the fastidious and the nefarious; it can be said that Durkheimian operates, in his theory, with elements of the experience of religious taboos, through which the sacred acquires a positive and an obscure power (Durkheim, 1995: 375). His vision reveals a Confucian aspect, in that two opposing elements appear simultaneously together to define each other. And yet, if we examine the good-evil dichotomy in the religious key, we perceive a difference akin to the up-down relationship. The good are up and the bad are down, as is the presence of heaven versus the presence of hell. Both exist in a fantasy world and define each other according to the principle of mutual confirmation: heaven exists because of hell; but there is a clear qualitative or at least hierarchical difference that Durkheim does not capture in his description. What escapes his analysis is essential in differentiating the religious phenomenon, which is concerned with those above from black magic, an example for those below. The upper and the lower form the fantasy world, the subject of debate in these pages; the sacred, however, belongs to the upper world and the religious phenomenon that does not include the lower. From another perspective, Mircea Eliade approaches the sacred in relation to the history of religions, giving it the rank of a 103 SEBASTIAN FITZEK fundamental axis, representing the basis of all religions. Mircea Eliade links sacredness to the archetype of pure man, a vital condition for the aspirant who wishes to experience the supernatural. In Lucian Blaga's philosophical vision, every human being is the repository of a dose of purity intrinsic to his inner being amidst mystery as well as revelation. The path to such knowledge is illuminated by the unbridled flames of mysticism, a difficult path that evades scientific evidence. The history of religions is, first of all, a science of man, because by analysing the mythical, symbolic creations of traditional cultures, the historian can place, individually or communally, the human experience in the world, through the awareness of a certain situation in the cosmos (Eliade, 1992: 419). In this context, all religion has a historical character. Note that there are no pure religious phenomena (since the sacred is always embodied), they cannot be exclusively unique. The religious act highlights the deep spiritual dimension of man thirsting for eternity. Religion is a source of satisfaction for the truth-seeking human soul. In Christian apologetics, the more man is tormented by suffering, the more he longs for God. This burning desire of man to come closer to God, to truth, has been imprinted in the manifestation of religious forms (Dancă, 1998: 107). The sacred horizon of religious experience is reduced to the historical processes of genesis, development and evolution of each cultural phenomenon, to which must be added the need for reversibility between religious consciousness and historical consciousness. According to the above statements, religion, from the Eliadian perspective, is only possible through notions such as transcendence, revelation and reality. Thus, the sacred becomes the fundamental object of religion. The search for the essence of the religious phenomenon in the sacred-profane distinction implies a dichotomy between the forbidding sacred (a notion associated with the term taboo) and the positive sacred (represented by mana) (Ries, 2000: 31-33). Starting from the classical sacred-profane bifurcation, Rudolf Otto adopts a new technique to define the religious phenomenon, namely man's conquest of the numinous. The method devised by the researcher ended in the formulation of three hypostases of the sacred: 104 Sacred and political power  numinous sacred;  the sacred in terms of value;  the sacred as an a priori category of the spirit. For the Belgian Cardinal Julien Ries, Rudolf Otto's theories are a reaction to sociological theories, replacing the Durkheimian postulate of collective consciousness with the postulate of an inner revelation (2000: 40). Thus, the theologian and philosopher Rudolf Otto founds a phenomenology of the sacred, a psychology of the religious man. In contrast, the Dutchman Gerardus van der Leeuw (a specialist in the history of religions and philosophy) attempts in his analyses to synthesise the internal structures of the religious phenomenon, giving them meaning by investigating man from the point of view of behaviour rather than feelings. Van der Leeuw resorts to a phenomenological reduction, facilitating an explanation of the essence of religion through permanent 'contact with the sacred' (2002: 30). The level of archaic cultures is impregnated with the sacred, being invested with a religious value. The folk mentality is formed according to certain archetypal laws, which register the individual insofar as it is integrated into an impersonal category; it thus loses its historical authenticity and becomes an archetype. This type of folkloric thinking has evolved from the ontological imprint. The fear of the archaic man is born from nonsense, death, his entire existence being eager to learn about the Ultimate Reality. The obsessions of archaic man lie under the meanings of the ontic and the ontological. Everything he does and thinks is a copy of a divine prototype or cosmological gesture. His actions are aimed at his participation in the real as well as at placing himself at the centre of reality (the sacred). Man's mental structure is characteristic of the archetype and the impersonal (Dancă, 1998: 136). The meaning of the term structure is close to the meaning of the notion of archetype, as a cosmic moment identified both in nature and in consciousness. Their origin is not only historical, but supra-historical (the meaning is transcendent in nature). The term transcendent represents all that is beyond present man and his present possibilities. In this sense, the object of magic and religion is transcendent because it goes 105 SEBASTIAN FITZEK beyond man's immediate reality (Culianu, 1998: 49-50).11 Belief in the sacred and magic is universal. Any magical and religious act as an experience of the sacred, the divine, and the Ultimate Reality is reduced to a level rupture. Thus the real becomes identified with the non-real. The level rupture conforms to certain ritual, mythical or metaphysical norms. The pattern indicating reality of a mythical or metaphysical nature (going beyond reason) has undergone many changes due to history and the evolution of ideas. All that has remained unchanged is their function. Hierophany is primarily a way of expressing the sacred. Thus, in the case of religious phenomenology, it is necessary to specify the form in which the sacred appears. Although it can manifest itself anywhere, there are also privileged hierophanies. The “History of religions treaty” transcends historical-religious morphology, since every religious document reveals a modality of the sacred as a hierophany and a positioning of man in relation to the sacred. The task of any research is to capture the double aspect of the religious fact, which leads, on the one hand, to morphology (the aim of classifying hierophanies) and, on the other hand, to a philosophical anthropology (hermeneutics of hierophanies in relation to the question of the meaning of being posed to “facts” and classes of hierophanies, which reveals an ontological perspective) (Culianu, 1998: 99). A privileged typology of hierophany is the celestial hierophany which assumes the existence of a supreme being and thus becomes Deus otiosus (present, for example, in the Australian tribes). In this analysis, the transformation of the celestial deity into an atmospheric deity is relevant. The same type of change is signalled in the case of Zalmoxis, who is supposed to have been replaced by Gebeleizis and whose case is analysed below. The path of Zalmoxis, as god, king or prophet (equated with the Zarathustra of the Persians) is the second example of hierophany and epiphany. In this respect, the careful historical 11 Culianu clarifies the three meanings given by M. Eliade to the notion of archetype: in the sense of prototype (a simple morphological category), in the historical-religious sense of historical category, in the sense of Jung's psychology (for him, archetypes can be drawn from religious and folkloric traditions) and have a subjective side, because they are autochthonous and autonomous of the subconscious). However, Eliade, when referring to archetypes in the psychological sense, considers them truthful only as an objective form. 106 Sacred and political power analyses included in Mircea Eliade's work “From Zalmoxis to Genghis-Han” have made it possible to portray the folklore of the Transdanubian territory. The construction of this book is devoid of the presence of the hermeneutic element, which brings with it a philosophical anthropology. In analysing the attributes of Zalmoxis, as well as his integral image, Mircea Eliade used as his first source the historical writing of Herodotus. In a passage from Herodotus' Histories, Zalmoxis is described as a slave of Pythagoras, who, after gaining his freedom, was sent to the Thracians to instruct them. Herodotus mentions that Zalmoxis ordered a dwelling to be built underground, where he remained hidden from Thracian view for three years. In the fourth year he returned among the people, for which all his sayings acquired the intrinsic value of truth (Herodotus, 1961: 95-96).12. The elements that stand out in Herodotus' text are the following: Zalmoxis is the one who brought the Thracians Hellenistic culture, as well as the fact that the essence of Zalmoxis' Pythagorean doctrine was the idea of immortality. On a symbolic level, the underground dwelling, which represents Zalmoxis' refuge, has a magicalritual significance and recalls a legend about Pythagoras (a different experience from that of 12 "According to what we have learned from the Helenians living in Hellespont and Pontus, this Zalmoxis, being a man (like all men), would have lived in bondage on Samos as a slave of Pythagoras, the son of Mnesarchos. Then, gaining his freedom, he would have acquired much wealth and, acquiring wealth, returned rich among his own. As the Thracians led a life of abject poverty and lacked learning, this Zalmoxis, who knew the Ionian way of life and morals better than those of Thrace, as one who had lived among the Helenians and above all as the wisest man of Ellas, had a reception hall built for him next to Pythagoras, where he would lodge and entertain the leading citizens; during the banquets he taught them that neither he, nor his guests, nor their descendants in eternity would die, but would only move to a place where, living forever, they would enjoy all goodness. All the time that he was entertaining his guests and saying this to them, he had a dwelling made for him under the earth. When the dwelling was ready, he made himself invisible from among the Thracians, descending into the depths of the underground chambers, where he remained hidden for three years. The Thracians were filled with grief for him and mourned him as if he were dead. But in the fourth year he appeared again before the Thracians, and so Zalmoxis made them believe all his words. This is what the Helenians say he did. As for myself, I neither doubt nor fully believe what is said about him and his dwelling under the earth; besides, I reckon that this Zalmoxis lived long before Pythagoras. Whether Zalmoxis was only a man, or whether he was really some god in the parts of Getia, I leave him well alone." 107 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Zalmoxis). Pythagoras took refuge in the underground dwelling after reading his mother's letter and, after his time in the cave, he was able to retell its contents to the Greeks without breaking the seal. The initiation ritual in which Zalmoxis participates represents the descent into hell, equivalent to the knowledge of initiatory death. Disappearance (occultation) and reappearance (epiphany) are attributes of a divine being or a messianic king, prophet, magus or even legislator. This mythical-ritualistic scenario is frequently encountered in the Mediterranean and Asian world, the cave being representative of the world beyond, which could even imitate the night sky: imago mundi; hence Zalmoxis was considered a divine being, belonging to the celestial. Herodotus does not decide on the origins of Zalmoxis, nor does he classify him as a human being or as a divine being, but he confirms with conviction his existence at the same time as Pythagoras. In Indian thought, sacrifice is a play of sacred and magical forces that ensures godhood (devatma). Thanks to the force of sacrifice, what is human and transient is transformed into the divine and eternal, which can also be confirmed in the case of Zalmoxis. The sacrifice of the messenger is meant to renew the bond between Zalmoxis and his followers, considering him to be a Thracian god. Through the messenger the demands of the people were conveyed, which could no longer be achieved by direct means of communication. If the messenger, who was blown up (another element indicating Zalmoxis' celestial origin) and did not die, he was considered guilty of failing to establish a connection with the god. The ecstasy that intervenes is of shamanic origin13. Furthermore, the revelation brought by Zalmoxis to the Getaeans is communicated through a mythical-religious scenario of death (occultation) and return to earth (epiphany). The political relevance and kratophania of the mythological image of this mythological figure can be identified due to the change of his name from Zalmoxis to Gebeleizis (considered god of the storm). The identification has been disputed by historical sources, the religious cultures of the two gods, the difference being too great. 13 Mircea Eliade believes that a confusion has been made: the Romanian people did not involve shamanism in their traditions; it was, in fact, an element belonging to the Hungarian culture in this area (1970, From Zamolxis to Genghis-Han). 108 Sacred and political power However, the etymology of the name of Zalmoxis originates from words that are closely related to what the cult of 'king, lord of men' represents and promotes. The name Zalmoxis also appears alongside the name Deceneus, who was a priest (the same is true, for example, of the Druids, whose functions were of great importance). The confusion of the two names, present in the Goths and Geats, has become a bridge for the survival of the Get people, whose emblematic figure, Zalmoxis, has been revived by historiography. Starting from these privileged hierophanies, it is necessary to reconsider the perspective on history that Mircea Eliade constructed through the prism of religious phenomena. Thus, Eliade attributed three different meanings to the notion of history:  history in the cultural-historical sense;  history in the sense of Weltgeschichte - in other words, the great cultural events;  historicity or conditioning and determination of any human situation. The role of history in Eliade's philosophy is determined by some observations that are strictly in the realm of hierophanies. More explicitly, there are forms of hierophany that cannot appear before a specific stage in the historical evolution of a given culture is reached. However, if hierophany turns out to be a revelation, then the acceptance of historical accidents determines that it must be analysed and constructed outside of historical conditioning. Ignoring them is an error, since any modality of the sacred indicates a significant manifestation for the human being. Moreover, the dialectic of hierophanies is represented by the sacred, limiting the boundaries of the profane. The limitation shows that certain facets of the sacred are revealed in a particular hierophany. Its sides are sketched geometrically like a three-dimensional cube, and its modes of manifestation are religious facts, which are, basically, subject in the history of religions study. (Culianu, 1998: 109). Through the dialectic of hierophanies, the relationship between the sacred and the profane is clearly explained: the sacred is synonymous with what is significant or meaningful in itself. The paradoxical experience, through which man is forced out of his 109 SEBASTIAN FITZEK profane universe, leads him to enter a qualitatively different transcendent universe. The structure of the transcendent universe, and therefore of the sacred, differs from culture to culture, from religion to religion. The sacred, as meaning and Transcendent Reality, manifests itself in the realities of this world, which, at the same time, limit and hide it (Dancă, 1998: 110). If the sacred, as meaning, is the object of revelation, then knowledge of the sacred means recognition both of its sign and its form of manifestation. The creations of archaic man demonstrate the equivalence of the sacred and the divine in terms of their attributes, yet their different functions. In Eliade's conception, both the sacred and the divine are primary and universal categories of interpretation. They are part of archetypal intuitions and primordial visions, revealing man's position in the cosmos (Dancă, 1998: 135-138). The identification of the sacred with the Ultimate Reality demonstrates the fundamental ontic role of the cosmos. In contrast to archaic man, who tries to be in solidarity with cosmic rhythms, modern man has undergone a process of desacralization, wishing to achieve independence from the cosmos. His partial freedom requires isolation from the cosmos. The discrepancy between modern man and archaic man manifests itself in the sacred-profane opposition. For the archaic horizon, myth is the paradigm to which all consciousness refers, whereas today it has become a kind of existence rooted in the human subconscious. In his work “The Myth of the Eternal Return”, Eliade notes that archaic man is more creative than modern man because he recognises the capacity to regenerate time. Archaic man places every action in real (mythical) space and time, like a leap into the transcendent. What is transcendent identifies itself with the visible cosmos, going beyond it. The transcendent represents in itself, power and reality as attributes of divinity. Through direct contact with the sacred, the archaic man comes into possession of the force or the mythical real. This is made possible by imitating the behaviour and gestures of those who embody the sacred and, by implication, the divine. The difference between the sacred and the divine is perceived by the archaic man: the sacred creates in a realistic way and the divine in an archetypal way (at that time, for eternity). 110 Sacred and political power A critical point for the folkloric way of thinking is the equivalence between hierophany and theophany. Both cause a paradox to arise: in the case of hierophany esse coincides with non esse, the ephemeral with the eternal. The equivalence of theophany and hierophany is completed by the intervention of the concept of kratophany (manifestation of power), identifying the two phenomena. This perfect identity between theophany, hierophany and kratophany, which has caused some confusion, is the weak point of the Eliadian theory of the sacred. However, it is unquestionable that, within religious experience, the encounter with the sacred produces a rupture of an existential order, untranslatable to logical-discursive terms. The only way of expression belongs to notions specific to mythical-ritual language. Thus, the sacred does not appear directly, but mediated, resulting in a coincidentia oppsitorum between the sacred and the profane, between the significant and the seemingly meaningless. The language of hierophanies is symbolic and not ontological, which is why the sacred is interpreted as a sign. (Dancă, 1998: 113)14. Symbol is defined as a language characterized by a series of distinctive features: the simultaneity of meanings that aim at human solidarity with society and the Cosmos. This represents the unifying function of the symbol that can pass from one area of reality to another without producing confusion or a process of fusion (Culianu, 1998: 107). In contrast to this Eliadian approach to the religious phenomenon, it is noted that in the research of Émile Durkheim, Marcel Mauss and Henri Hubert, Levi Makarius, Réne Girard and Roger Caillois, the sacred is analysed from its definition and as a collective notion at the basis of religion seen as a social phenomenon (Ries, 2000: 13). The identification of the sacred-social relationship is supported by Durkheim as well as by Mauss and Hubert. Unlike the theorists who emphasised the strictly religious side of the religious phenomenon, Roger Caillois produced a sociological outline of the sacred. In this case, the approach to the sacred is based on the ambiguity of pure and impure, and the definition of the numinous 14 Hierophanies can become symbols. The characteristic of the symbol is not only that it is an extension of a hierophany, but that it is itself an autonomous hierophany. The "logic of the symbol" is illustrated by magico-religious symbolism and is confirmed in the production of the "subconscious and transconscious activity of man". 111 SEBASTIAN FITZEK as: “a category on which religious attitudes are based” (Ries, 2000: 26). A conclusive example of this is provided by the Hittite religion, which has been subjected to scholarly analysis through written documents on the social and religious context of the 2nd millennium BC. The documents revealed the impossibility of applying Durkheim's and Mauss's theories in this space, the sacred not being: 'conceived as an impersonal power', as an extension of the divine that allows for correlation with the human being (Ries, 2000: 106). In opposition to this approach to Hittite religion (in terms of the methodology used) Dumézil developed a new grid of analysis of the religious phenomenon, involving a more solid relationship between the elements: social, political and religious. The study of Indo-European religion is based on Georges Dumézil's research, the central notion being that of the ideology of the three functions: priestly-religious, military and economic (Dumézil, 1993: 273). Archaic society among Indo-Europeans, Dumézil observes, is founded on a double articulation: a social tripartition and a tripartite theology. This structuring gives the sacred an unmistakable relation to the function of sovereignty (patented by the gods responsible for the cosmic order: Mitra-Varuna) and is not a peculiarity but provides the pattern of the archaic religious type. The three functions are:  sovereignty;  strength;  fecundity. To highlight this type of organisation, Dumézil used a genetic comparison, involving mythological, archaeological and sociological resources. Roman religion takes over from the Indo-European heritage the theology of the three functions and the tripartite social ideology. The manifestation of the sacred can be traced through the analysis of rites and ceremonies, the pantheon, the divine being directly involved in the daily life of each Roman. The sovereign god of the Romans, Jupiter was invested with a double authority: heavenly and juridical, which would give him the title Jupiter Optimus Maximus, thus bringing together the two ideologies, royal (rex) and priestly (flamen), identified by the Belgian historian and 112 Sacred and political power cardinal Julien Ries, in the periods of Roman history from royalty, republicanism to imperialism (2000: 128-149). 3.2. Sacredness of power in the Christian imaginary “And he will shepherd them with a rod of iron, and as the potter's vessels he will dash them in pieces, even as I have taken power from my Father” (Bible, Revelation of St. John the Theologian, 1994: Chap. 2, v.27). As early as the first Christian century, the Apostle Paul (27-67 AD) associated power with divine love with the expression “omnis potestas a Deo” (all power comes from God), a maxim taken from the quotation: “Let every soul be subject to the high powers; for there is no power but of God; and what things are, they are ordained of God” (Bible, Epistle to the Romans, Chap. 13. v.1). The quotation formed the basis of the ministry theory of political authority. For the Apostle Paul, God is the supreme power, and the origin of power is in Him; therefore, even human power, of whatever kind, must be subject to divine power. With his thesis, the Apostle Paul questions the intentionality of power which, in human hands, becomes either constructive or destructive. The question arises: if all power comes from God, then can divine power be exercised by any man, or is it revealed only to those who deserve it, thus acquiring a special recognition? The Bible reminds us that Paul was Saul, one of the fiercest persecutors of Christians. At the moment of his encounter with God, through the epiphany of Jesus' image, Saul is blinded and then converted to faith. Saul is part of the Christic revelation, the epiphany that transforms him into its opposite, making him one of the fiercest defenders of the Cross. Theologians speak of this moment by the phrase resurrection of the soul, not because Saul receives a new soul, but because his soul is renewed by a higher power, acquiring faith. The theory of the ministry issued by the Apostle Paul not only reveals the truth of the Christian faith, but also gains a form of political brilliance. In the Epistle to the Romans, 13:1 it says: “there is no dominion except from God”. With this phrase, Paul saves Christianity from perdition, faith becoming a form of unconditional 113 SEBASTIAN FITZEK submission to Roman political authority. The Apostle Paul demanded obedience for the washing away of original sin, thus Christians become the most obedient citizens of the empire. In the first century, a new Christianity was emerging, unnoticed, and slowly but surely spreading through the dark catacombs of Rome. Life for Christians, according to the Apostle Paul, is not only joy, but rather a joyful embrace of suffering. The theme of suffering is the central theme of Christianity, a way of atonement for sins, an acknowledgement and acceptance of the sufferings of Christ. On this doctrine rests the new philosophy of power that conquered the most powerful empire. On the other hand, the suffering, the majority, found meaning in a doctrine justifying their sufferings and shortcomings. To be a slave, to have a hard disease, to be wronged and grieved, to be alone and hungry, and all other forms of suffering took on the noblest meaning through the awareness of the two powers:  political power, a compelling force of empire;  healing power of salvation. The critical attitude towards temptations, which lead man astray from his path, doubles the Apostle Paul's quality as a politician; once, through Christianity, man frees himself from the horrors of persecution and genocide, and a second time, through the reconstruction of a new political philosophy, based on morality and abstention from pleasure. Paul legitimizes the new political vision by submitting to the power of the city, making it a moral duty of every Christian. Overall, Christianity has been an interesting combination of conservative and radical elements. In essence, the philosophy of St. Paul demonstrates that social inequality was not a major concern of Jesus and his early followers (Lensky, 2002: 30). His teachings aim to prepare man to take on all the burdens of this world and to be rewarded in a future world. In conclusion, the apostle Paul asks the servants to obey their political masters, considering this a legitimate expectation from the masters, regardless of the strength of the whip or the pains blessed by God. The master-slave relationship will lose its inequality, becoming a restored equality at the Last Judgment. 114 Sacred and political power As St. John the Apostle states at the beginning of the Apocalypse, the small and the great will all be equal when the great Man returns. The inequality of this world leads implicitly to the equality of the world to come. The Apostle John reminds us that the only hierarchy exists only in Heaven, the hierarchy of the angels, the Saints, the Judges, etc. The Holy Trinity is not subject to these hierarchies, being above all powers. Caesaro-Papism is another important theory of political power in the time of Byzantium under Constantine the Great (272-337), a principle closely related to the association of the two powers or two cities mentioned above. Emperor Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium in 313, elaborating a new religious power structure with the Edict of Milan. The emperor becomes equal to the patriarch as the trustee of divine power on earth. The Emperor is the only one invested to participate, alongside the Bishop or Patriarch, in the Holy Mass inside the pulpit or at the altar and to sit on the royal throne of the Church. The Emperor becomes High Priest of the Temple under the seal of the Divine, and the Patriarch recognises him in the hierarchy of the Church under the title of his equal and equal of the righteous of Christ. The association of the two powers gives a sacred aura to a single divine power legitimate before the people. Both are expressions of theocratic legitimacy, building the institutional sphere of the Church around the state. The image of this type of legitimacy consolidates a mode of ethico-politicalreligious representation, dominating the whole period of the Middle Ages until the dawn of the Renaissance. The theory of divine grace is a theory first mentioned in the theological-political work of St. Augustine (354-430), which contrasts the two distinct cities: one city founded by men for their own glory and the other city built for a divine purpose (1998: 319-322). Human freedom must be conditioned by the omnipotent model of divine governance. The city of God presupposes, in principle, that the heart of every human being is imbued with the idea of justice and peace according to the Christ model. Imitatio Christi becomes the main thesis of Catholicism, a principle that has become popular with many Western theologians concerned with the new evangelisation. With the problem of social inequality seen as 115 SEBASTIAN FITZEK normality, peace and justice become values for each individual conscience as bridges to divine perfection. Even the most hardened individual fights for the peace of his family, this goal uniting all rational beings in a possible political community that Augustine calls civitas. The theologian Augustine believes that individuals always belong to a group, a family, a city, a kingdom or an empire. The relationship between the individual and society is as solid as the relationship between a letter and the sentence of which it is a part (Augustine, 1998: 321). In order to exist, the group needs prior agreement. Political association therefore presupposes an initial consensus resulting from people's adherence to the idea of justice and the common goal of peace. The thought of the theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) represented an entire philosophy for the other centuries of Christian thought. Deriving from Aristotle's ancient theory of natural law and the teaching of St Paul, Aquinas' idea of political community aims to establish peace on earth. Christians organise themselves according to the model of the city, by involving themselves in the political life of the earthly city. Without this involvement, Christians would not be able to apply the teachings handed down by Christ through the holy apostles, and isolation from the world would endanger the concept of community. The Thomistic theory of property would later inspire Christian Democratic ideology. Neo-Thomism mainly analyses the problem of natural law from an ontological point of view, as an eternal, immutable order, and from a legal point of view, through awareness of the Ten Commandments. The idea was taken up by personalism, a Christian philosophical trend which considered property to be a right within the law of neighbourly love and a model for directing goods for the benefit of the community. The principle was taken up by Pope Leo XIII in the Bull Rerum Novarum, along with other values: the sacredness of the human being, tolerance, the substance of work, the common good, the family and property as a social function. Neotomism and later personalism occupy a privileged position in the orientation of religious values towards political activism. 116 Sacred and political power For contemporary neotomism, natural right is an expression of natural law as it applies in the economic and social spheres. Neotomism proposes a new system of rules, whereby economic measures and political institutions are evaluated according to the criterion of positive law. The spirit of a community must define the truth of society and, at the same time, propose its welfare. Natural law becomes moral law. Thomism lays the foundations for the distinction between the natural and the supernatural realm: human reason can, independently of natural revelation, work out society's system of organisation. Jacques Maritain (1882-1973), a leading philosopher and thinker of Christian Democratic doctrine, perhaps best intuited Thomas Aquinas by making a fundamental distinction between Christian action and action as a Christian (Neuhaus, 2002: 29). For Thomas Aquinas, politics was one of the forms of holiness. Thomism gives a theological basis to Christian democratic action in politics as a whole, starting from social ethics, thus becoming a suitable matrix for the concrete application of an ideal politics. In conclusion, in Christianity political power, par excellence, is legitimized by divine power, taking as a starting point the quotation in which the Lord Jesus replied: “My kingdom is not of this world” (Bible, Holy Gospel of John, 1994: 18.v36). Power from above defines power from below, and in this relationship the principle of imitation between copy and model is constituted. Since the holy apostles and the first great saints of the Church, power has the same ontological origins, whether we speak of political, military or juridical power. Through suffering, power opens a path to salvation, through love, as a form of healing, through war, as punishment, and through obedience, as a possibility of washing away sins. All the forms that derive from power are levers that help man to acquire the title of the good Christian. 3.3. An anthropological approach to political power Concerning the vectorial alliance of the powerful and the sacred in the configuration of the political imaginary, an anthropological analysis shows that the two concepts cannot be separated, at least not in their approach and development. 117 SEBASTIAN FITZEK According to Eliade: 'the experience of the sacred is inherent to man's way of being in the world' (1990: 131); it cannot be separated from the history of the world itself and from the history of recent man, just as the origin of political power cannot be dissociated from the history of the sacred. The linking of the two terms also applies to the sacred-power relationship, which underlies the constitution and development of the state. Its genetic baggage derives from the very transcendent character of power, thus recomposing its character matrix. At the basis of the evolution of the human community, we find the sacredness of power in all its splendour, a thesis supported by arguments drawn from ancient sacred writings and analysed by the French anthropologist Jean William-Lapierre (1997: 61-62).  This superpower, beyond the common meaning, is ingrained in the genetic nature of man and materializes in two ways:  through the presence of man as a social being who has developed his identity through knowledge and power, with the ability to fabricate objects and to know his natural world in a unique way;  through the ontological presence of the sacred, as a spiritual necessity perceived as a result of the evolution of consciousness, morality and religion, a set of indispensable attributes of human nature. The two components facilitated the emergence of language in symbolic communication acts and the definition of metaphor as artistic representation. The human imagination has been enriched, through the experience of religious and artistic life, with new meanings, quests and questions regarding the being and the existence as objects of its own thinking. Both hypostases proved necessary for the Heideggerian explanation captured in the state of being and existence, thus becoming the main poles of attraction: the soul as the mystical part of being and reason as the night watchman of the soul by day. The existential real and the unreal are included, paradoxically, also in existence, in what is perceived and in that which is perceived in the dimension of the fantastic imaginary. Returning to the term 118 Sacred and political power "fantastic", it is a synonym for the sacred space which includes the non-real existence that participates to the emergence of political power. Politics originates in the fantastic dimension of religion, having the role of imposing order on the prolonged state of anarchy of primitive man. To the ancient Chinese, Heaven and Earth were originally thought of as an egg from which the anthropomorphic god PAN KU was born. When he died, PAN KU's head turned hard and became the holy mountain: “his eyes became the Sun and the Moon, his fat gave birth to seas and rivers, the bristles of his head and body became trees and other vegetables” (Eliade, 2000: 247). The symbols used in this cosmogony led to the belief that Heaven and Earth form an indestructible unity, being separated at the death of the supreme god. The sacred body of the god generated life; death was seen only as a metamorphosis of the energy of matter that kept intact the essence of divine life. The centre of the cosmos is crossed by a vertical axis (symbol of the spine of PAN KU) which is surrounded by the four horizons. It is from their position and orientation that the four cardinal points, the four seasons and the idea that the earth is a square originated. The four horizons and the centre represent the five primordial elements that make up energy and matter (water, wood, fire, earth and metal). Each element corresponds to a particular colour, smell and sound. In another legend, Huang Di (Heavenly Father) is said to have ordered Zhong Li to separate Heaven and Earth to stop the gods from roaming the human world. The gesture has been interpreted as the supreme god's wish to prohibit other gods from taking advantage of mortal weaknesses. The supreme god is the centre of the universe who watches over universal harmony. This is where the myth of unity and harmony comes in, which ranks things and spirits so that they do not come into conflict. The outbreak of wars, disorder and droughts is a problem of rituals gone wrong. Cosmic rhythms are the natural dualities that manifest in nature and social life (male - female, recessive - dominant, hot - cold, Sun Moon, light - dark); all these relationships ensure universal unity and 119 SEBASTIAN FITZEK harmony through the Dao. To the ancient Indians, Varuna is the sovereign god over gods and humans. He: 'stretched out the earth like a butcher who skins the skin of the slain animal and lays it like a carpet before the Sun. He put milk in the cows, understanding in the hearts, fire in the waters, the sun in the sky, soma on the mountain” (Eliade, 2000: 133). In both cosmogonies, the image of the great Creator is charged with a mystical symbolism of birth, the source of the existence of all things. The Aristotelian Zoon politikon builds its citadel on the model of an imaginary fantasy inhabited by gods. The citadel becomes the central concept of the state, which the Greeks compare to Zeus' Olympus through the triad: a lord (despot), a living space to be defended and a hierarchy that demands obedience and submission. The way it is organised is also found in early ancient mythology. The first wars and revolutions belonged to the gods and not to humans. Before Prometheus brought fire to us, the gods were the only ones to use it, just as Hephaestus is the first blacksmith, Hermes the first merchant and Demeter the first goddess to teach humans agriculture. The gods are the creators of great innovations, and humans have deciphered some inspired and conscious ideational representations. From the fantastic dimension of mythologies also emerges the meaning of politics, as a vector that watches over human welfare. The evolution of power includes a history of the legal domain intuited in the texts of the ancient Greek philosophers (Plato and Aristotle) by the term nomos (nomoi, which in Greek means unwritten law), a pioneering concept of the system of laws. Based on this mythological past and these comparative analyses of belief systems, kratophany or the science of power has taken on many symbolic-religious meanings, with an important role in today's multi-secularised society, being present not only in the hard core of social-political sciences, but also in classical sociology and social anthropology. Modernity has enabled the world to move from an age under the banner of divine providence, as the hallmark of the Middle Ages, to a new age freed from the hierontocratic tutelage of the gods, exchanging them for gods of machines and electric light. At first glance, the sacred is dethroned, replaced by the terms of instrumental reason. The ideals of the two worlds 120 Sacred and political power became vertiginously separated from each other as early as the Renaissance, following the Church's refusal to recognise the merits of Galileo Galilei, temporarily separating it from science. The Reformation and the Enlightenment were to crystallise definitively, and the rupture between the sacred and science, between politics and morality, then became part of the accelerating process of modernisation, moving from the simple to the complex, from the traditional to the modern. The anthropological view of the state involves an analysis of the religious origin of personalised power, from which later institutionalised power derived. The personalisation of political power developed from the sacred authority of early rulers, tribal chiefs, pharaohs or kings. The act of birth or the primitive body of the state cannot be located somewhere in time, but can be interpreted within the religious phenomenon. Regardless of the ideological product that postmodernity represents today, the state, as an institution, keeps intact its origin and its ontological matrix through family and church. In the creationist view, the birth certificate of the state appears as a divine power with the constitution of the first family present in the biblical dyadic model of Adam and Eve. According to the Bible, the first family lived in Eden, a primordial state, which confirms that the embryonic forms of the state emerged in the gardens of heaven. In the same vein, political sociology begins an analysis beyond historical space15. Thus, the state is directly assigned a prominent role for the family in leadership and defence, alongside the Church, protecting it through the deontic argument of power. The origin of power in Christianity lies in the very act of creation in Genesis. The configuration of the Adamic world is the result of the six working days. The incarnation of the word into deeds is the power of the act of communication. The principle: “we speak, therefore we” do has a meaning that apparently escapes 15 For Professor Virgil Măgureanu, the first permanent human groups, whether smaller or larger, based on hierarchies and on distinct and long-lasting interests, with specific modes of organization recorded in rituals or in laws and where the forms of activity are not born of spontaneous or occasional convictions, but, on the contrary, are directed by individuals or groups and carried out by other individuals or groups, even if the latter do not always wish to do so and might even be tempted to resist, are certainly characterised by power (1997: 34). 121 SEBASTIAN FITZEK reason, but can be explained by the effect that any word or string of words has on anyone. The word changes the attitude of the speaker for better or worse and can have the most unexpected effects if we do not know its meaning correctly. The utterance of the word has addressability beyond the person to whom it is addressed because we do not know where it stops. There are words whose power kill or heal people. The power of the unconscious is as unknown as the power of the word, but connections and effects arise between the two. The word affects something in the unconscious, just as the feeling of joy or love positively affects a person's state. With regard to the main correlative elements of power (influence, prestige and authority), the word also plays a key role in determining positive or negative political action: 'influence and authority, as correlative elements of political power, draw their force from epistemic and deontic models that generate prestige and admiration for a leader, a political style or an era' (Frigioiu, 2008: 73). The word of the elected leader becomes a form of interaction of power which, following the biblical model of Creation, can produce the most unexpected effects in the act of communication with the masses and, therefore, can address even the collective unconscious. Political power derives from force, but is clearly detached from any potential immorality. The raw image of power, present everywhere in living matter, is humanised in the structure of authority through the 'command - compliance' relationship. In terms of democratic regimes, consensus and authority confer on the rulers, for a limited period, the legitimacy of the right to rule. The emergence of the state in the Ancient Orient is determined by the presence of two major characteristics:  the need of constraint and power centralization;  the need for legitimation and authority of the person through appeal to sacred authority. Paradoxically, politicians in today's democratic regimes use the same model. The synonymy of theocratic legitimacy is reproduced through the decomposition and recomposition of the sacred into a discourse that appeals to the moral order of things, and sometimes through direct participation in the rituals of the people by attending church on national holidays and, in investiture, by swearing on the 122 Sacred and political power Bible. Earning trust is a two-fold process: moral and professional. The misuse of electoral repertoires such as: “you will be happy with me!”, “I shall do justice” or “I shall eliminate corruption” are expressions of reiteration of the divine order in the Judeo-Christian “imitatio sacer” model. The utopian nature of the promises, however, always runs up against the limits of an incompatible reality. The utopian image of happiness is a reference to the sacredness of a higher order that we wish to see embodied in the narrow corners of our world. Turning its model into propaganda for the manipulation of the masses is an immoral act of cowardice and irresponsibility on the part of the lovers of power, who are taking advantage of the uneducated and undiscerning masses of voters. The sacred cannot remain solely a subject of the past; rather, it is reborn through new metamorphoses of communication, action and ritual in a world hungry for control and power. The new 'God' is the banquet to which most celebrities from all walks of life and their fans worship. In Durkheim's view, this new idol is another manifestation of the sacred in a grey, mundane colour. In conclusion, the power-sacred symbiosis adapts to the reality of individual and group experiences, which human nature lives codified in the deep structures of social-political life. These new micro-forms of power dominate the symbolic world imbued with the new structures of the sacred represented by the values of the modern world. The space given to power in its connection with the sacred remains a vital focus of concern for the social sciences. The problem of the sacred opens up a broad horizon of scientific knowledge by analysing collective experiences and ideas related to the existence of an archetype designed to explain the metamorphosis of the modern sacred. Politically, the power-sacred symbiosis projects a superior world into an imperfect world, in the utopian desire to dream and progress continuously. It can be said with certainty that modern society has not eliminated the sacred, as would have happened in the process of secularization of the state, replacing the old gods with new ones. The perception of the sacred is the same as in primitive man, who seeks the supernatural in stones, a form of elementary animism. Today's man is not far removed from primitive man when he 123 SEBASTIAN FITZEK worships money and things. The differences are only technological, the referential remains in place. There have been better situations, when man looked to Heaven with a certain sense of awe and respect. Today, we look to the heavens for exoplanets, aliens and nuclear missiles. Categories of power reinvent themselves according to context. For primitive man, power has hierophantine significance, while for modern man it becomes an opportunity for enrichment. The effects of power can be good or bad, depending on situations and skills and sometimes on intentionality. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus worked gold on demand: from goblets, jewels and temples that delighted the Olympian gods, to weapons and murderous poisons. Power is good because of its divine origin, but, misdirected or in the hands of the wrong man, it wreaks havoc and can even kill. And yet, when power is unjust, oppressive and kills, St. Paul calls for submission and clemency, explaining that the suffering endured is retribution and a way of salvation for sinners. The naked nature of power emanates from the Divine, and its negative consequences save the one who accepts it without rebellion. Power is divine, and in the hands of man it becomes the whip of God. 3.4. Hermeneutical and phenomenological approaches to the sacred Hermeneutics of the sacred is perhaps the most advanced form and method of analysis concerning the religious phenomenon, initiated by Mircea Eliade, regardless of the specific features of dogma or its forms of faith. The hermeneutic experience of religion highlights a unique relationship with the heritage of tradition, revealing a language full of meanings and symbols of genuine value, not just a simple history lost in the mists of time. "In sociological terms, the spirituality and culture of a national or ethnic community preserves its traditions through the religious beliefs and behaviours of its members" (Schifirnet, 1999: 55). The exploitation of the most authentic mystical feelings and experiences of the past offers an ideal opportunity to teleport us into the space of the religious man. The success of the hermeneutic approach is also due to Eliade's different interpretation of the sacred-profane categorical 124 Sacred and political power couple compared to Durkheim's, focusing research interest on other areas. In order to ensure, however, a methodological and coherent unfolding of things, I will analyse, one by one, each aspect in turn, following to establish the hypothetical and semantic links between the two terms. Most religious texts refer to a space different from our world, a space with a different emphasis from our perceptions of the supernatural. The supernatural must first be identified with religious phenomenology: “the notion of the supernatural generally serves to characterize all that is religious. It encompasses all kinds of things that are beyond our comprehension: the supernatural is the world of mystery, the unknown, and the incomprehensible. This makes religion like speculating on everything that escapes science and independent thought altogether” (Durkheim, 1995: 34). Here Durkheim makes an observation about the different forms of knowledge between science and the realm of the supernatural in a slightly ironic but justified way. Summing up his observations, religion composes and sums up everything that cannot be scientifically verified; thus, religion cannot submit to methodological rigour in order to be captured in scientific theories and legends. The supernatural is a synthesis of the religious phenomenon that operates with the mysterious, the unknown and the incomprehensible, ignoring two essential elements, man's unconditional love of the supernatural and man's love of his neighbour through the supernatural; it is what we would call today a social relationship that stems from man's religious affectivity towards the Divine. Christianity conceives of this relationship in an original way, including in its principles sociology of religion which presupposes going beyond the limits of an individual salvation. The New Testament proposes the possibility of collective salvation by attaching an imperative to the old law: the imperative of unconditional love of one’s neighbour. The Christian principle thus acquires different sociological meanings in relation to all other systems of thought, which makes it difficult to understand religion in a single key. All the major monotheistic religions contain a philosophy of man, but in the case of Islam, or of Mosaism, the law of retaliation “tooth for tooth and eye for eye” is in contradiction with the Christian principle. The Muslim brotherhood is built up of 125 SEBASTIAN FITZEK camps, ready to come into conflict if a member needs to be avenged; in Christianity, however, these camps disappear through the forgiveness of the enemy, according to the principle of love of neighbour. I stress that this does not demonstrate the superiority of one religion over another, but highlights the particularities and philosophy behind these belief systems. All three religions recognise one God and the importance of the Old Testament, be it the Torah, the Koran or the Bible. Their religious history meets on one point: Divinity is revealed by grace and prophets or kings are God's representatives on earth. The history of religions aims to study this phenomenon from the perspective of religious hermeneutics, which remains the same in all three dogmas: belief in one God, a common history of facts, the need for and belief in salvation, the contract with the Deity, the laws, and belief in a Last Judgment. With regard to the Old Testament, the differences are linked to certain dogmatic details that create a discrepancy in interpretation and symbol. The human being, when he intervenes, separates and divides the unique truth. The central hermeneutical axes of the three religions, as we have shown, are the same. The essential structures of the dogmas dealing with the divine nature are similar. Divinity is one, but it is symbolized differently. The God of Israel, Yahweh is the God of Abraham, Jacob and Moses. The same God is also Christian, with certain milder nuances. Allah is the God of Islam, wise and loving to all believers. And yet the symbols become contrasting, so that we get the impression that there are three different deities. The history of religions needs the study of monotheistic religions because they contain the most complex symbolic universe and the most extensive hermeneutic system. In his attempt to first define the history of religions as a science, Eliade underwent a relevant experience in a three-year internship as a Magister at the University of Chicago on 7 June 1959. The illustrious scholar stated that: 'The history of religions is an impossible discipline; you have to know everything, collect documents from at least 20 auxiliary disciplines (from prehistory to folklore), constantly search for reliable sources, constantly consulting specialists of all kinds' (2004: 317). The need for a multidisciplinary approach becomes vital, especially when subjected to a hermeneutic analysis of such a 126 Sacred and political power complex phenomenon. The unifying axes mentioned above are the vectors of analysis of hermeneutics, and if there are different or even contrary symbols, there are similar ones. These axes are therefore supported and represented by beliefs, laws, histories, facts, principles and countless symbols. A conclusive example of this is fasting. In all three religions, fasting is loaded with similar symbols: abstention from meat, from certain foods, from sexual life. These preparations, rituals and abstinences are aimed at preparing the believer to celebrate God, through purification, prayer, religious rituals, in general, through traditions and customs common to the monotheistic religions. In a strictly personal approach, religion can also be defined as a sociology of souls that treats social relations between individuals as relations of belonging and dependence on the supernatural. Religious people believe that they are created beings and are therefore in a continuous dialogue with the Divinity, through various modes of manifestation: worship, adoration, ritual, prayer, dogma, philosophy, and these relationships always retain a mystical character. “Beyond any doubt, there is however the quasi-universality of beliefs in a celestial divine Being, creator of the Cosmos and the giver of the earth's fruitfulness (through the rains it pours)” (Eliade, 1992: 55). The term “religion” recalls a once lost covenant with God. In other words, it is the nostalgia of the religious man for the lost paradise or primordial state, when there was no need for relegation and there was neither religion nor dogma. “Religion is indeed the result of the fall, of forgetfulness, of the loss of the primordial state of perfection. In Paradise, Adam knew neither religious experience nor theology, i.e. the doctrine of God. Before sin there was no religion” (Eliade, 2004: 317). In the supposed time when the whole of the Godhead was at peace with man, there was no need for law, just as there was no need for the Heideggerian idea of non-being, which justifies existence in relation to being. Law needs an introduction of order into disorder or an organizing action of chaos. The primordial state is, for Eliade, that illo tempore in which the sacred was represented in a universal system of symbols accessible to human language and understanding only through revelation. Eliade gives four meanings to the term transcendence: Indian, symbolic, temporal and divine. The transcendence specific to the divine is attributed to the sacred, 127 SEBASTIAN FITZEK considered as Ultimate Reality, a term of the hierophanies class. The sacred mediates participation in the real by implying the idea of perfection. The sacred, in a real world, was the law of cosmic reality (periodicity of natural phenomena) and also the law of the human spirit, as a tendency towards a necessary archetype. Man's gestures and acts would be directed by precise, sacred laws. Human actions will be transformed into rituals. The transcendence of the sacred becomes, in conclusion, the law of natural reality (in which it appears as the form, structure, periodicity of natural phenomena) and of human consciousness (tendency towards the archetype, magical or mythical-symbolic thinking). For Eliade there is a connection between the revelation of the sacred, reality and existence; the sacred opens the way to the values of the spirit. Any religion, in relation to the sacred, is an ontology through which the divine Being is revealed, showing what is actually perceived by man and thus founding a real world. Unlike Rudolf Otto, in whose view the sacred determined the phenomenological emergence of religion (whereby everything that has become religious cult has its origin in the revelation of man's encounter with the numino-fascinosum); Heidegger emphasized the role of hermeneutics in philosophy, without emphasizing the overwhelming importance of this discipline in religion. The German philosopher elaborated the famous distinction between being and non-being, so necessary for understanding the state of creation. In the same way, Mircea Eliade proposed a hermeneutic for religion that could be explained through the sacred-profane relationship. The two terms, apparently contrary, do not exclude or cancel each other out, but complement each other in the most natural way. Being contains in itself also non-being, needing it, and it is the non-being that induces the intellect the state of being, just as the sacred is also profane through its representation in religion, the profane being the form through which the sacred is confirmed by the intellect. All the examples cited by Eliade, Otto, Mauss, Kernbach, Gilbert, Heidegger and other hermeneutists recognise this principle of alliances between opposites. As a historian of religions, Eliade is particularly interested in the paradoxical experiences of illogical expression modes that characterize Oriental cultures. In the documents of archaic cultures 128 Sacred and political power we encounter symbolic, architectural and other formulations. The documents reveal the mode on how conceptions of the world are expressed, certain pre-dialectical elements such as, for example, the symbolic representation of the belief in the immortality of the soul. Symbolism is closely connected with the so-called original phenomenon, which in fact means any religious experience, the intrinsic experience of the human condition, immutable. “What changes is its interpretation or valorisation according to different forms of culture and religion” (Eliade, 2004: 367). The study of these original phenomena becomes so difficult that sometimes a restoration and reconstruction of all symbols is necessary. Eliade takes over from Hasdeu, Goethe, Spengler and Blaga the concept of original phenomenon and the method that leads him to such a result. Unlike his predecessors, Eliade aims to unify the two concepts of history and nature. Eliade believes that religious history can also be a reconstruction of symbols, starting from the viable present. He says: “I can count myself among the few Europeans who have succeeded in revaluing nature, discovering the dialectic of hierophanies and the structure of cosmic religiosity... I reached cosmic sacredness by reflecting on the experience of Romanian or Bengali peasants. So I started from contemporary historical situations and living cultural values” (2004: 367). In conclusion, the original phenomenon can be identified with the very centre of a symbol with a double meaning: that of existence and knowledge, which demonstrates the reality of the religious phenomenon in its wholeness. However, the original phenomenon should not be confused with this structure or with the sacred. By affirming that structures are found in reality, Eliade approaches contemporary structuralism, following the trajectory of neonominalism and neopositivism. Structuralism can be spoken of with the advent of Saussure's (student-published) General Linguistics course (1909), with its emphasis on the timeless and synchronic aspects of linguistic laws. Using Saussure's formal method, Claude Levy-Strauss (1960) studied wild reasoning. Through this original method, the author aims to analyse the pre-reflexive unconscious as the basic substratum of conscious life, with an emphasis on the synchronic aspects of consciousness. Levy-Strauss's structuralism is a form of transcendental materialism or Kantianism without consciousness in 129 SEBASTIAN FITZEK general, in which the structural laws of matter take precedence. For Strauss, science is constituted by the study of things as material objects. Man can be understood by ignoring his consciousness. Wild thinking becomes thinking without thinkers and logic without logicians, namely neopositivism and neonominalism. Eliade clearly distances himself from the structuralism of Levy-Strauss; in his work “Ordeal by Labyrinth”, he states that “the structuralism that seems to me fruitful is that which consists in asking questions about the essence of a set of phenomena, about the primordial order that lies at the foundation of their meaning. I admire Levy-Strauss as a writer, I think he is a remarkable mind, but insofar as his method excludes hermeneutics, I cannot profit from it. A historian of religion, whatever his views, considers that his first duty is indeed to capture the original meaning of a phenomenon and to interpret its history” (1990: 117). The original phenomenon cannot only be considered as a structure, which manifests itself through symbol and tradition, which inevitably leads to the establishment and relation of these structures to human consciousness. If we eliminate consciousness, then we cancel the value of symbol and we can no longer preserve tradition, ritual or myth. The role of the symbol is to make us receptive to the primordial meaning of existence, of life, in order to subsequently operate with the meanings and semantics of a consciousness. The main function of the symbol is to totalize and unify the various planes of reality and, as such, this approach goes beyond the classical sense of the historicity of facts. Symbols also allow the coexistence of meanings and at the same time retain what is different and heterogeneous. In general, man does not form his symbols, they are revealed from the outside. For example, the central symbol of Christianity, the Cross, appears in the very creation of the cosmos, and thus predates man. The rediscovery of these meanings leads to a state of revelation, through the awareness of truths that we can only grasp through the acceptance of the transcendent. However, there is no doubt that this stage cannot be sustained without including a truth that cannot be investigated by current 130 Sacred and political power scientific instruments; the transcendent is not the factor that rejects or conditions a certain knowledge, but conversely, a certain human science limits and conditions something that is inaccessible to it. Microcosmic and macrocosmic units are important in the correct interpretation of fundamental structures. Eliade pays special attention to the behaviour of the religious man who periodically tends towards the archetype or a continuous need for purification or sanctity. This function translates into the need for return, replay or even rebirth which requires a knowledge or experience of the religious phenomenon. We are talking here about a certain type of structuralism in close connection with the religious or original phenomenon, more precisely with the experience of the real. The mode of expression of this integral experience is the symbol in direct correlation with the various planes of reality. Homo religiosus can also be homo symbolicus, because the magico-religious experience allows man to become a symbol. The symbol already exists in his preoccupation with the transcendent, in the form of an archetype which thus facilitates the meaning of this symbol. The truths of religious hermeneutics need to be clarified in order to capture the phenomenological complexity of religion. By hermeneutics we understand why religion dissociates or associates the behaviour of homo religious with that of homo profanus. Analysing some of Eliade's work, we notice that a noteworthy intention is the demystification of the condition of modern man, totally detached from the sphere of the sacred. Modern man has remained the same as religious man. We recognise the modern man, always dissatisfied, in constant polemic with the Divinity, which he either accepts or denies. The need for this controversy springs from his soul. In even the humblest hierophanies, there is an eternal return to timelessness, an abolition of history and a need to reformulate the world. The dialectic of the sacred repeats a series of archetypes ad infinitum; hierophanies are repeatable, and thus, one can arrive at an understanding of religious facts. In conclusion, the sacred never ceases to manifest itself, transforming itself into an original tendency to reveal itself in its totality. Another problem that Eliade was interested in, concerns the definition of the human purpose; we mention here his answer to the following question: how can man recover his Edenic state? 131 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Heidegger's German term sehnsucht, “longing”, precisely induces and expresses the gnostic state of the suffering and nostalgic man in search of the lost paradise. By sehnsucht we mean man's longing for that something already known. At the level of art, the response proposes a continual diminution and dilution of dogma, without destroying it, without fighting against it. In this way, man converts, through his freedom of conscience and spirit, to the essence of the divine sacred. Metamorphosis occurs if the mystery, without being destroyed, as Blaga liked to say, is revealed in human space and time. Man identifies his own mirror of his being in a Supreme Being, from whom he has derived his very identity. The correct understanding of revelation means a reversal of things, from the irrational to the rational, a phenomenon which is found, in particular, through the hierophanies. The summation of these hierophanies led to the formation of a system of symbols, which became an important palette of connections and nuances revealing the state of becoming of the sacred in a part visible and intelligible to science. However, if religion can err by unmitigated hermeticizing symbols into dogma, in art these symbols unravel into a fan that releases the divine into experiences perceived in an original way. The religious symbol describes the Divine in a restricted space, reducing it to an inflexible perception, while art captures the contemplative beauty embodied in the diversity of the sacred. Hermeneutics also highlights these issues through the phenomenon of religion relegation. Man enters into a new holy alliance with what was once broken. Hermeneutics assembles a logical system applicable to all the great religions. All these values, through hermeneutics, are common to Christianity, Islam, Mosaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Shamanism. Suffice it to mention a few examples: the following religious theses have become, through hermeneutics, a universal value system:  belief in an afterlife (in whatever form);  faith into the existing and immortal soul or spirit of man;  faith in a better future world;  belief in a complex, infinitely superior universe;  belief in communication with spirits or supernatural forces in the afterlife; 132 Sacred and political power  the belief in continuous evolution;  faith in a transcendent judgment;  belief in the existence of a sacred world, which positively influences the life of people and our planet, etc. In conclusion, the application of hermeneutics to the polysemantics of the sacred justifies and proposes a return of contemporary man to ancient religious spirituality. Regardless of religion, doctrine or dogma, there is a common system of values that enshrines these immutable truths. What is important is that these universal truths are engraved in the soul of each person. Under the sign of the researcher's doubt, I believe that religious hermeneutics can be a key also for science, eager to discover other sacred or mystical phenomena in general. If by religion we understand the divine, as the supernatural experience of man, then we can begin a search for the sacred. “How can mystery therefore become the term of an effective relationship with man?” Velasco (1997: 221) asks. Perhaps through mystery, the sacred retains its authenticity over the worthless repetitiveness of art. Much art today has become kitsch. Art always relates to the invisible part of the sacred and not to the visible part of the industrially processed material. Art is also a transposition of the sacred by imitating it in a visual, material, tangible form, suggestive of the ineffable, and this umbilical link dwells 'in a mystery'. Also through art, man could not see the invisible side of things if he did not have that inner vision which gives him little glimpses of images and ideograms of the sacred. If, as a Christian, we look at a cross, we perceive more or less thousands and thousands of meanings, but we ask ourselves the question: why does this symbol provoke tears, nostalgia or inner joy in some people? The answer is unanimous: it is the difference in their experiences, experiences which for the rest of us remain inexplicable or unknown. 133 Sacred and political power CHAPTER IV SACRED IN THE FAIRYTALE IMAGINARY What is a fairy tale? The question seems naïve, but we don't suspect the multiplicity of meanings of this literary genre. Philologists, ethnologists, psychologists, philosophers and mythologists have all tried to formulate different definitions of the term, but without deciphering its mystery. Prince Charming, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, the Fairy, the Snowy Harp, the Seven-headed Dragon and other heroes have conquered the world of children, but also that of their parents, who have endeavoured to make them as realistic as possible. The fairy tale enriches the imagination of young children with fantasies that form the imaginary of childhood, an imaginary that springs largely from the unconscious and, less so, from the still immature consciousness of this tender age. The joy felt by young children during a story comes from the unconscious, in the form of desires which, according Fig. 5. The supernatural in the fantastic imaginary Fantastic Fairy tales Fable Legend/Bal ad Myths/ Epics Prince Charming; The Nightingale. The dog and the puppy; Lion’s justice. The legend of the Lark; Toma Alimoş. Ghilgames' Journey; Orpheus Myth. Source: personal creation 135 SEBASTIAN FITZEK to Freud, form the basis of dreams16. Adults transfer this pleasure to the arts (poetry, music, painting or other forms of communication with a strong symbolic charge). Young children are not ready to taste the artistic pleasures of adults; fairy tales, like art, involve an escape from reality, an escape into fantasy. The proximity between the fantastic and the unconscious is clear, so the unconscious world is the fantastic world, and the fairy tale is one of the windows of access. Here and there is the seat of the two perpetual states of human experience. Beyond, we penetrate through awareness, see, experience and marvel at the impossible; here, in the world of limits, the weight of the self is fixed, as the starting point of reality and the measure of all things tangible. Fixing this weight of the self in the reality of consciousness allows us to measure everything, including beyond, where rational thought is meaningless. How can this be explained? Perhaps it is because of the ego that we are tempted to deny the beauty of the world beyond, just as the scientist's ego has become accustomed to measuring everything, slipping into its own trap. The measurable world does not include everything, and the unmeasurable world is vast and too little known. Everyone has access to both worlds, through the conscious and the unconscious. In fairy tales, children have reference to their world more in the unconscious, the place where astonishing beings and unmeasurable happenings spring up. From an anthropological perspective, fairy tales are fragments of ancient folk beliefs existing in the mythological area of a people. The fairy tale is a projection of dreams, of collective ideals, a form of expression of existential meaning through the victory of good over evil. The good-evil, beautiful-ugly couples have become, through fairy tales, the first categorical models that structure children's thinking. Fantastic beings are the archetypes of characters in the purest form of antagonistic representations. Evil is sometimes embodied by angelic faces, being at one point or another unmasked in extreme situations, and the face becomes an absolute archetype. Evil tempts good, and when it fails, it confronts it. The positive character is sometimes to be found in the ordinary face of a young 16 See the relationship between unconscious - preconscious - conscious in the sub-chapter: "Media imaginary and current dangers in the formation of human personality". 136 Sacred and political power man or a child who discovers his powers through the conjunctions of fate. The good follows the same pattern of absolute archetype, so that, in the mind of a child, the world becomes a battle scene between two opposing forces, with few intermediate shades. The two antithetical juxtapositions are part of the didactic mission of the fairy tale, to teach children to distinguish between right and wrong. The use of the absolute archetypes of the good-evil couple is moral and addresses the unconscious, which reacts with opposing feelings: attraction - rejection, joy - fear, trust - distrust. Both opposites pre-exist socialisation processes in the unconscious and develop, depending on the distribution of internalised representations, mainly through the phantasms with which we feed our mind and memory. Obsession with negative characters/ fantasies will provoke negative feelings such as rejection, fear, distrust, horror. The same goes for positive feelings. Together, these contrary personifications form their own imaginary, depending on one's preferences or choices. The rare nuances between opposites are a problem in terms of integrating children into the complex reality of our world. The Weltanschaung in the fairy-tale universe is characterised by a lack of balance. Evil cannot be good, just as good cannot have negative sides. The gulf between the two states induces in the collective unconscious a state of conflict, of struggle between two elements that want to win. Shaping thought through such representations diminishes the chance of reconciliation, truce or coexistence. Heroes do not want to de-escalate the conflict, good will face evil, so that in the end the good wins. The same thing happens in a war, when each side sees the other as the absolute evil. When asked separately, each sees himself as the bearer of good, but when viewed from a distance, we realise that in all people the two opposites coexist. We often wonder to what model we owe this kind of dichotomous thinking that we develop in adulthood and apply to our fellow human beings, dividing the world into friend and foe. How do we explain the fact that a grudge against someone causes us to cast them into the camp of the damned, forgetting their good sides? Do we have bipolar judgment? The lack of intermediate nuances turns the social environment into a monochrome screen. 137 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Fairy-tale psychology, at least in Europe, encourages the unconscious to form an imaginary constructed from opposites. Exposing its vectorial model in a simple graphic looks like this: Fig. 6. Fantastic antagonism in thought structuring at the unconscious level attraction joy trust good heroes Good Non-collaboration and conflict Evil villains rejection fear mistrust Source: personal creation The antagonistic nature of heroes explains the structuring of dichotomous thinking at the level of the personal unconscious, extended to a collective unconscious. In the morality of the fairy tale, good plays a compensatory role by confronting evil, the model thus becoming a matrix of conscious judgment. What do literary critics say about fairy tales and how do they perceive the characters? “The fairy tale is a vast genre, going far beyond the novel, being mythology, ethics, science, moral observation, etc. its characterization is that the heroes are not only humans, but also certain hymenous beings, animals... The non-human beings in the fairy tale have their own mysterious psychology. They communicate to man, but they are not men” (Callinescu, 1965: 9). In George Călinescu's definition, chimerical beings are characters of the human mind that the unconscious perceives in a complex and different way from the conscious. Between conscious and unconscious there are notable differences signalled in the perception of the conscious object and the perception of the same object present in the dream. The above premise was confirmed in a research applied to 20 people of different ages and professional interests, randomly chosen, who agreed to dialogue on this topic. In their dreams, the subjects interacted with well-known real-life 138 Sacred and political power characters, but with changed appearance (some younger, some older, some prettier, some uglier). Their messages and behaviours were revealed in symbolic language. The dream is the field of manifestation of the unconscious in which the object or person acquires a metaphorical semantics, and the awareness of memories requires decoding to understand them. Certain character traits of dreamed characters were sometimes revealed in their unknown or hidden sides to the conscious mind. Using the psychoanalysis of fairy tales as working method, I chose as a case study, “The Nightingale”, a masterpiece by the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. Essentially, the subject focuses on the following situation: while the true nightingale managed by her grace to save her emperor from death, the mechanical nightingale could do nothing (Andersen, 2007: 10). The emperor is saved by a nightingale that, with the gentleness of porcelain and the modesty of her grey feathers, brings out all her beauty through her healing music. In the symbolic interpretation, the encounter between the emperor and the bird corresponds to the relationship between heaven and earth, between the sacred and the profane. The banishment of the nightingale from the emperor's forest corresponds to the isolation of modern man who has renounced the old order. Stripped of the ritual function of religious man, the new man has alienated himself from his old roots, causing an imbalance between body and soul. In the same tale, we learn that after the first invitation to the palace, the nightingale was banished and replaced by her rival, a mechanical copy capable of performing a single song. The human imagination seems devoid of the new innovation of an author who thinks he can imitate what has been lost. The result shows the difference between the two creators: man as the hypostasis of imperfection and nature as the hypostasis of perfection, or man as the hypostasis of the profane and the Creator as the hypostasis of the sacred. Another observation concerns the structure of human nature in relation to the sacred. The separation from the real 139 SEBASTIAN FITZEK nightingale is a break with tradition, a world close to the divine order, foretelling the end, the sickness and premature death of the emperor. His life is in danger, a prophecy that the author considers an imminent fatality. By transferring the magical meanings of fairy tales into philosophy, human history is symbolically identified with the message of the folk storyteller in this type of writing. The mechanical watchman is the plaything of the proud man convinced that he can compete with nature. While the Great Anon gives life and being, homo faber manufactures and innovates. Innovation is proof of its evolution, but the path it chooses also requires a cost. By emptying himself of primordial meanings, of sacred space and alienation from the Creator, man slowly but surely moons towards solitude. Competition becomes the iron law of human evolution, where the best survive on their own merits, and the others, lacking the spirit of competition, what are left to do? Today's society is faced with both situations that cause a continuous split of two tendencies: competitors and victims of competition. The former are self-motivated by their nature to achieve performance in various fields and spheres of activity, the latter return to sacredness by preserving traditions and religious values. The structure of social anomie described by the sociologist Robert Merton is the perfect xray of this picture, to which the explanation of behavioural deviations is added. Technical innovations and the favouring of competitors concentrate such structuring in an image of Plato's meritocracy. Competitors are fit for all evaluations except moral evaluation. In conclusion, meritocracy in the West is a perspective with pluses and minuses. The fascination with the mechanical toy is evidence of man's attraction to breaking boundaries, a tendency to overcome barriers by his own strength. Why do barriers exist and where does this drive to overcome them come from? A hypothetical answer might lie in the borderless universe existing in the human imagination, which cannot accept a limited world. My thesis also stems from another stubbornness determined by man's imagined position in place of the Great Author. What would everyone do if they were in God's place? We can imagine this hypostasis, in which man can do anything, having unlimited powers. If man were in the place of the Creator, 140 Sacred and political power would he build a world identical to ours? Would he make it better or worse? What would that world look like? The question is archetypal and I think everyone has pondered it without giving a concrete answer. The man in Andersen's fairy tale answered, through the innovation of the wooden toy. First, he made a copy, and then he banished the original. Where is the moral side of technical innovation? In my interpretation, it is theft and exile. Where is the originality and how do we compete with the Creator? There is one interesting similarity here in the intention to create, if only by copying. It is a certainty that the imagination of the human actor is poor compared to the imagination of the Divine Author. The need to make, to innovate, possibly to create, remains the only common ground between the two authors. This gives rise to another archetypal behaviour, that of “imitating”. Just as children imitate their parents in their first attempts at socialisation, so too does the mature man try to imitate his Creator, regardless of the spiritual or religious aspect. The human-Creator relationship follows the same pattern, as an indissoluble bond between parent and child. This explains man's tendency to imitate in order to conquer Heaven. According to this reasoning, imagination becomes an attribute of likeness, but also an indestructible connection between man and the sacred, whatever the choice: association or divorce. The technical innovation in the fairy tale becomes the option of divorce between state and Church, resulting in a desacralized world. The similarity between the mechanical nightingale (a product of innovation and not invention) and the desacralized society means the removal of the spiritual life from the concerns of religious man. The exchange becomes a deceptive action, but there is also a positive fact in expanding the ego's area of knowledge. Modern man perceives himself through a well-developed ego and questions under the sign of doubt. The replacement of “to believe” by “to inquire” marks the beginning of a new era that completely changes the social landscape. Innovation and doubt about everything creates a worldly imagination destined to search for the infinite. Anxiety has taken the place of tranquillity, and the peace that springs from faith disappears in favour of ego development. The new personhood experiences a split that Jung intuits in the conceptual rupture between the exteriorised 141 SEBASTIAN FITZEK ego and the interiorised self. By ego, the attribute of the self is meant the capture of personal forces in the will, and the human will is different from the spiritual person of the self (Längle, 2006: 36). By self, we mean the primordial state of the personality from which the ego develops in its conscious part (in the relation between the object and the operationalization of thought in relation to the value and role of the object); therefore, the self is similar to the ego, but is superior in its ability to reflect the object in a symbolically charged image, a kind of ideational image17. In the conclusion applied psychoanalytically to the fairy tale model of interpretation, desacralized society (an image of the ego) has imposed itself by replacing spiritual life (an image of the self) with a life subservient to technical competition as well as through the aforementioned costs. Is there in this fairy tale an antagonism between the two worlds, as Durkheim observes is the case with the categorical couple: sacred and profane? The similarities in both areas recall a primordial past in which man and nature were at complete peace. The rupture that occurred was not exclusively man's fault, and Andersen faithfully follows the biblical line from Genesis in this respect. The serpent is the character that snuck in from the outside; he is the one who sowed the seeds of disagreement between Adam and God. Temptation is always an irresistible attraction to man's vulnerable nature. “Wherefore the woman, supposing the fruit of the tree to be good for food, and pleasant to the eyes to behold, and worthy to be desired, because it giveth knowledge, took of it, and did eat, and gave to her husband, and he also did eat” (Bible, Genesis, ch.3, v.6). Adam's soul became impure, and as a result, he was cast out of Heaven. Adam is the king in Andersen's fairy tale who remembers the old covenant being restored in his soul through the miraculous song of the nightingale. From the hermeneutical interpretation of the fairy tale we extract other observations from the mystical dialogue of man with supernatural beings. Referring to a symbolic world, we ask: who are the other actors on the stage and whom do they represent? The courtiers of the palace generally represent the opinion of the world 17 See the explanations given in Chapter 1, in the sub-chapter: 'The psychoanalytic approach to the collective imaginary'. 142 Sacred and political power (public opinion). The ladies and bridesmaids are the refined admirers of pleasure (connoisseurs of carnal refinement). The emperor's advisers are the false friends who deliberately confuse the master's interests with their own by flattery and false opinions. Chefs are masters of the culinary pleasures prized by high society. Finally, the most insignificant actor (the hidden messenger of the sacred, lover of parents and traditions), the humble apprentice chef, is the only one who advises the emperor to recall the true nightingale to heal himself. The old mother of the humble apprentice is the mystical representative of the ancestors. Her dwelling at a roadside deep in the forest is a personification of the sacred forgotten by the courtiers. The scene seems to take place in times long gone, but its semiotic meanings belong to the present. The Nightingale is the most mysterious character who seems to descend from a mythical world, and like a silver thread, the story evolves in the rhythm of a religious ritual. For Andersen, oblivion is the nostalgia for a lost paradise, whereas in Petre Ispirescu's fairy tale “Youth without old age and life without death”, the hero will forget about the world, his parents and friends in order to fulfil his aspiration to immortality and happiness. Transposition into another hypostasis, through oblivion, occurs in reverse, from the mundane to paradise. The realm of the parents is considered the mourning valley, and the realm where they disappear from the hero's memory becomes the world of happiness. The inversion of the relationship between man and his ancestors is also verified in the words of the evangelist Matthew (16:25), who recalls the supremacy of the love of the world beyond to the detriment of any earthly love, even that of parental love. The two fairy tales have the quest for happiness in common, but the end is different. Both fairy tales make use of the invigorating principle of the sacred as an initiation rite through the processes of remembering and forgetting. The second game of remembrance and the space for action is inside the soul. The fairy tales are a metaphorical reiteration of the lost paradise myth from Genesis. In Petre Ispirescu, the hero conquers happiness through forgetting, but is doomed to fail, thus losing paradise like Adam. With Andersen, the hero remembers the banished nightingale and calls 143 SEBASTIAN FITZEK her back to save his life. Man is the temporary hero who can easily fail; his dilemma is the choice of remembering or forgetting, and the consequences are trajectories towards a path of no return. The setting of the open conflict is in one's own soul and stems from the hero's inability to evolve towards perfection. Man's struggle always lies between the chasms of the fall by mistake and the mountainous steep of the ascent, a silent and hard struggle between the seduction of forgetting and the reminder of primordial meaning. In conclusion, the symbolism of the fairy tale reveals a cult of beauty that springs from the small and insignificant. The fragility of the beholder is the fragility of the soul forgotten in the turmoil of the human ego. The beauty of the porcelain knick-knacks gives brilliance to the emperor's castle, excelling in the sensibility of a mystical world. The presence at court of countless poets and artists embodies the open environment of the arts. In this noble ambience, the nightingale appears in the most modest of clothes. Hidden among the branches, her song charms the hearts of the guests every evening, until suddenly her mechanical replacement banishes her, transforming the sense of harmony into a triumph of vanity. At that moment, the whole sensitive world disappears, giving way to an unadorned refinement. Yet, somewhere far away, Andersen's nightingale continues to sing today... 144 Sacred and political power CHAPTER V THE SACREDNESS OF THE EMPEROR'S IMAGE IN BYZANTIUM Ethico-political-religious syncretism was most rigorously manifested in the Byzantine period, a phenomenon captured in the writing “Deacon Agapet's Chapters of Advice to Emperor Justinian”18. The text opens the series of well-defined images of a specific model of political governance in which the Byzantine emperor achieves the moral conduct of an apostle, being considered a true lieutenant of God on earth. According to imperial ideology, government is the attribute of the emperor, and the act of government is a sacred ritual that fulfils the infallible will of the Divine. The sacred image of Emperor Constantine (272-337 A.D.) or Emperor Justinian (482-565 A.D.) is essentially legitimised by the sacred authority conferred and validated by the authority of the Church. The Byzantine Emperor becomes a sacerdotal person with the same attributes as the Patriarch in terms of spiritual power, without controlling the latter. Other honours characteristics of political power are added to the spiritual attributes, allowing the emperor to take precedence over the patriarch in terms of image. Paragraph 63 of the document bears witness to the following words: “God needs no one, and the emperor needs only God. Imitate, therefore, the One who needs no one and abundantly has mercy on 18 The parenetic writing of Deacon Agapetus, Ἔκθεσις Κεφαλαίων Παραινετικῶν,σχεδιασθεῖσα παρὰ ΑΓΑΠΗΤΟΥ Διακόνου τῆς ἁγιωτάτης τοῦ Θεοῦ Μεγάλης Ἐκκλησίας, ΠρὸςΒασιλέα ΙΟΥΣΤΙΝΙΑΝΟΝ", is a text composed of seventy-two chapters in which we find a series of teachings addressed to Emperor Justinian (ca. 527). The teachings are made up of political advice, religious parables and moral duties that an emperor or king must know and apply in order to please the people and God. Political advice is directed towards the art of governing the state internally and in relations with other powers. Each paragraph begins with the following address: 'To our Most Reverend and Most Precious Emperor Justinian Agapet the Most Deacon'. 145 SEBASTIAN FITZEK those who beg for your mercy'. In other words, the emperor is subject to no one but God, a fairly clear picture in terms of his relationship with all other people and in contradiction to the picture in the Western tradition, in which the king or emperor was subject to the Pope before God, as head of the Church, but also as head of all other powers. Justinian's position is entirely privileged, reminding him, time and again, to remember his submission to the divine laws. The Byzantine emperor becomes, through the omnipotence of the two powers, the most important political and religious figure. This explains why the Byzantine Church willingly submitted to the political power, according to the tradition inherited by the whole of Byzantium, using Justinian's Caesaropapist formula: 'one emperor; one state; one Church'. The principle is a formula that strengthens the cohesion and resistance of the empire in the face of invading peoples. Since the prerogatives of state power were personified in the image of the emperor and the destiny of a people was taken into the hands of a single responsible person, the morality and conduct of the emperor became a matter of priestly concern. The teachings and advice of Deacon Agapet or Eusebius of Caesarea regarding the image of Justinian and Constantine the Great, resemble to a great extent, the role and function of the Old Testament prophets. They remain the ultimate judges and teachers who watch over the conduct and deeds of empire builders, reminding them each time of God as the supreme Judge of all human deeds. Mercy, love of virtue, abstaining from carnal pleasures or avoiding the cunning flattery of subjects is the levers of righteous judgment and the emperor's immunity from sin. The threat of sin cannot circumvent the emperor, even if he is considered a sacred person: “As shadows follow bodies, so will sins follow souls, clearly embodying the deeds we have committed” (Deacon Agapet's Chapters of Advice to Emperor Justinian, paragraph 69). The King is subject to error like any man, and the quintessence of Deacon Agapet's teachings is that relentless vigil against sin. Power is beneficent but also destructive, emanating justice but also injustice; power can flatter and even deceive by praise, and the living eye can be put to sleep. The state of vigil, of abstention from anger or pleasure, is, in the eyes of Deacon Agapet, the only means of mastering power; otherwise the emperor will inevitably fall into error. 146 Sacred and political power Another apologist for the image of the emperor in Byzantium is Eusebius of Caesarea, who pays homage to Constantine the Great through the technique of altering models. This technique highlights the moral and political qualities embodied in Byzantium's highest personage through the technique of comparative history, including other famous emperors such as Cyrus, Alexander the Great and the Roman emperors. “An ancient tradition persists in portraying Cyrus of Persia as the most brilliant emperor ever known. But it is not to this that we should refer, but to the manner in which his long life ended; and it is said that he did not die a good death, but rather an unhappy and shameful one, brought about by a woman's hand”. Or, “on the other hand, the followers of the Hellenes (of old) praise the Macedonian Alexander for subduing countless peoples of all kinds, adding that he died a wicked death, a victim of debauchery and drunkenness, before he became a man in the fullness of the word” (Eusebius of Caesarea, 1991: 66-67). In contrast, Emperor Constantine is the living example of a Christian apostle, caring for the needs of the poor, kind-hearted, and primarily a liberator of Christianity from the persecution and blood of the first martyrs. “Emperor Constantine [...], reaching to the uttermost ends of the whole world - that is, to the mountains so far away and to the nations dwelling around the whole life-bearing earth - shone illuminating them with the rays of faith and subdued everything in his path, [...]. He preached God in all sincerity” (Eusebius of Caesarea, 1991: 66-67). Both political example and the mission of Christianity become for Eusebius of Caesarea a path to happiness. The long years of his life, the admiration of those conquered by the emperor, his kindness, mercy, wisdom and courage to preach, in the name of God, give him the image of an icon. Constantine is the only holy emperor recognised in the Orthodox Church's calendar, but above all, his deeds gave him a unique reputation for the whole of Christendom; Constantine the Great is the first political leader to be canonised two hundred years later. Every Byzantine emperor after Constantine the Great has been considered the thirteenth apostle of Christ, just as in the Western tradition this place of honour belongs only to the sacred image of the Pope. A comparison between the Byzantine emperor and the Pope reveals some similar prerogatives of power. 147 SEBASTIAN FITZEK The Pope remains the main representative of spiritual power in the West, his sanctity arrogating to himself political rights. The Byzantine Patriarch can take attitudes against an emperor, but he cannot oppose or deny him. The Pope's power is much greater, having the right of ad-negatio, or to name someone undesirable as persona non grata, expelling any Western king from power. For a clearer picture of the Byzantine emperor, I recall here Justinian's role in organizing the sixth Council from Trullo. From this follows an argument that justifies the major role of the emperor in the image of the Church as the thirteenth apostle. „Blagocestrian and Christ-loving Emperor Justinian, holy and of the entire Council, who gathered after the divine threat with the commandment of your blagocestrian powers in this royal city by God guarded”.19 The link between the Christian community, the emperor and Constantinople forms a sacred triangle of Christianity; the words addressed to the emperor are in strict connection with the other two elements that form a symbolic whole. From this it can be deduced that the first and most important role of the Byzantine emperor was to protect the community from possible threats from other non-Christian peoples and civilizations. The foreign enemy is part of the forces of evil that want to destroy the Christian triangle, and the emperor becomes supremely responsible for defending and preserving his own values and traditions. The mission of defending Christianity takes on soteriological dimensions with an accentuated religious role. The Byzantine patriarch and emperor are in direct correlation, the former being the guardian of faith and customs, an icon represented in the institutional framework of the Church, and the latter, through the theory of the two swords, becomes the defender of Christ and the city. He will fulfil this role as the thirteenth apostle. Christianity in Byzantium would not only fundamentally restructure the value system of the ancient world, but would decisively revolutionize the political imaginary of the Middle Ages by 19 Paragraph taken from an Orthodox Christian church document containing the translations of the Canons of the Council of Trulo, also known as the Quinisext of 691, page 491. The Council was held under the reign of Justinian II and was attended by 165 Eastern bishops. In the 102 canons promulgated at this Council, the immoral state of certain pagan traditions such as gambling, fortune-telling, witchcraft, astrology, prostitution, begging and other customs considered to be heavy sins in the life of Christians is discussed. 148 Sacred and political power introducing new vectors for positioning the political image in the minds of Christian communities. “Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have fought to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But now My kingdom is not from here” (Bible, Holy Gospel of John, 1994: ch.18, v.36.), this maxim of Jesus Christ is about the very transcendental legitimation of the new power; power, the foundation of which exists in God; man is only given the conquest and exercise of power here on Earth in order to implement God's will to do Christian good. The nature of political authority, characteristic of the Byzantine king, derives from the special contract that Moses made with God, the fundamental clause of which is the obligation of obedience: “Remember what the Lord your God has done to Pharaoh and to all Egypt; remember the great trials that your eyes have seen, the wonders and signs, the strong hand and the outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God has brought you forth.” (Bible, Deuteronomy, 1994: ch.7, v.18,19). The central objective in the relationship between emperor and subjects, which is found in most documents about Byzantium, is the salvation of souls from the evil consequences of original sin. The Christian doctrine that all men are born equal, that all are children of God, with a soul to be saved, introduced into public life predominantly moral values: austerity, humility, penance, obedience, values which are at the same time recommended to the subjects towards God and towards the emperor. Christianity achieves a magnificent synthesis between the theory of imperial authority, elaborated by Octavianus Augustus, the political imagery of the Hellenistic monarchies and the Christian image of this authority, based on the corpus of sacred documents and images. The sacred legitimacy of power is clearly expressed in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus Christ delegates to Peter, the first pope of Christianity, discretionary powers in shepherding the flock of believers: 'And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven' (Bible, The Holy Gospel of Matthew, 1994: ch.16, v.19). Being of divine origin, the power had to develop a system of images and corresponding rules of behaviour. As societies secularise, the Church becomes the sole privileged manager of manifestations of 149 SEBASTIAN FITZEK the sacred. The Christian ritual celebrating the coronation of the King, for example, like any ritual, aims to update the mythical founding event and purify it of its original violence. Any mythical foundation of the world involved a struggle between two hostile forces (gods, titans, personifications of natural phenomena), as a result of which the resulting order had to be preserved and purified from the impure nature of the initial violence. Through the act of coronation, the physical person of the king undergoes an act of transubstantiation, becoming a sacred being, following the mythical or historical model of the election of kings and the founding of kingdoms present in sacred texts. The legitimisation of power by divine authority proclaimed in the sacred texts (Bible, Koran, Talmud) was based on this mythical foundation: kings were originally appointed by God to rule the first kingdoms created by the division of the human race following its fall into sin. As God's lieutenants and heads of families, the first kings were appointed by virtue of the moral and Christian qualities needed to shepherd the flock. The Byzantine or Western emperor was anointed in the Church following a strict ceremony which praised the will of God and granted grace to the newly elected; the emperor had to take the oath of allegiance after the coronation prayer. The coronation ritual included the placing of the crown on the head, the donning of the royal mantle and the words of the Pope or Patriarch. Both the political formula of the Middle Ages, according to which the king had to be good, wise and tolerant, and the sacred personalisation of his office and being, stem from the synthesis of the divine legitimisation of power and the political imaginary. In conclusion, the image of the king in Byzantium is closely related to the history of the sacred and of political power in the Middle Ages. The imagery oscillates between the Caesar-Papist formula and the ministry theory of St. Paul who quotes from the maxim of Jesus Christ the following words: “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” (Bible, Holy Gospel of Matthew, 1994: ch.22, v.21). The obedience of the Byzantine Church to state policy was based on a deep communion between emperor and clergy, namely on the identity of the political ideal. 150 Sacred and political power CHAPTER VI THE SACRED AND POLITICAL POWER IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN The analysis of the political and religious evolution of medieval Japan is motivated by the vast process of symbolic interweaving of the sacred and political power that Japanese society has envisaged since its mythical origins. Investigating the image of the Japanese emperor necessarily implies a thorough knowledge of the Japanese imperial institution in order to grasp the discrepancies between these two models of legitimacy and governance. The two elements (the sacred and the political) have constantly interacted and reinforced each other throughout Japanese history. The harmony of this conjunction has been preserved in terms of Confucian, Buddhist and, not least, Shinto values. The emperor, the “Supreme Lord” in this balance of values, was considered a “corporeal, present deity”, his mission being to make known the divine way, to propagate these religious teachings, which gave him the right to demand unconditional obedience from the people. This religious function is therefore accompanied by the possibility of institutionalising state religious ceremonies. A crucial dimension in the history of Japanese culture and civilisation is the political image of the emperor. This 'Supreme Lord' was considered a descendant of the sun god Amaterasu and the supreme ruler of religion. The emperor's divine origin is marked by the Japanese term tennô. In Europe, the Japanese emperor was referred to by the epithet mikado. The Japanese use this term only in poems, being derived from the Japanese word mikoto (August). The Japanese imperial family dates back to 600 BC, representing the oldest ruling family in the world. The emperor is also the representative of the state and the unity of the people, 151 SEBASTIAN FITZEK although today he is invested with the symbolic power of officiating at religious ceremonies and diplomatic protocols. According to the Japanese constitution, sovereignty is in the hands of the people. The etymology of the word 'Shintoism' derives from its translation as 'the way of the gods'. Its true Japanese spelling is kami no michi (kami = gods) (Bertholet, A., Campenhausen von H. 1995: 423-425). Knowledge of Shinto principles is possible by analysing the main sources of the cult: Kojiki and Nihongi, representing the history of ancient things, structured in three books published simultaneously in 712 AD. The first book deals with the original myths, and the other two books cover the heroic and Buddhist eras. The Nihongi is a group of 30 books published in 720 AD, reprinting the first official history of Japan written in China. Note that the primordial deities and mythology contained in these two fundamental writings are of purely Japanese origin, unaltered by Buddhist influences. Shintoism emerged towards the end of the 9th century as a system of doctrines, myths and cult practices with its own priestly organisation. Shinto practice is primarily carried out by priests, and for a long time it was placed under the direct tutelage of the emperor, considered the High Priest. Religious office was handed down hereditarily, a custom which was changed in later Shintoism by transforming the priestly class into state officials, thus consolidating a separate hierarchy. However, priesthood did not involve any special training. The substance of religious experience in Shinto is grounded in the sacred-human relationship, with original sin not changing the primordial state existing between ancestral deities (uijigami) and common people (ujiko). In this system, religious feeling is not generated by fear, as in other faiths, but by love and gratitude towards the gods who patronize the cult. In conclusion, Shintoism cannot be considered a full-fledged religion because it has no clear dogma, it does not idealize its gods, it does not have a well-articulated metaphysics and morality; however, there is no clear differentiation between the elements of life and death, between body and soul. The analysis of primordial myths allows the ideological justification of the divine nature, the 152 Sacred and political power descent of the imperial family, with sacral implications, constituting the main point of balance between the political and religious planes. 6.1. The roots of the sacred and the political in the imperial institution The imperial myth of Shintoism depicts three vaguely defined primordial beings hiding from human eyes, taking birth in the dark chaos (Jordan, 2002: 70).20 The twin beings Izanagi (“He who invites”) and Izanami (“She who invites”) become husband and wife and are given the task of forming a material world out of chaos. The British anthropologist specializing in ancient deities, Michael Jordan, captures the cosmogony of the Japanese land in the most beautiful words: 'Until then there was only a floating bed of reeds, drifting on the waters of the original sea, from which the fourth primordial being, Umashi-Ashi-Kabi-Hiko-Ji-No-Kami (ancestral deity, gentle reed-waving prince), takes birth. To aid them in their mission of creation, Izanagi and Izanami are given a magic spear. They stand on the deck of the sky and stir the original waters with the spear. When they pull it out of the sea, droplets of salt water fall from the spear and solidify to form the first dry land. “Izanagi and Izanami give birth to many seedlings, the eldest being the sun goddess, Amaterasu” (2002: 71). Italian specialists in the history of religions mentioned in their book “Manual of the History of Religions”, in chapter 21 dedicated to the study of Shintoism, that Izanagi and Izanami are portrayed by strong physical features, they are the primordial Man and Woman (Firloramo, Massenzio, Raveri, Scarpi, 2003: 377). The importance of this myth, however, lies not in the analysis of the mythological creative actors, but in identifying the root of the divine legitimacy of the Japanese emperor. Kami, the gods (a term that signifies ancestor divinization, superior, chief) have both the ability to create and destroy, ascribing to them the status of ancestral deities who gave birth to clans, whose authority and power are legitimized by the sacral sphere. The 20 These three beings are: Ame-No-Minaka-Nushi-Kami (the deity who rules the majestic centre of the heavens), Taka-Mi-Musubi-No-Kami (the miraculous creator deity of supreme majesty) and Kami-Musubi-No-Kami (the miraculous creator deity of deities). "They create the Passive Essence and the Active Essence of the cosmos.". 153 SEBASTIAN FITZEK imperial dynasty was founded through the mythological-creative function of Amaterasu Omikami, who is considered the mothergoddess and whose image of the rising-sun has been taken over by Japanese national symbolism. His brother Susano-wo is the 'pivot of the sacred tradition of the Izumo clan' and Amenokoyane is the divine representative of the Fujiwara family (Firloramo, Massenzio, Raveri, Scarpi, 2003: 378). The Emperor of Japan is identified in the primordial myth mentioned through Amaterasu's grandson, Prince Ninigi (Jordan, 2002: 36-37).21 According to Japanese mythology, the parents are Taka-Mi-Musubi and Ame-No-Oshi-Homimi, and it is considered “the ancestral deity of the imperial dynasty” (Jordan, 2002: 129-130). The prince descends from the sky to the top of Mount Takachihiat, guarded by warrior deities. He chooses as his wife the flower goddess Ko-No-Hana, who gives him three sons, but who will end up sacrificing herself by committing suicide out of jealousy of the prince's desire to undermine the marriage. Jimmutenno (one of Ninigi's sons) becomes the first emperor and divine warrior, around 660 BC, and is more accurately referred to as the 'Imperial Divine Warrior'. The emperor immediately laid the foundations of the Yamato kingdom22. In 604 AD, Prince Shotoku promulgated The seventeen-article Constitution (regulating the 'ways of public life' - rules relating to the mental and moral attitudes of the individual to the duties of the state); this document constitutes Japan's first legislation. In conclusion, Prince Shotoku is the first founder of the centralized Japanese state. 21 Jordan raises the possibility that Amaterasu is an adaptation of the Buddhist deity Vairocana. In order to know more exactly the divine filiation of the imperial house I will briefly present this imperial myth: Amaterasu is born from the left eye of the primordial god Izanagi and has three brothers: Tsuki-Yomi (moon god), Susanoo-Wo (storm god) and Hi-No-Kagu-Tsuchi (fire god). Amaterasu is so brilliant that her parents send her to rule as Queen of Heaven, and her brother Susanoo-Wo rules the material world on earth. At one point a conflict breaks out in which Susanoo-Wo rises to the sky with her, disturbing the peace of the house by bringing storm clouds. The next day, Amaterasu hides in a cave. The world sinks into darkness and chaos, and the other gods seeing this try to bring her back to heaven. They resort to a 'perfect divine mirror' through which the goddess can admire her true splendour. Susanoo-Wo is banished to earth and, after a battle with an eight-headed dragon, obtains a magic sword, which she gives to Amaterasu in recognition of her authority. In turn, the goddess gives this sword to her grandson Ninigi. The divine mirror (Jata-Kagami) becomes one of the sacred objects that is given to the first emperor. He is supposed to have lived in the 7th century BC. 22 He is supposed to have lived in the 7th century BC. 154 Sacred and political power From the identification of the main deities in the pantheon to the correlation of certain phenomena, objects with divine figures and even the deification of humans, all these events followed in quick succession. I mention two conclusive examples of the latter: the god of wisdom and the art of writing is the former imperial chancellor Michizane (847-903), and the war god Hachiman23 is in fact Emperor Ojin (201-310) because of the instincts sensed in the period before his birth by Empress Jingo (Bertholet, Campenhausen, 1995: 424). Both became kami, but without sanctuaries, their territory being identifiable only by the celebration of certain rites initiated in their honour. In this context, it is relevant the conjuncture in which the Shinto pantheon was configured, designed on a realistic social structure, which stabilized the relations of power and sacred legitimacy between families. The connectivity between religious practices and the skeleton of the social pyramid reaches its peak thanks to the role played by the emperor. The sovereign thus performs a unifying function, becoming the conductor of ceremonies dedicated to divine ancestors and “the main symbol of the unity of the Japanese people” (Firloramo, Massenzio, Raveri, Scarpi, 2003: 384). Sacred descent is found in terms such as hiko (prince), hime (princess), both of which can be translated as “sun-child”. The succession of emperors is referred to as “solar celestial succession” (ama-tsu-hi-tsugi). Compared to Japan, other ancient peoples had the custom of sacrificing the entire royal retinue that had served them during their lifetime to accompany and serve them in the afterlife. With the burial of a Sumerian king, between 3 and 74 people - courtiers, servants, soldiers, musicians and the women of the royal palace adorned with precious jewels - were sacrificed in each tomb in funeral ceremonies. Among the 1850 Ur tombs discovered by L. Woolley (Ries, 2000: 123.) are several royal tombs, with 1 to 4 rooms each, dating from 2700-2500 BC. Among the tombs with more victims sacrificed to keep the royal master company in the afterlife are chambers No. 800 with five soldiers and ten court women, No. 1332 with 43 persons and No. 1237 with 74 persons, 68 of them women (Drimba, 1985: 88-89). Another type of sacrificial 23 The god of eight flags. 155 SEBASTIAN FITZEK ritual, involving the royal spectre, is the killing of the ruling god-man. He must be sacrificed in order to capture his soul. This prototype of ritual is found in Cambodian cultures (killing the mystical gods of fire and water when they are sick) as well as in Ethiopia, Sudan (Frazer, Vol. II, 1980: 270-289). In China, more than 7,000 terracotta soldiers have been discovered in the tomb of Emperor Shi Huang Di, who died 2,200 years ago. The fighters were arranged in 40 parade-like lines 200 metres long. Each statue ranges in size from 1.81 m to 1.92 m, with different faces. The emperor wanted each fighter, who would accompany him in the afterlife, to have his own physiognomy, thus replacing the old traditions, in which many victims were sacrificed along with the monarch. The inscriptions on the 'guessing bones', which ask questions about the kind and number of victims sacrificed, attest to the existence and practice of animal and human sacrifice. For example, in the locality of Anyang, dating from the Shang period, more than 1,000 skeletons of those sacrificed were found on the tomb of a king in groups of ten, decapitated, with the skulls buried separately. Also dating from this period are shrines surrounded by the graves of 825 people, 15 horses and 5 chariots, 10 oxen, 25 dogs and 18 sheep (Drimba, 1985: 360). Since the 7th century BC, Chinese cultural and religious components have influenced the evolution of Japanese society. In 645, the Taika reform marked the adoption of the centralised state, introduced on the Chinese model (Buddhism was transmitted in the 6th century by followers from Korea, in 538 to be precise).24 The first attempt to insert Buddhism failed, but the conversion of Empress Suiko (592-628) and her nephew, Prince Regent Shotoku (573-621) marked the beginning of a prosperous era for Buddhism.25 The re-establishment and consolidation of the 24 The Taika reform involved imperial officials with hereditary domains replacing the old clan order. This process led to the strengthening of absolute imperial power. 25 Tradition has it that in 538 the Korean state gave the Yamato court a statue of Buddha, and soon afterwards there was a massive opening to Chinese literature, music and medicine. Buddhism came under state control when the capital was moved to Heian (794-868). The most auspicious development came during the shogunate of the Kamukara period (1185-1333). The coexistence of Buddhism and Shinto is also encouraged during the Tokugawa dynasty (1600-1868, Edo period). It is important to note that in the Meiji era (1868-1912) Buddhism was declared an illegal religion and given the name kaibutsu kishaku (kill the Buddhists and abandon their writings). 156 Sacred and political power emperor's position in the core state is accompanied by the propagation of Confucian and Buddhist theories. Reactions to the confusion arising from the grafting of Buddhist ideas onto a Shinto background in the early 9th century began to emerge in 1868, with the Meiji Restoration26 and the fall of the Shogunate and the Tokugawa dynasty (which had supported the promotion and takeover of Buddhist concepts in the Nipponese over the centuries). This historical moment marks the adoption of the ideas advocated by Shinto purists such as Kamo Mabuchi (1697-1769), Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801), Hirata Atsutane (1776-1843), but also an emphasis on the national character of this religious thought. As a state religion, Shintoism was threatened by the danger of secularisation, which arose from the desire for historical affirmation of a religious consciousness specific to the Nipponese character, as well as from a continuity rooted in tradition. Tolerance of Buddhism and its merger with Shintoism (a process that lasted about 1100 years and resulted in its split into 13 cults) can be explained by the lack of a well-established national dogmatic core. Buddhism's developed morality, rigorous worship, literature and impressive arts proved far superior to the deficient Shinto system. The cosmogony of Shinto traditions is unclear, being at an early stage of development. It can be analysed as a vertical tripartition (heaven-earth-underworld) or as a horizontal bipartition (earth-Tokoyo or the eternal world) of the universe. Thus, one of the key aspects of the acceptance of Buddhism (not Orthodox) in Japan was the existence of a simplified doctrine of soul redemption (which in Shinto was a point of contention), as well as idol worship. The Buddhist cult with the greatest impact in Japan was the Zen sect of Indian origin. Its essence is reflected primarily in its terminology, which in Sanskrit means 'contemplation' (Dhyana). The predominant contemplation in this doctrinal cult, simplicity and love of nature, are the values that determine the direct correlation between the human being and the heart of Buddha. In this relationship, man reaches the pure state in which he becomes immune to the 26 During this period, the emperor's position was demanded to be restored, and he was even supported by samurai, who said, "Sonno Joi! = Long live the emperor! Throw out the barbarians!" 157 SEBASTIAN FITZEK temptations of the material world, a state deepened by the exercise of pure contemplation, the source of peace and spiritual tranquillity. However: “the most intellectually creative Buddhism at present is undoubtedly Japanese Buddhism” (Eliade, Culianu, 1996: 67-68). The Heian era (794-1186) was marked by the supremacy of the most illustrious family in Japanese history, the Fujiwara, a family related by alliance to the imperial family. At this time, the emperor's authority took a purely formal turn. This period of history, considered the classic era of ancient Japanese civilisation, is marked by an important event: the rise of the samurai. As a result of popular uprisings and battles between the ruling families, each nobleman organised his own army, which led to the formation of the samurai warrior class. Each samurai accompanied a daimyo (a category of nobility composed of military aristocrats of the feudal lords who held the highest positions in the state). Over the centuries, the families tried to dominate the 'Son of Heaven' by limiting his political power. The sequence of historical events, punctuated by the succession of dynasties, has always been accompanied by a certain religious imaginary. Up to this point, we have traced the development of Buddhism back to the 8th century, when the religion was supported by the state. The rise of Buddhism during the Kamakura shogunate begins in the political era of the Bushi military (1185-1333).27 At the same time, the emperor appointed Yoritomo as the first shogun, which implied a new function conferred on the emperor in which he dominated the state without governing it, this right belonging only to the new de facto sovereign (the shogun).28 The Edo period is marked by the synthesis of Shinto and Confucianism called Suiga Shinto. In the 17th century, there was a trend towards a reorientation to pure Shintoism, with scepticism about the merging of Buddhist and Confucian elements manifesting itself in harsh criticism of an ideological movement. However, in the Tokugawa dynasty era, the Shinto-Buddhist synthesis becomes the state religion. 27 Tendai Shinto and Shingon Tantric Shintoism appeared during this period. The dualistic political system implied by the shogunate's appointment of two capitals with their own government marked the beginning of the feudal era in Japan. 28 158 Sacred and political power The Meiji imperial era adopted pure Shintoism as the official religion (from 1868 to 1946) and caused it to branch into four major branches: 1. imperial house Shintoism -Koshi Shinto; 2. shrine Shintoism - Jinja; 3. sectarian Shintoism - Kyoha; 4. popular Shintoism - Minkan. The balance established between the political imaginary and the religious imaginary has been grounded through Japanese primordial mythology. In this culture, a perfect harmony prevails between the religious faith that legitimises political power and the political authority engaged in a process of confirming the religious system. The emperor's act of governance is essentially sacred, emanating from myths that confirm his divine descent (Firloramo, Massenzio, Raveri, Scarpi, 2003). The figure of the sovereign is determined by his central function, which springs from the hierarchical structure he represents, becoming the propagating nucleus of the perfect connection between the action of destiny and human action, between the sacred and the profane. His divine origins, his ancestors, as direct descendants of the goddess Amaterasu, all these are the elements that give the emperor (mikado) the title 'Son of Heaven'. Following the process of westernisation in the first half of the 20th century, a religious state ideology (kokkashinto) was established in Japan, which embodied the old political concepts about the sovereign's supreme authority of divine origin, allowing a rediscovery of communion between rites and government. Religious doctrine served the ruling classes to bring about major economic and social changes, triggered by a crisis of cultural identity. The process was made possible by a return to tradition and archaic precepts, the most practical examples of which can be seen as early as 1868 (the year when a system of national shrines controlled by the Ministry of Divine Rites was established) and as late as 1872 (when the administration of the state Shinto religion was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior). It is worth noting that in the early 20th century, Japanese military conquest ideology in 159 SEBASTIAN FITZEK World War II was based on Confucian concepts. After the defeat, this system was abolished, proclaiming freedom of worship, imposed by the Americans in 1945, by abolishing state Shintoism (Firloramo, Massenzio, Raveri, Scarpi, 2003: 388). The year 1946 marks the historical point of state secularization. 6.2. From the Tokugawa period to the foundations of the Meiji Restoration Although imaginary time frames of the Middle Ages are outdated, it is important to note that Japan's political and economic development has seen two major historical periods of great significance whose characteristics and evolution paved the way for state modernization. The portrait of the samurai dominating medieval Japanese society cannot be understood without contrasting the peak periods in Japan's political history. Thus, the Tokugawa and Meiji periods will be topics of debate, being relevant in their socio-cultural content. The Tokugawa era runs from 1600 to 1868 and the Meiji (Restoration) era from 1868 to 1912. Throughout this sub-chapter, an analysis of the two time segments will be made in order to highlight the structure of the political imaginary specific to those times. The transition from an isolationist policy to a reformist policy, from a predominant feudalistic centralization to decentralization through a policy of reconstruction of the political body cannot be considered as a sequence of historical events that paved the way to democracy. In other words, democracy or the goal of cultivating democratic principles and values cannot be traced back to either the Tokugawa or the Meiji period, even if the process of modernization proved salutary. a. Political power in the Tokugawa period (1600-1868) The peculiarity of this era is the new political order that came with the establishment of the shōgunate. In 1603, Ieyasu obtained the title of shōgun, which had not been used since the reign of Go-Yōzei in 1588. This transfer of political authority was typical of early imperial regimes (including the shōgunate), although officially political power was held by the emperor's son (Hideyori) and not by Ieyasu. The latter is regarded as the initiator of reforms which, 160 Sacred and political power at the beginning of the 17th century, contributed to the establishment of a state of harmony and political stability necessary for an attempt to centralise the administrative and jurisdictional authority of the shōgunate. The system, called sankin kōtai, was a powerful instrument of control over the local powers established in this period, following the feudal model. Tokugawa Machiavellianism involved forcing each daimyo to have a permanent residence in the Edo capital, providing family accommodation. Also, half of their earnings were reallocated to the capital, resulting in total control over each senior. One of the striking features of this period is collective responsibility. In the seventeenth century, guilt took the form of collective punishment whose mode of manifestation ranged from tameshrigiri (the bodies of those who had been killed for various deeds becoming the object of samurai military exercises) to seppuku (ritual suicide) (Kenneth, 2004: 55-56). The fear of being blamed for the reckless acts of another individual, as well as the radical control of society, had repercussions on how outsiders were perceived. Fear of collective punishment led to a superficial relationship between representatives of different social classes, with massacres and abuses masked under a reality that proved incomprehensible to the Western mentality. For example, in Japanese society (from medieval times to the present day) there is a distinction between outward appearance and inner or internal reality. This demarcation between the two spheres plays a crucial role in understanding the relationship between formal authority and actual power. Respect for authority allowed the individual to set the boundaries of his freedom. Western influence in the Tokugawa period was restricted by issues relating to its confessional nature (specifically its purpose and implications) and the consequences of intense economic activity. Firstly, religious tolerance in Japan (throughout its history) is a fact certified by the approval and acceptance of any belief system without entailing any political prejudice and threat to political authority. Persecutions against Buddhists in Japan's early history can be explained by involvement in politics. During the Tokugawa period, Catholicism (as opposed to Protestantism) was under pressure, as the Japanese perceived the 161 SEBASTIAN FITZEK areligious underpinnings of this system. Its territorial claims were rejected by political authority; a telling example of the limits imposed on people who declared their Catholic faith was the decision in 1640 that required every citizen to register at Buddhist temples, certifying their affiliation exclusively to this confessional faith. Secondly, the competitive standards of trade led to a decline in the profits of some daimyo leaders, resulting in an expulsion of all Westerners (forced or voluntary). The Dutch were the only foreigners tolerated in Nagasaki port, being involved only in trade, with no other ideological or religious claims. The closure of the state borders was seen politically as a convenient solution to protect the authority of the political rulers of the Tokugawa dynasty. Any foreign element contrary to the interests of the state was seen as a threat to the stability of the political construct. b. Political power in the Meiji period (1868-1912) The Meiji period is considered the stage of westernization of Japanese society and state. The change in state organisation was gradual, with a restored imperial order, in effect oligarchic. The reforms implemented during this period were based on a structure marked by an idealised Japanese nationalism. Confucianism, interpreted in Japanese terms, also allowed a clear demarcation between the internal and external substance of the individual and the community. The decision to achieve an adaptation of traditional political values that grounded the valid competitive nature of the state's economic capabilities was accompanied by the ability to create a symbiosis between the old characteristics of the regime and the new requirements of the political structure. The values of nationalism are flourishing due to the orientation of the individual on a cognitive axis whose purpose is to obtain a tangible profit. It is worth noting that, under Confucian influence, family values have been enhanced by the new approach to the relationship between authority and the individual. In contrast to the Tokugawa period, the individual of the Meiji era is guided by political authority, including personal goals. 162 Sacred and political power 6.3. Samurai, self-sacrifice and political power Military recognition is an element in Confucian writings from the Tokugawa period. The Bushidō Code, which stipulated the conduct of the samurai class as well as many other aspects of the philosophy of war, marked a revival of Confucian principles. These influences proliferated alongside Japanese nationalism expressed under the auspices of the Shinto system of thought. As noted above, the Tokugawa period represents a pivotal point in the subsequent economic development of the state. The decentralised feudal system involved the division of the country into 250 fiefdoms, each of which was under the rule of a daimyo (hereditary criteria), and by implication, vassal samurai. Military authority was held by the shōgun, whose authority was exercised over the entire national territory. The political-administrative organisation was coupled with the existence of a symbolic unit provided by the imperial house and the emperor who controlled the Edo capital at the time. The legitimacy of the imperial power and its claims to national unification are underpinned by the belief in the mythological lineage of the imperial family. The pressing need to implement an educational system that would ensure the individual's access to knowledge in the spirit of virtue and discipline was matched by the idealisation of the samurai code. The syncretism of these elements made possible the birth of the modern Japanese state. Unlike the political quintessence that characterised the Tokugawa period, the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) symbolised the emperor's involvement in politics. The process of westernisation of Japanese society was a necessary step for the state, placing it on a par with its international competitors. The motto of modernization during this period is summed up by the formula “oitsuke, oikose” which signifies Japan's intention to catch up and conquer (Kenneth, 2004: 78). Restoration involved the adoption of a new type of political construction as well as an extension of the nationalist dimension of the Japanese state. In 1890, an imperial act entitled: “Imperial Document on Education”. The document was oriented towards the educational system in accordance with the nature and philosophy of the Japanese state, despite the direct influence of imported Western ideas, its structure keeping intact the elements of traditional ethics. 163 SEBASTIAN FITZEK The introduction to the samurai system of ethics is based on The story of the 47th Wanderer (or Ronin). According to this story, a samurai's life depended on his lord's willingness to disown him or take his life. Many samurai resisted this absolute power held by the daimyo and started a revolutionary movement that spread across the country. The group of 47 samurai changed the way the samurai approached the world. In 1701, Lord Asano Naganori was insulted by the shōgun's chief of protocol Kira Yoshinaka. Asano drew his sword in the shōgun's castle, which was a grave offense, and was forced to commit seppuku. The 47 samurai under his command were left without a master and without land (it was confiscated by the Edo authority), making the decision to take the law into their own hands. In a plot they succeeded in killing Kira. Although they were considered exemplary fighters, the samurai were forced to commit suicide for breaking national law. This type of behaviour, enshrined in the Bushidō Code, is considered an act of justice, an expression of loyalty and discipline. Based on this story, the approach used in this code is challenging. The principles of the warrior's way are closely related to notions such as self-discipline, loyalty and self-respect. In line with Hegelian ideas of respecting supreme authority and merging the interests of the individual with those of the ruler, the samurai remain loyal to the lord they belong to. Behavioural traits form the core of the samurai code, accompanied by the call for knowledge and the harmonious development of the individual. The code seeks to provide the tools and principles necessary for the individual to develop a harmonious relationship with himself and his fellow man. The moral principles of the code are not equivalent to those of the Western system. Morality means acting as expected in a given social context and a pre-determined order. This approach, however, can be filtered through the Kantian grid of thought, in the sense that morality is defined as action done out of duty. The specificity of the principle deriving from universality and pure reason cannot be denied or omitted. It is worth noting, in this context, the similarity in the perception of morality as an element that concerns the achievement of right action, without the interference of individual subjectivism. Although the matrix of Kantian morality is different from that of the 164 Sacred and political power Bushido code, virtue and duty are the elements that justify individual action in both systems. Kantian theory frames the ethics of the person in a theory of virtue and interpersonal relations to be managed by law. An action is classified as moral if it is dictated by reason, conditionally implying its fulfilment. The Bushidō Code stipulates the warrior's obligation to react and direct his efforts towards preserving the Tokugawa family traditions. The behavioural pattern has been taken up and sedimented into a system of principles and ideas that form a unifying ethic. However, the guidelines of the code are not aimed at observing abstract philosophies saturated with theorized ideals, but at regulating the relationship between the imperial family and its vassals. Thus, the term benevolence indicates the blessing that masters bestow on their subjects as well as the need for the warrior to be loyal in his actions. For the sovereign, justifying the act of self-sacrifice to the point of opting for death is living proof of the samurai's loyalty in interpersonal relations. The warrior's devotion to his lord springs from the purity of his mission. “The empire does not belong to one emperor or to one man. The thing to be studied in depth is benevolence. The right to use a sword should be done for the purpose of subduing barbarians. [...] Similarly, the right to resort to military power derives from the desire to conquer the enemy that lurks at the breast. A warrior who does not understand the way of the warrior or a samurai who does not understand the principles of the samurai may be considered stupid. The sword is the soul of the samurai. Those who forget or lose it will not be forgiven” (Turnbull, 2000: 299). The samurai's loyalty to his senior is also an individual trait that keeps the benevolent relationship intact. A historian of Japanese religions, Stephen Turnbull believes that the samurai: “makes an effort by preparing for action within the limits of his capabilities, and in battle he adapts to every circumstance in an effort to rebuild for himself a military reputation. [...] Warriors will fight for their lord, being fully prepared to die, without concern for children and wives at home. While it is my duty, my lord, I will die in battle before your eyes. If I die in my own house, although death may be for the same reason, it will be a death that will not hold the objectives of a warrior who possesses 165 SEBASTIAN FITZEK the skill of arms” (2000: 299). An important vector in the samurai's collective imagination was the avoidance of a shameful death and not the effort to do good as a general moral trait as with the great religions. The katana (sword) becomes for the samurai the soul untainted by any stain of shame, and by willingly embracing death, even in defeat, he wins the most important battle for the next life. In conclusion, the Bushidō Code is, first and foremost, a discipline acquired as a result of a tradition passed down from generation to generation, and honour signifies the unaltered preservation of this custom through ancestor and sword worship. The steel blade of the Japanese sword is the supreme light of any samurai. The quality of the steel, the brilliance of the metal and the edge of the blade ultimately represent the quality of the spirit. The samurai or a daimyo in Tokugawa's time were judged by these three qualities, which were the first relevant indicators with regard to the quality of the soul. Death was seen as a test that each warrior had to be able to pass through his military skills. This test was overcome by death acquired in battle or, in the case of survival, by the ritual known as harakiri. The lord of a castle, the sovereign of a land, in the event of defeat followed the same behavioural path as that imposed by the Bushidō Code. Belief in the fear of the dishonour that a Japanese warrior would have to endure in the next world was the greatest possible punishment, and salvation meant avoiding this consequence at all costs. As a result, the painful death endured through the harakiri ritual was completed by cutting and slicing the stomach in two directions in the form of a cross, and after a certain time of suffering (during which the guts came out) beheading followed, as a reward and redemption for suffering. Accepting such an end was the true test of a true samurai warrior before his master, but also before his ancestors who awaited him in the next world. The sacredness of this gesture led the warriors to a sure salvation. 166 Sacred and political power CHAPTER VII SPECIFICITY OF SACRIFICE IN AZTEC SOCIETY Sacrifice is one of the specific concepts of anthro-pology, on the basis of which, since the 19th century, theories have been developed to elucidate its nature and function in the religious act. The relevance of these ritual acts, now considered barbaric, was especially overwhelming in Aztec society. Of course, these extreme manifestations can be identified in many ancient cultures, and the Aztec culture is distinguished by placing religion at the core of political action. More specifically, the role of sacrifice in Aztec society goes beyond the framework imposed by religious symbolism, being a key element in the promotion of a rigorous policy aimed at integrating individuals into a coordinated system of mythologicalreligious elements. Before presenting the specificity of sacrifice in Aztec society, it is necessary to establish the clear terminological and theoretical framework of the notion in the field of religious anthropology. Thus, it is possible to approach sacrifice by analysing the resources provided by ethnological efforts carried out over time and in a permanent relationship with the rituals characteristic of the various cultures. The sacrificial act is not just a particular scene, with actors isolated from complex social realities, but touches the very essence of the religious phenomenon. Even if this way of questioning the divine is manifested in a violent form, sacrifice can provide consistency around the interpretation of the bloody act. Scanning the sacrificial rite in historical evolution has the main effect of consolidating (in the true axiological sense) a religious theory in miniature, designed to complete the unifying picture of 167 SEBASTIAN FITZEK religious acts. Professor for the history of religion Jeffrey Carter highlights this universal side of sacrifice as an essential form of ritual (2003: 449). His assertion convinced me of the need for a study and a chapter focusing on the notion of sacrifice in relation to the cultural structures that adopted it. In my opinion, a relevant example would be the definition of religious values in pre-Columbian civilizations. In order to present the main anthropological theories on the definition of the sacrificial act, I suggest that the terminological aspect be clarified as a priority in order to provide an introduction to the behind-the-scenes of the consecration ritual. The Latin sacrificium is a word composed of two terms: sacer (holy) and facere (to do). By unifying the meaning of the two terms, a first terminological meaning of sacrifice can be deduced: to perform a holy act or to sanctify a human deed (Ries, 2000: 10). The clear delimitation of sacrifice in a religious system by attaching a typology as well as the attribution of a meaning and proper functions are ways to deduce the real meaning of this component of the much disputed religious anthropology. 7.1. Sacrificial act in the history of religions The theories that have placed sacrificial issues at the centre of the study belong to the three classics of ethnology: Tylor, Smith and Frazer. In his work Primitive Culture, Edward B. Tylor attributed to the sacrificial act a symbolic and a social function, which are masterfully identifiable in the sacrificial-giving, as well as in the sacrificial-omage and sacrificial-renunciation (1920: 376). The emphasis falls, however, on the first type of sacrifice because of the link established between humans and gods in order to build a peaceful community life without divine punishment (Riviére, 2000: 102). This theory, according to the analyses undertaken by Mauss and Hubert, provides the outline concerning the moral evolution of the sacrificial rite, yet it is irrelevant for outlining the mechanisms involved. As early as 1889, Professor W. Robertson Smith explained sacrifice on the basis of so-called universal totemism. In his work Lectures on the Religion of the Semites, Smith proposed a theory of sacrificial feasting based on the blood bond and ritual sacrifice, inspired by an episode in the life of St. Nile, where he recalls the 168 Sacred and political power Arabs' custom of chopping up the camel and partaking of its strength.29 In the totemic religion, the author highlights the sacrifice of the god by believers who belong to the same tribe with them, they eat him and from this communion they extract new forces (1901: 235, 239). Observation of the totemic phenomenon led Smith to place sacrifice-communion at the centre of his theory. Claims that there is no sacrifice outside the totemic system have led to much controversy on the subject. The conflict between ethnologists has taken as its starting point the sacrifice-community, considered to be the formative matrix of the whole sacrificial system. Smith proposed the theory of sacrificial unity, which was later challenged by Mauss and Hubert. Through his ethnological theories, J.G. Frazer draws attention to the problematic imposed by kings, priests, gods, who in different religions renew society's life by allowing themselves to be ritually killed (Ries, 2000: 20). In his ground-breaking work The Golden Bough, published in 1890, Frazer disregards the theories put forward by Robertson Smith. Following extensive ethnological research, Frazer discovers the cosmogonic and magical values of the original sacrificial act. The sacrificial doctrine finds its ultimate explanation in the sacrifice of the god and in communion with the divine victim. Thus, absolute sacrifice is no longer considered sacrifice-communion, according to Smith's arguments, but godsacrifice which allows primitive man to temporarily take on sacred virtues (Frazer, 1980: 72).30 Proposing the Indian religious system as the focus of sociological analysis, H. Hubert and M. Mauss, like Frazer, did not accept the reduction of the multiple forms of sacrifice to the unity of the totemic principle; the two anthropologists firmly maintained that the observations made by Smith and Tylor were erroneous due to the choice of an inadequate methodology. They accuse Smith's theories of lacking objectivity, identifying an ideological cause due to his membership of the evolutionary school. Thus, Smith, in keeping with the principles of his school, resorted to a genealogical 29 The sacrifice of the camel was also included in Freud's analysis, considering it a model of archetypal sacrifice. Freudian study of the sacrificial act is centred around the notion of the primitive father killed and consumed by his sons. 30 In volume IV, page 72 it says: "by eating the body of the god (animal or human), he acquires some of the qualities and powers of the god". 169 SEBASTIAN FITZEK classification of the sacrifices encountered in the study of preIslamic Arab civilisation, his documentary sources proving to be inconsistent. The theory of sacralisation and desacralisation strongly supports the social character of sacrifice, a means of communication of the profane with the sacred through a victim (Mauss, Hubert, 1997: 55). The thesis put forward by Mauss and Hubert highlights a possible hermeneutical correlation between two opposing hypostases. A second, clearer perspective of this phenomenon is formulated in the definition: 'sacrifice is a religious act which, by consecrating a victim, modifies the state of the moral person who performs it or of certain objects in which he is interested' (Bonte, Izard, 2007: 625). The sacrifice reconciles the god, tames and embellishes him, and the victim becomes a part of the god, gaining immortality in the afterlife. In turn, the object touched by the victim's blood acquires magical properties necessary in the act of ritual. According to Réne Girard, the theory of the victim-emissary allows the discovery of the object of any rite or cult, a keystone of the whole mythical edifice, the cipher that facilitates the understanding of any religious text (1995: 20). His theory focuses on the role of sacrifice in religious life explained in the stories of the gods, from Greek tragedy to ethnological myths. Girard examines the traces of totemism in the Greco-Roman world, particularly in the myths of Orpheus and Dionysus, basing his conception of sacrifice on the sacred-violence relationship. The victim of the bloody act redeems the existential fluidity of the everyday, avoiding the fall into chaos. The theoretical basis of pre-Columbian human sacrifice is found in mythological foundations, cosmic history being saved from catastrophe. From the offerings to the ultimate expression of this rite (the sacrifice of the god) a unifying typology can be established. The ethnologists Mauss and Hubert have proposed a model of a coherent sacrificial system that can be identified in most cultures centred on human or animal sacrifice. The sacrificer, the sacrificed, the objects of the rite and the place of sacrifice are the elements that make up a matrix of the sacrificial act, a model supported by the authors with numerous examples. (1997: 63-80). The types of sacrifices mentioned allow an 170 Sacred and political power integration of the system into the circuit of religious phenomena with social functions, thus allowing the two implicit natures of sacrifice, the sacralisation and desacralisation of the victim, to be identified. The similarity of sacrificial rites in different cultures is striking, confirming the existence of a primordial event. Mythical thinking always returns to what once happened, to some kind of creative act. All origin myths seem to refer to the sacrifice of a fantastic creature by other mythical creatures, an event perceived as an act of founding political power. “If there is a real origin, if myths continue in their own way to commemorate it, it means that this event has left a very strong impression on people” (Mauss, Hubert, 1997: 63-80). The popular imagination also has the gift of spicing things up, so that we do not know exactly how a myth is constructed, its stages or the origin of its structure. Myth is a story drawn from the fantasy world, with an important role in recalling and founding real events that take on its magical and immortal character, integrating itself into the deep realm of the collective imagination. Human sacrifice is a fascinating subject that can be studied at length in ancient cultures. How could this savage and terrifying act have been performed on humans by their fellow human beings without the latter being ashamed of this disregard for human life? One answer can be found in the ancient Celts who had a different view of life and way of life from modern civilisations. The Celts combined legends with historical facts, reality with fantasy, life being their only Universe, understood in their own specific way. With these concepts in mind, it is easier to understand the Celts' way of perception, considering human sacrifice as a vice, an everyday event, for the good and profit of the whole community. The Celts, like the Dacians, believed in a future life. Killing or being killed was not an act of destruction, but of ennobling the victim in the eyes of the gods in the world beyond. After the spiritual purification of the participants, after prayers, the priests officiated the act of sacrificing the living beings, and with their blood they regularly stained their faces as well as the statues of the idols. According to the ancient Greeks, through this bloody sacrificial act, the defilement committed through voluntary 171 SEBASTIAN FITZEK or involuntary murder was purified. A strange form is the symbolic sacrifice with one's own blood, which the man extracted from his earlobe, lower lip or arms and then offered to the god. Consequently, the point expressed by Freud in his work Totem and Taboo is legitimised. According to his general thesis, the sacrifice is officiated to commemorate an original murder perceived as the founding act of humanity. Can the sacrificial victim be considered a parent of the primitive horde? René Girard argues in support of this presumption; he notes, however, the error in the Freudian system due to placing of the sacrifice at the beginning of the ritual and not at the climax which absolves man of the guilt of prehistoric murder (1999: 34-35). The bloody act of sacrifice was accompanied by the honour conferred by the victim's courage, his deliberate acceptance being considered a sign for the success of the human-initiated gesture and acceptance by the recipient god. 7.2. Sacrifices and offerings. Christian sacrifice From the point of view of anthropologists Mauss and Hubert, the offering becomes a sacrifice under the condition of destruction (1997: 28). The believer believed that the smoke, emanating from the burnings, ascended to heaven, i.e. to the gods; the verticality of the smoke in calm atmospheric conditions indicated the divinity's acceptance of the offering, just as the deviation of the smoke was the bad sign that indicated the rejection of the sacrifice. With the practice of smoking, the technical forms were consolidated, the most common container for burning being the “fire pit”, called the “cauldron” by Christians. How old fumigation was, however, is difficult to say. In Pharaonic Egypt, fumigations were made in honour of the sun god Ra (Lalouette, 1987: 73): a combination of 16 ingredients was burnt at sunrise; the ancient Hebrews, like the Zoroastrian Persians, burnt incense, a generally Asian process, and in India burnt resins combined with fragrant wood. The pleasant smell fed the appetite of the great 'fathers of mankind', the ether obtained being the fruit of the most expensive and rare plants cultivated by temple priests. In this sense, a double symbol, at the same time a transition between animal sacrifice and fumigation, is provided by the myth of 172 Sacred and political power Cain and Abel in the Old Testament (Bible, Genesis, ch.4, v.1-17); I recall a story in which the sacrifice of one of the brothers was not received by Yahweh. According to the Bible, Cain was a farmer, but his brother, the shepherd Abel becomes Yahweh's favourite. Abel's animal sacrifice is received, but Cain's vegetable sacrifice, caused by envy, is not, the biblical text says. Cain kills his brother, and then is punished by Yahweh to become a peasant farmer. Byzantine literature, inclined towards anecdotal explanations of Christian doctrine and traditions, introduces the demonic coefficient: it is the devil who teaches Cain to kill, i.e. to commit an act that was completely unknown to him. Catholic theology thus considers Cain to be the fruit of sin, through which Adam and Eve were expelled from God. Cain's situation is ambiguous: he is the one who sacrificed plants to Yahweh, not animals, like his brother. And yet his sacrifice is rejected by a deity consecrated to rejecting forms of shedding living blood; and when he kills, he does so not out of hatred or revenge, but obviously out of despair (Kernbach, 1984: 336-378). Yahweh does not take vengeance on Cain; on the contrary, he protects him from the wrath of his brothers who have learned of his murder. It seems that Yahweh wants to stop the bloodshed and puts a special mark on his forehead so that no one will touch Cain's fratricide. In interpreting the Bible, questions arise such as:  Are human sacrifices pleasing to God?  Does the blood of the sacrificed animal wash away or not the sins of the one who worships it to the deity? Certain biblical references indicate a certain response to the two issues raised above, as can be seen from the following verses:  For the life of the body is in the blood. I have given it to you to put it on the altar, to serve as an atonement for your souls, for by the life in it the blood makes atonement (Leviticus, 17:11);  If Thou hadst willed sacrifices, I would have brought them unto Thee: but Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offerings (Psalms, 51:16);  What do I need the multitude of your sacrifices, saith the Lord. I am sick of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of 173 SEBASTIAN FITZEK calves; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and sheep and goats (Isaiah, 1:11);  For the blood of bulls and goats cannot blot out sins (Paul's Epistles to the Hebrews, 10:4). Christianity is the only non-sacrificial religion that affirms its ethical transcendence in relation to all others. Jesus came to abolish blood sacrifice and to abolish the pagan notion of redemption through the sacrifice of a living being. The God of the Gospel is the God of nonviolence preached by Jesus. We are thus witnessing the end of the genesis of the sacred, since the prohibition of sacrifice puts an end to the sacralisation of violence. The violent sacred is replaced by the transcendence of love. Judeo-Christian scripture demonstrates that Christianity puts an end to the foundational violence of the sacred (Gaudin, 1995: 232-236). The lamb left in the Savior's arms to be offered as a burnt offering in the Temple is set free, its gesture marking a substantial evolution in the human-divine relationship. Today, Jews no longer perform sacrifices, the practice having been abolished since the 2nd century AD. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD by the Roman army, which was considered the place for sacrifices in honour of Yahweh, the custom was resumed during the war of 132-135, and after the defeat it was abolished for good. However, there are rumours that Orthodox rabbis in Israel still practice some techniques of ritual sacrifice so that their knowledge is not lost. Their current practices can no longer be considered sacrifices. According to the Jewish holy book, the Torah, believers are obliged to perform sacrifices only at the Temple, the only place chosen by the Lord for this purpose (Bible, Deuteronomy, 1994: ch.12, v.13-14). Until Yahweh points them to another location, Jews are not allowed to sacrifice in other places. Some communities have decided, however, that in the absence of a fixed place, they may sacrifice anywhere. The issue of sacrifices in the Jewish religion is also a landmark. Animal sacrifices to God are regarded by modern 174 Sacred and political power man as cruel and primitive practices. However, religious authorities of the time such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David, Solomon and Samuel, etc. offered sacrifices to the God of Israel. The image of our contemporaries differs from the reality of those times. The ancient Israelites were able to reach the highest spiritual heights, a fact regarded today with wonder and deep reverence. Rational man lacks the sensitivity that enabled his ancestors to understand animal sacrifices. The period before the building of the Second Temple was an age in which man longed for idol worship. God created the world in such a way that good and evil were always in the balance, which allowed man's free choice. With the disappearance of idolatry, the balance was maintained by man's emptying of the meaning of sacrifice. In short, the offering of an animal sacrifice symbolized the subjugation or destruction of man's animal nature. The animal was cut up and then burned on the altar, being reduced to elements that rose into the air. By meditating on this process, a person was able to cancel his animal instincts, thus drawing closer to God. Regarding the cruel treatment of slaughtered animals in the 21st century, followers of the Jewish religion have argued that no slaughtered animal is treated more cruelly than one killed for meat production. Judaism is particularly concerned with the proper treatment of animals and does not accept violent slaughter under any circumstances. 7.3. Aggressiveness and the manifestation of the sacred John Dollard (et al.) postulates that aggression is always a consequence of frustration. In the authors' view, frustration is an obstacle that blocks individuals' ability to achieve various social satisfactions or rewards as expected (apud Berkowitz, 1989, 60). Thus, according to Nicolae Frigioiu, frustration involves the disenfranchisement of individuals and arises in social interaction, in the process of decoding/interpreting the attitude and behaviour of the “other” (2009, 67). As a meaning, aggression implies, from the perspective of the mentioned authors, a response to harm, injury or damage of any kind inflicted on an individual/group through 175 SEBASTIAN FITZEK various methods. Forms of aggression vary according to the context and can be direct or indirect (apud Berkowitz, 1989, 61). Most often, however, these forms of aggression can result in violent actions. Any act of violence is intended to cause physical or mental suffering. If we refer to political violence, its objectives are: “to conquer, maintain or influence state power” (Frigioiu, 2009, 63). In order to dominate in the social and political space and to obtain total compliance from individuals, social/political actors use various types of violence - physical, military, economic, symbolic, etc. While the former generates physical suffering - torture, for example symbolic violence is much more complex and manifests itself, on the contrary, by provoking moral suffering, based on a strong visual component and an example for other individuals (“This is what can happen to you if you do not comply”). Symbolic violence is expressed through the power to construct social reality, to establish a new gnoseological order, symbols having the capacity, as instruments of knowledge and communication, to generate consensus, acceptance and reproduction of the new order (Bourdieu, 2005, 166). By using symbolic violence, social actors achieve the same results that they would achieve through physical or economic force. Thus, individuals believe in the new version of reality, which they recognize as unique and legitimate (Bourdieu, 2005, 170). Symbolic violence alters social identities, establishing what is desirable or not in the social field. Thus, the main changes take place on two levels: 1. the mental representation of the audience, which involves essential transformations in perception, appreciation, knowledge and recognition; 2. material representation, which includes visible strategies of symbolic manipulation - emblems, flags, uniforms, etc. (Bourdieu, 2005, 220-221). Social (and political) space is therefore “will and representation; to exist socially involves being perceived - perceived as different” (Bourdieu, 2005, 224). The source of aggression also comes from the relationship between the state and the individual. The monopolisation of violence has long been accepted, for this reason, as the main phalanx of power of the modern state, based on its obsession with controlling the individual (Pearce, 2020, 195). 176 Sacred and political power In conclusion, there is an interdependent relationship between frustration, aggression and violence, in the sense that frustration is the cause of aggression, which becomes the source of violence, with consequences on a physical and psychological level. In religion, the sacrifice of the god faces a dilemma in the Freudian approach to sacrifice by putting it in correlation with the theory of René Girard, whose central core is the relationship between violence and ritual. Girard sees a common denominator in the effectiveness of sacrifice: internal violence that seeks to eliminate dissension, rivalry, jealousy and quarrels between spouses; sacrifice restores community harmony and strengthens social cohesion. “If we approach sacrifice in this fundamental light and take this royal road of violence that opens up before us, we will soon realize that it is not alien to any aspect of human existence, not even material prosperity” (Girard, 1995: 22). Thus, the function of the sacred is to appease violence within society and, above all, to exorcise revenge. The vicious circle of vengeance becomes an endless chain, which has particularly affected primitive societies lacking a legal system. Sacrifice is a violence of substitution, a collective transfer, whereby the victim substitutes for all members of society. Moreover, this arbitrary victim serves to restore the much-needed order following an imbalance of which it finds itself equally guilty. This circle, whose epicentre is rooted in the sacrament of violence, will be broken in the preaching of Christian dogma. The killing of the scapegoat is the ritual by which the “guilt of a primordial sacrifice” can be abolished, only in the form of the monstrous double (Girard, 1995: 273). The unity of the community is reflected in the reconciliation of a mimetic crisis of violence (Riviére, 2000: 103).31 Sacrifice, in this case, is correlated with a conclusion that follows a mimetic collective crime (Girard, 1999: 35). Modern society, according to Girard's theories in Violence and the Sacred and The Scapegoat, can concentrate all values and manifestations unified in one term: violence, and deductively, death. Bringing together all social realities in a Bacovian poetic hourglass, 31 Claude Riviére considers that Girard mistakenly considers violence to be the cause of impurity, as well as the explosive mechanism of violence, but does not provide any argumentative justification. 177 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Girard attributes the world to the metaphor of the tomb, in which the presence of conflict is an apriori fact, conferring on sacrifice the function of appeasing the original violence in the human construct (and not a social one as in the case of Maussian theories). In this context, the analysis of the specificity of sacrifice in Aztec society highlights the direct relationship established between the sacral sphere and actions with political implications. 7.4. Human sacrifice in Aztec society From 2100 BC to 1521, cultural forms comparable to those of the West crystallized in this area of Central America (Djuvara, 2007: 264).32 The relationships established between the three great cultures (Aztec, Maya and Inca33) were projected at the pantheon level. The correspondence between the Aztec and Mayan deities is obvious. I cite other examples such as the stepped pyramid, female statues, the solar and ritual calendars34, elements that migrated from Mexico to Peru and the stratification of social structures, all of which are eloquent testimonies of the three great cultures without being self-enclosed apollonian civilisations. I recall the bloody rituals performed by pre-Columbian priests, as archaeological excavations have revealed, in two large temples built for this purpose: The Great Temple (Templo Mayor) of the Aztecs and Chichén Itzá, the sacred centre of Mayan culture. At first glance, the purpose of these practices appears to be an attempt to appease the gods by feeding them with fluid (symbolically immutable) human blood, the primary element necessary for initiation into the creative acts of life, death and rebirth. It is human blood that ensures the perpetuation of life. The reason for mass sacrifice may be the relationship established between the human being and the cosmos, namely between debtor and creditor. Pre-Columbian human sacrifice was the subject of study for 32 Djuvara states the possibility that Mexican culture's level of development in the 16th century was superior to Western civilization of the same period. 33 Pre-Columbian America, geographically speaking, implicitly the Aztec, Maya and Inca cultures encompassed the territories of the Valley of Mexico, the Yucatán peninsula and the Andean plateau. 34 The sacred year was divided into 18 periods of 20 days, with 5 transition days in between. 178 Sacred and political power Mircea Eliade, who presents the significance of this bloody act in opposition to the terror practised by the Nazis or Communists.35 The mention of stepped pyramids was not random, as they are a geometric transposition of the religious imperative, so prominent in the ontological structure of the pre-Columbians. The attempt to reach the gods, to offer them the most consistent sacrifices, was motivated by the desire to be in harmony with the Sun through the sacrificer-sacrificed correlation. In Mayan culture, the perfect alignment between the cosmic seat and the pyramid symbolises the transmutation of earthly power from the king to his son. I mention another royal emblem, the double-headed serpent in the legend of the tree in the form of a cross; in its centre are vipers symbolising sacrificial blood. Beneath this tree is the Sun as the point of balance between night and day. This mythological picture clearly indicates the strong connection between sun worship, cosmogonic evolution of the world, kingship, sacrifice and death. This world was born in the holy plains of Teotihuacán and developed in the area of Mexico over two centuries (1325-1521). In the book Civilisations and Historical Patterns. A Comparative Study of Civilisations, Professor Djuvara proposes a similarity between the Aztec political structure (shape and extent of the empire) and that of Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. (2007: 263). The city of Teotihuacán, a temple structured as an image of the cosmos, was the main religious centre in whose arena the creative act, the birth of the Sun and the Moon, took place. The Aztec codexes that provided information about the pantheon of this culture and the way in which sacrificial acts were carried out (including the Tlachtli game in which the cosmic turmoil and the suffering of the stars were imitated to ensure a new day for human beings) are the Codex Mendoza, the Codex Magliabchano and the Codex Florentine. The Spanish conquistadors protected more Aztec codices than Maya ones, which allowed a complex knowledge of this culture. In this context, I cite two great Spanish scholars who produced revealing 35 Marcel Mauss, Henri Hubert, op.cit., p. 16. "for the Aztecs, human sacrifice had this meaning, namely that the blood of human victims nourished and strengthened the sun-god and the gods in general". The bloody acts of the Nazis and Communists, Eliade believes, are imbued with an ideological, historical nature, whereas in the case of pre-Columbian cultures, the value is religious. 179 SEBASTIAN FITZEK documents on Aztec culture, the Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagun and the Jesuit Joseph Acosta. For the Aztecs, our world is the fifth - the last, the world of the Moving Sun. Each cycle of time is threatened with doom, so at the end of each 52-year period, the divine rulers could cast the world into the abyss of darkness (Jordan., 2002:90).36 The most relevant myth, in terms of highlighting the ambivalent nature of the god's sacrifice, is the one in which the sad gods are depicted gathered in council, shivering with cold. The wisest of them is Quetzalcoatl37, the deity who shows the people the conditions of the birth of a new Sun and also of the Moon. The two stars will return after the sacrifice of a god. Two candidates are presented: the young and beautiful Tecciztecatl, god of spring and renewal, and the poor old Nanauatl. The former offers rich gifts, the latter the crown of thorns he wears on his head. Before throwing himself on the pyre, Tecciztecatl withdraws several times in fear. Nanauatl goes calmly and safely away. Covered in shame, the young man follows him, but he becomes only the Moon, while Nanauatl is the Sun. Before long the place of the gods' council begins to suffer from heat, for the Sun does not move in the sky. Quetzalcoatl asks Nanauatl-Sun what the cause is, and learns that in order to move, he needs 'precious water', i.e. the blood of all the gods. Quetzalcoatl then kills the gods one by one and sacrifices himself by throwing himself on the pyre. “For time to begin again and for nights to succeed days, we must all die. Then, taking his bow and arrows, Quetzalcoatl began to kill his 1600 brothers” (Escarpit, 1963: 9). As they die, the gods become the stars in the sky. Before sacrificing themselves, Quetzalcoatl, a pacifist, respectful of human life, forbids people to sacrifice anything other than animals to the gods. 36 Michael Jordan, From the Myths of the World. A Thematic Encyclopaedia, Bucharest, Humanitas Publishing, 2002, p. 90: Quetzalcoatl, the ruling god for the second of the five world eras, challenges Tezcatlipoca to a confrontation. As a result, the four of the five eras of the world "existing at the beginning and [...] the dominating sisters" appear and divide. The action of the two centres on restoring cosmic balance by 'initiating' the fifth sun, Ollin. The goddess Tlalthecuhtli is split into two parts, from which heaven and earth are born. Tlalthecuhtli "swallows the sun every evening and vomits it up at dawn the next day". 37 The god Quetzalcoatl is "a manifestation of Tezcatlipoca - the smoking mirror. "He gives birth to the world from a drop of his blood. As the main deity of the pantheon Quetzalcoatl was worshipped between 750-1500 AD. The six-step pyramid at Teotihuacán provides the mythological information related to him. 180 Sacred and political power Quetzalcoatl goes to the world of the dead with his twin brother, Xelotl, the salamander god of resurrection, to whom the Aztecs attributed the role of the Phoenix bird. They find bones which they sprinkle with their blood, giving life to the present humanity, the fifth world. The high priest of Tula, Quetzalcoatl refuses human sacrifice, but renews his gesture of demigod by making sacrificial wounds. Another version of the Aztec cosmogonic myth revolves around the sun god, who takes revenge for the death of his mother. The creator deity of the earth, Coatlicue (the snake-skirted one) together with her mate Ometeotl (the primordial god) - 'Lord and Mistress of our flesh' - give birth to Coyolxauhqui (the deity representing the Moon: Bells-of-Gold) and four hundred other sons who will become stars. Coatlicue creates Tezcatlipoca, “the Sun God in the guise of Huitzilopochtli”. The Children of Darkness, angry with their mother for this dishonourable birth, decide to behead her. Huitzilopochtli kills Coyolxauhqui and wins the primordial cosmic battle between him and his brothers, day driving out the night. Another version of the myth describes an alliance between Coyolxauhqui and Huitzilopochtli, and the goddess's injury in the battle prompts the sun god to save her by cutting off her head, which, once thrown into the sky, turns into the disc of the moon (Jorda, 2002: 174-175). This myth reveals the violent primal nature that led to an original murder. The gesture confirms Freudian theories and supports the arguments put forward by Réne Girard, who places the core of the sacral act in intrinsic violence. The coming to power of another priesthood brings back human sacrifice, disapproved of in the cult of Quetzalcoatl, through the worship of the god Tezcatlipoca. In the Templo Mayor, the celebration of Huitzilopochtli was crowned with numerous human sacrifices. The chronicles mention the event of 1468, the sacrifice of nearly 70,000 prisoners of war in honour of the fire god who fed on the blood of “living men, bound and hung along a bar” (Bonte, Izard, 2007: 376). This “precious water” (the translation of the term chalchiuatl), the blood, in the Aztec vision, was offered to the earth to bear fruit. Xipe, the skinned god, symbolized spring, and his characteristic garment, a human skin, embodied the fresh greenery with which the 181 SEBASTIAN FITZEK earth adorned itself each year. In ceremonies held in his honour, priests would display this symbolism in garments, using the skins of prisoners who had recently been skinned. Unlike Aztec priests, Mycenaean priests dressed in sheepskins, which represented their liturgical vestments. In exceptional cases, they also practised human sacrifice, mentioned by Homer. In the legend of Minotharus, ten young Athenian men were sent to be eaten by the son of Minos as tribute paid each year. Such moments and stories have become the stuff of legend and the subject of Greek tragedies. At the end of two cycles, which lasted 104 years, the fear that nature might stop its cycle of existence gave the rite a profound solemnity. At sunset, the priests climbed the Hill of the Star, an extinct volcanic crater rising sharply above sea level, dressed in ceremonial garments representative of the entire Aztec pantheon. From the top of the temple, they watched the sky with trepidation as the night passed, waiting for the moment when the star Aldebaran or the Pleiades reached the centre of the celestial vault to signal the continuity of the world. Just as these stars passed right by the meridian, the priests would take wooden instruments and light a new fire in the open chest of a victim sacrificed for this purpose. The Aztecs offered the still beating heart so that the last beat could be transmitted to the Sun invoked to appear in the sky. In order to provide the priests with a sufficient number of victims, the Aztecs practised 'Xoxiyaoyotl', the so-called 'flourishing war': its purpose was not to kill the adversary, but to capture him and offer him as a sacrifice. Such a fate was considered an honour by the Aztecs, and in order to procure their victims they allowed the king of Tlaxcala a certain freedom. His obligation was to regularly provide heart-bearing victims during the 'War of the Flowers' ceremonies (1450-1519). The Aztecs perfected their technique in ritual sacrifice, demanding wide, heavy stone knives that disembowelled flesh in a single blow, as well as stone boxes to burn and preserve the hearts of their victims. These boxes were made of volcanic rock and were ornamented inside and out with carvings representing the symbol of the god to whom the sacrifice was made (Vaillant, 1964: 209). Another impressive ceremony, symbolizing the path of the sun across the sky, was celebrated on the fourth day of the Earthquake. 182 Sacred and political power At dawn, a prisoner adorned as Tonatiuh, the sun god, climbed the platform in front of the temple. Six priests would lay the victim down and another would open his chest and tear out his heart (the ceremony was called quauhxicalli - eagle stone) as a tribute to the deity. The people would feast until noon, wounding their ears and bodies with obsidian pieces. In the evening, the “Eagle Knights” and “Tiger Knights”, dedicated to the cult of the Sun, took part in a dance, a way of dramatising the sacred war. In the course of the dance, the Sun was killed and reborn the next day. The dance culminates in the killing of a prisoner warrior, chosen for his high military rank. He was tied to a circular stone, representing the sun disk, and left to defend himself with only symbolic weapons. The Aztecs believed that for man to live, the gods who allowed him to exist had to be fed. And the best food, and the most precious of offerings, was the human heart. This created a vicious circle that demanded massive sacrifices. Since the prosperity of the tribe was largely due to military success, the Aztecs believed that the most pleasing sacrifices to the gods were the hearts of their opponents. Thus, sacrifice begets war, and war begets sacrifice all over again; the occasions when women and children were sacrificed were rare, and were only offered in fertility rites to ensure the growth of plants through the power of conscious magic. The cruelty of the Aztec sacrifices, as well as their frequency, seems to be rivalled only by the brutality and number of sacrifices committed during the Spanish Inquisition. The role of sacrifice is linked to the veneration of nature, dating back more than a millennium since the Maya civilisation. Aztec sacrifices were not only dominantly religious, but also served to sustain political power as religious acts disguised as god worshipping rituals. In this way, the Aztec rulers were able to impose a regime of terror on their own people and on neighbouring tribes. In primitive societies, power relations were conceived in terms of the relationship between deity and community. The chief of the tribe was often mistaken for the god, which gave him a sacred authority that legitimised him in the eyes of the tribe. In the Lapp societies studied by the French anthropologist Jean-William Lapierre, there was a special cult of game (polar bear, seal, whale, 183 SEBASTIAN FITZEK etc.), the animals on which the local people fed, representing a sacred totem, a reincarnation of an ancestor of the tribe. In order to prevent its killing, the medicine man had to perform a series of magical rites to prevent any sin from being committed. Only animals that did not share a common body with the community's ancestors were killed. In the case of Indian tribes, the totem was protected and considered sacred. Anyone who killed the totem was stone-banished from the tribe and deprived of any rights within the tribe. The king who got ill or showed signs of weakness was removed from power by regicide (a common custom in African cultures). The relationship between power and sacrifice plays a vital role in the development of archaic societies, a relationship that essentially involved a continuous communication between man and divinity. Man's need to reflect on divine nature and communicate with the deities has an ancestral origin. Sacrificial ritual offers man the chance of entering into contact with gods' world, an appropriate behaviour to restore the cosmic balance. The introverted human character looks to nature for the main forces necessary for its inner workings. It is difficult to explain this imperative impulse of man, who is always concerned to mould himself according to the principles of a higher world. Through the violence of the ritual act, man conceals the pain that comes from his aspiration to immortality. The gods are immortal; they possess magical powers over the human world, blood being a cosmic fluid of temporal life, but also a liquid pleasing to the gods, in exchange for the restoration of political and social order. Self-realization is the high character or the open gate to the sacred. The sacredness of power is directly identified with the very birth source of the first societies. Power is therefore prior to the human being. It has accompanied man's evolution on earth since the beginning, like a shadow holding the sacred, a mysterious power, identified with the Divinity which, in parallel, governs man and nature. In conclusion, sacrifice can be defined by its transcendental nature, by the relationship it mediates between sacrificer and sacrificed. The blood shed is the victim's path to the absolute, but also an existential duty to subdue the evil forces ingrained in its 184 Sacred and political power structure. Whether this structure is marked by an inherent violence or the individual submits social realities to a divine intermittency out of balance, the need to restore order becomes an ontological obligation. Even the simplest sacrificial scheme involves a sublime communicative act between the sacred and the profane. Whether the sacrifice is mediated by an animal or by material products, by the human being or by the god himself, both magical function and the social function, as well as the ambivalence of sacralisationdesacralisation, deeply imprint the mundane plane as well as the cosmic path of life. The celestial order functions according to the Aristotelian principle: “unity in diversity”, a way of manifesting the essence, a foundation of the religious phenomenon. Disorder appears as a lack of sacrificial ritual. To officiate a sacred act, to consecrate, to give, that do ut des (lat. I give so that you may give.), all these verbs point to a formula that is susceptible to both interest and disinterest. Ethnologists and sociologists have tried to define the role and nature of sacrifice in their theories. The definition of sacrifice remains a question of establishing barriers between sacrificial and non-sacrificial rites. The origin of the term from religious roots has created complex cultural forms; however, the method is possible through a Dumezilian comparative analysis, in which all the elements have social recurrence. The incursion into the theoretical bases of the bloody act was an initiating process for penetrating the religious mentalities of the Mesoamerican peoples. Typologies of sacrificial ritual can only be established through the summary identification of specific cultural elements. The deepening of religious beliefs in Aztec culture is intended to provide a practical clarification on the theoretical aspects that lay the comprehensive foundations of the sacrificial system within an ethical-political-religious syncretism. In the three cultures, Aztec, Maya and Inca, the bloody sacrifice is placed in the core of religious as well as social activities. The specificity of the sacrificial act in Mayan culture lies in the possibility of a direct relationship with the gods, but without this process implying a 185 SEBASTIAN FITZEK mutation of the sacred into the profane. The primordial construction and even the cyclical evolution of time are marked by the duty to maintain the order established by the gods, to provide the sacred with the blood so necessary for the survival of the world. Mesoamerican cultures, by promoting a pure homo religiosus, offer the spectre of a constructive analysis for irradiating the essence of the sacred. The sacrificial system is more than a mere component of the religious phenomenon, it is the catalyst between the political and the divine, which could ultimately be seen as an asymptotic bifurcation of social reality. 186 Sacred and political power CHAPTER VIII POLITICAL POWER AND ITS FORMS The main issues I point out in this chapter concern the type of relations established in social interaction - the relations between ingroup and out-group, and the forms of inclusion and exclusion through categorization and stereotyping. In this respect, I will refer to a number of sociological theories: symbolic interactionism, Foucault's constructivism, and recent research in social psychology. 8.1. A psychosocial perspective of otherness both in social relations and in power relations The analysis of “otherness” is based on Robert Merton's idea according to which, within the social structure, the individual acquires a certain status, fulfils a certain social role, guided by norms and values, established and promoted by various institutions, groups and collectivities, according to individual or collective interests (in Ritzer, 2003: 23). Thus, the choice of identities considered conflicting, negative, incompatible with the vision of certain institutions is not tolerated at the social level, and any deviation from the ideal identity models, positively valued by the members of the group/society, is punished, sometimes even by exclusion. In other words, the individual is subject to pressure from the group or social groups to which he belongs, acquiring an attitude and behaviour based on the fear of isolation, of deprivation of rights and power, or of the annulment of the social self. At the same time, a relevant aspect for the present work consists mainly that, in the public space, relations between individuals are 187 SEBASTIAN FITZEK asymmetrical, usually characterized by contradictions, dysfunctions, tensions and ambivalence. Taking Merton's idea, it can be said that relations between in-group and out-group are also tense, prone to conflict, manifested by competition, especially in the relationship between minority groups (usually negatively valued on the social scale) and majority groups (positively valued on the social scale). The main factors influencing inter-group relations are size, power and status (Neculau, Ferréol, 1996: 64). Generally, these relations depend on a double categorisation, manifested by the 'ultimate attribution error' - attributions favourable to in-groups and unfavourable to out-groups (Bourhis, Leyens, 1997: 71, 88). For this reason, social groups must first of all be identifiable, in order to “ensure recognition of members within the in-group and recognition by members of out-groups, in order to be treated appropriately” (Neculau, Ferréol, 1996: 55). Examples of identity marks can be uniforms, logos, flags, badges, emblems, etc. Back to the relationship between majority and minority groups, we note the existence of a stereotypical perception of the latter - the “illusory correlation effect” - characterized by the tendency “to overestimate the frequency of negative behaviour of the minority, even though, proportionally, its members commit the same number of negative behaviours as those of the majority” (Hamilton apud Neculau, Ferréol, 1996: 65). A relevant example is that of marginal groups, which emerge either through coercion (existence of a dominant group, 'poor socialisation, marginalisation of a particular subculture, negative functioning of a social group', propaganda), or through peaceful means (migration) or through political or military means (conquest or subjugation). The emergence of marginal social groups “permanently presupposes a system of dominant values and norms” and the attribution of characteristics of inferiority by the dominant group (Neculau, Ferréol, 1996: 222-225). For this reason, large groups tend to be dominant and consider themselves superior to minority groups. In terms of collective self-forming, group identity is constructed through social comparison - through processes of assimilation and differentiation - or even through social competition (Turner apud Bourhis, Leyens, 1997: 137). Both phenomena often generate 188 Sacred and political power stereotypes - positive for the in-group and negative for the out-group. Gordon Allport, in his work “The Nature of Prejudice”, considers that stereotypes are, generally exaggerated beliefs associated with certain justifying categories, being a kind of overgeneralization, arising from a real situation (1958). They arise on the basis of “simplistic and exaggerated beliefs about a group, usually acquired through second-hand common sense and resistant to change” (Constantinescu, 2000: 185-186). In general, the portrait of the other is constructed and stereotyped on several dimensions: (1) physical (“physiognomy reflects the soul”; for example, Jews have a crooked nose, thick lips, sideburns, etc. ), (2) professional (e.g. 'Jewish moneylender', 'Jewish shopkeeper', 'Jewish pubkeeper'), (3) moral and intellectual (even apparently positive characteristics acquire negative connotations - Jewish intelligence is associated with cunning), (4) mythical-magical ('Jewish sorcerer') and (5) religious (Jews are 'Christ killers') (Oișteanu, 2004). A frequent consequence of stereotyping is ethnocentrism, defined as “the position of those who consider their own way of life to be preferable to all others” (Herskovits apud Ferréol et al., 1995: 69). Ethnocentrism is therefore based on a strong identification of the individual with his group and on the certainty of one’s superiority of values and ideals (as in the case of Nazi ideology). In other words, it is an assumed attitude towards one's own norms by which one judges the other (individual or group). Stereotypes can also generate discrimination, which, based on physical or biological categorisations, can give grounds for racism (in Nazi Germany, racism became a political ideology). Another form of differentiation and at the same time exclusion of out-groups is labelling. The process of labelling implies the existence of power relations between individuals/groups, in the sense that powerful social actors have the ability to influence how certain categories of people are perceived and treated (Moncrieffe and Eyben, 2007: 2-3). Usually, labelling is achieved through naming. If this process is official (official naming) (Bourdieu, 2005: 239-241), the consequences can be positive, ensuring legitimacy in the public space and the imposition of one's own vision, or negative, disfavouring certain groups - for example, Jews were called 'rats' or 189 SEBASTIAN FITZEK 'insects' during the Nazi regime, while Germans are included in the Aryan-Superhuman category. From a constructivist perspective, Michel Foucault hypothesizes that social actors communicate within the limits of a discursive regime, a situation that depends on the political regime. Any discursive regime depends on the existing power relations between the groups that come into contact (apud Beciu, 2009: 40-41). In a critical approach to social interaction, Bourdieu confirms Foucault's theory, showing that power is usually of a symbolic type, permanently actualized, and implies both knowledge and recognition on the part of social actors (Bourdieu, 2005: 40-46). Any social field is constructed on the basis of power relations generated by social competition, and communicators adopt those positions that are convenient for them, depending on the material and symbolic resources made available. Thus, social actors depend on various types of capital (economic, educational, social, linguistic, symbolic, etc.), capable of justifying and creating legitimacy, superior positions, criteria of interpretation or ways of ranking. Bourdieu argues that, for these reasons, any type of capital has a symbolic dimension and reproduces practices of hierarchy, exclusion, inequality, domination, thus defining the social structure (apud Beciu, 2009: 45). The social field also includes conventions, norms, formal and tacit practices that sanction, exclude or reward social actors. In the author's view, an effective way of imposing one's own conception of life is censorship, i.e. the partial or total alteration of the visibility of competing versions, or the sanctioning or silencing of the agents who promote them (Bourdieu, 2005). At the political level, censorship involves monitoring and, in some cases, banning negative ideas that are unfavourable to a particular regime, which also implies favouring one's own propaganda. In other words, censorship is characterised by limiting access to information, by 'killing' the alternative. As a rule, “censorship is built on laws and norms to control, at least in the short term, the citizens' field of ideas” (Teodorescu, 2007: 216-218). From a politological perspective, I consider that any ideology includes a theory of identity and is based on a certain hierarchy of values, often appropriating socially established differentiations. 190 Sacred and political power In order to dominate politically, one method that proved effective, especially during the Second World War, was to identify or create a collective enemy, considered guilty of the collapse of the fortress or the repeated failures of a people. It is preferable for this enemy to be in the vicinity of the territory occupied by that people and to be part of a negatively labelled social group, usually marginalised by physical and psychological constraints. Under these conditions, the power relations manifested in the social field are legitimised and justified by political ideology, and the dominance-submission relationship is institutionalised and recognised by all members of the dominant group. 8.2. The personalisation of political power and the sacred The sacred played a decisive role in shaping new structures of the collective and social imaginary through the phenomenon of power personalisation. Man's need for religion and supernatural authority reinforced the group cohesion of individuals in the form of a sacred community, legitimised by the theocratic authority of power. Man's relation to a mysterious divine force was established as a form of submission and admiration for a world with a superior value system. Throughout history, the transformations and evolution of the categorical couple: political power - sacred, bear the mark of a consistent dualism, which anthropology has identified since the time of Genesis. The earliest forms of personalisation arise from the intervention of the divine as authority in human life. Political power always has a sacred component: 'because every society affirms its desire for eternity and for a return to chaos through its own death' (Balandier, 1998: 121). In all these forms of manifestation of power are to be found the deepest immutable elements that have generated the need for admiration, respect, legitimacy and consensus, so necessary to community life. In order to clearly define the relationship between power and sacred, it is necessary to understand the complexity of the phenomenon of political power personalisation. “By personalization of power is meant the practice adopted by a community of using a person or even the name of an individual as a label or a banner to 191 SEBASTIAN FITZEK designate the mysterious power and prestige that this person or individual confers on this power” (Frigioiu, 2004: 11). The human subject remains common to both phenomena of political institutionalization and personalization. According to Roger Schwarzenberg, in troubled times, personalization of power is the optimal method in crisis situations (1977: 291-292). In this case, the political leader makes his entry into the public sphere by going beyond the institutional framework, while the democratic political leader withdraws from the political scene, remaining behind the institutional life with which he identifies. The personalisation of power is accentuated in the Hellenistic monarchies of the 6th-4th centuries BC and becomes marked in the period of republican institutions (509-27 BC) (Frigioiu, 2004: 26). Authority came from ethical-political-religious syncretism, being decisive in the maximum seizure of power, whether we are talking about the Ancient East, the ancient Romans or the pre-Columbian. In the case of the Egyptians, the pharaoh was the son or brother of the Sun, in the ancient Chinese the emperor was the son of Heaven Huang Di, and in the Aztecs the king was the brother of the heavenly gods, etc. Sacred legitimacy gave the sovereign an unquestionable personalisation of power, and in some cases he became a god for life. In Western Christianity, theocratic legitimacy has been transmitted in other forms. Kings or emperors justified their legitimacy by preserving Old Testament traditions. King David was anointed and considered God's envoy on earth. “And all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they anointed David king over all Israel” (Kings II, 1994: 5,v.2). The new king is Yahweh's lieutenant on earth, who is identified in obedience and conduct with the image-god, the archon or transcendent leader of the people. The throne's position higher than the other seats and objects represents the hierarchical position of the king or emperor immediately after God. The Chosen One is the 'anointed of the Lord', whom the subjects worship as the image of Christ on earth. The sceptre is the sign of divine power that separates the waters of the Red Sea or punishes idol worshippers; the mantle represents the sacredness of the space between heaven and earth, and the crown is the symbol of 192 Sacred and political power heaven and the stars over which God reigns. The hierophany of investiture links the politician to the sacred representative. 8.3. Personalisation and political personality Personalisation is closely related to political personality, and according to this criterion, the phenomenon of over personalisation can be approached as a process established by concentrating power in the hands of a single person. Personality is the sum of individual traits (character, temperament, needs, reflexes, interests, previous experiences), skills that form a whole. The sum of these specific traits forms the individuality through which he acts (Măgureanu, 1997: 112). The uniqueness of the personality is guaranteed by bio-psychic and genetic traits that are identified by the presence of unique and exceptional qualities. Political personality can never be a finished product of political marketing techniques or other means of cosmeticizing the political image. In order to arrive at a definition of personality, an effective method is to consider the basic premises of its characteristics. According to these premises, the American psychologist Gordon Allport formulates the following definition: 'Personality is the dynamic organisation in the individual of the psychophysical systems which determine his particular adjustments to his environment' (1937: 48). These particular adjustments always have a unique and unrepeatable value; man acquires, through this quality, a sacred nature. The uniqueness and sacredness of the human being in Christianity is found in the expression “in the image and likeness of God”, a compensatory principle which clearly justifies the superiority of the human species over other species. Personality is therefore directly related to human morality. Whether we call it a biological or genetic cause or a fact of individual behaviour in relation to others, this diversity, as in nature (fractal theory), confirms the fundamental law of Creation. Just as no two powers are perfectly equal between two individuals, so no two personalities can be identical. From the definitions given, the following characteristics of personality emerge:  the characteristic of resemblance to Divinity and of differentiation, by biblical nature, expressed in the sacredness and uniqueness of the human being; 193 SEBASTIAN FITZEK  the characteristic of becoming. Personality is a continuous process of formation and maturation, reaching complex dimensions in a given historical context;  temporality, more precisely the limit of a person's physical life, and timelessness, through the imprint left on the collective memory or imagination;  the individual educational dimension, which makes a decisive contribution to the cultural breadth of the personality;  the behavioural imprint is conferred by the temperament and character of the personality;  genetic and environmental characteristics (the nature and society in which an individual has been formed) participate and influence the general and particular features of his personality;  personality vocation resulting from physical appearance, exceptional abilities, etc. The peaks of over-personalisation reached in history, through the presence of outstanding personalities, are due not only to chance but also to the social context. The individual quality of the leader and his or her relations with the other social actors have converted the common will into a huge power, capable of generating even a revolution. The leader is the person who pursues practical achievements in noble ideals and principles (Neculau, Visscher, 2001: 333). Power is therefore a social relationship in which actors, at least at the theoretical level, possessing different physical and intellectual capacities from ordinary people, influence the behaviour and actions of others. Influence comes from one direction, from the one with greater power to the one with lesser power. As in a game, where the more skilful sportsman leads the hostilities and imposes most of the moves and difficulties on his partner, the leader cannot ignore the unpredictable moves of the majority. Power is a social relationship involving transaction, competition, supervision and mutual groping of social actors. Legitimacy is considered, from a sociological point of view, a process by which: 'a power - charismatic, traditional, bureaucratic 194 Sacred and political power or rational-legal - is recognised and accepted by members of a community' (Ferreol, 1991: 126). Legitimacy, as opposed to legality, presupposes the consensus obtained from the agreement of the interested parties in choosing a person to represent them. Legality is limited to the legal character of power, without the consensus of some of the participating parties. In hereditary monarchies, the situation was different: the successor to the throne was legitimised by the right of blood or the royal bone, the legal right to rule according to tradition; legitimacy was justified by the sacred authority of the Pope or Patriarch, as the case may be. The ritual of coronation reached its climax when the royal crown was laid by the representative of the Church, a key action which conferred legitimacy on the new anointed one before his subjects. The process of legitimacy was consummated through the hierophany of the coronation in relation to the Deity and not to the people who passively witnessed the whole scene. The gaze of the newly anointed was always directed towards the dome of the Church, towards Heaven, and then down to the people. In this spirit, the German sociologist Weber distinguishes three types of legitimate domination, depending on the source that validates it:  legal-rational domination;  traditional domination;  charismatic domination (Weber, 1992: 9). All three legitimacy types frequently interfere and may succeed each other, depending on the historical context and the temporal preferences of the people. Legal-rational domination is based on: 'the belief in the legality of the regulations decided upon and the right to give directives of those who are called upon to exercise domination by these means' (Măgureanu, 1997: 61). Regardless of whether the regulations favour the governed or not, they obey out of respect for the law as an instrument of rational order; regardless of whether they like those in power or not, they accept the elected in the name of the right to govern (usually a right based on a procedure and a rule of access to political dignities: for example, voting). “The basis of legitimacy is always doubtful, open to criticism; thus hereditary right can be reproached as irrational because it legitimizes both the idiot 195 SEBASTIAN FITZEK and the spineless; elections by majority are doubtful because they are partly conditioned by error and chance, by the momentary effects of mass suggestion. That is why any kind of legitimacy is permanently subject to peril. The intellect can very easily contest it” (Jaspers, 1986: 270). The philosopher Karl Jaspers' observation is particularly well founded in the dispute over legitimacy between king and president, a debate that has dominated and provoked many passionate discussions over the choice of the best form of government. Jaspers' criticism, however, has a flip side, namely pro-monarchical arguments about stability, integrity, wisdom, etc., qualities befitting an enlightened king honoured by an entire nation. The Traditional Rule of Legitimacy is based on the belief in the “sanctity of traditions that have always been valid” and implicitly on the belief in rulers for the sake of tradition. Legitimacy rests on the people's faith in the natural and providential qualities of the ruler. The ruler is considered a hero, a living spirit of the nation and also an envoy of God. According to Hegel, historical-traditional legitimacy has a similar construction of thought. The king's son will in turn become a sacred presence as the blood remains the transmitting element of the sacred, thus legitimising the future successor to the throne. The king's son becomes anointed to God only because of his direct kinship with his father. Inheritance of the throne was often not a peaceful act, as many dynasties were short-lived due to the controversy between the theocratic legitimacy guaranteed by the uniqueness of revelation and the legitimacy of kinship which was a source of conflict between the heir relatives. If the king or emperor was polygamous, with several children, the transmission of power was consummated by violent conflict between successors. In the midst of his illness, Herod the Great, king of Judea (37-4 BC) executed his three sons, simply because he suspected that death awaited them in order to seize power. Each mother fought to make her son the sole heir. Constantine the Great (Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus 274-337 AD), the legitimate hero of early Christianity, ordered his wife Fausta to be killed by strangulation and his eldest son Crispus to be poisoned for allegedly plotting his overthrow. In a fit of rage, Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584 AD) killed his son with his iron-tipped club, and 196 Sacred and political power Peter the Great (1672-1725 AD) tortured his son to death with his own hands. Similarly, there are children who killed their fathers, in the case of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), who played an important role in the murder of his father Philip of Macedon. Tsar Alexander I (1777-1825 AD) participated in a plot that led to the assassination of his father, the mad Paul I. The Roman Emperor Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus 37-68 AD) murdered his own mother, Agrippina, accusing her of treason against him, and the examples go on. The personalisation process must also be followed in the development of the political individual from the earliest stages of childhood. The child's tendency to idealize the world, to imitate his parents, then his friends and his own entourage, will later be marked by the need to admire heroes, stars and various personalities from the pantheon of stars in his world. The influence of the social and political environment contributes to a reinvention of the world through ideal image vectors or a projection of an absolute that is fixed in strong belief systems. The weapons of the imaginary become unbeatable when they are at the heart of belief systems (religion, ideologies or dogmas). The child's identification with his father, and later with a particular hero or idol, reiterates the presence of personalities in the form of imperatives to be followed, with a powerful impact on the future politician. The process, once completed, turns into a fierce struggle that defines most historical personalities or a passion fuelled by a demonic ambition for power. The over-personalisation of power in the case of the great leaders (Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao) was triggered by personalities who were generally non-conformist. This type of leader: “is perceived (...) as a saviour because he establishes order, eliminates unemployment, frees the people from colonial or internal bondage, and provides new frameworks for development and social justice. As a reward, the people worship these leaders, conferring on them extraordinary qualities' (Frigioiu, 2007: 28). The admiration of the masses generates a cult of personality in a grotesque spectacle of 197 SEBASTIAN FITZEK the manifestation of political power. In totalitarian regimes, the cult of personality has become an ideological religion in the hands of figures that have bloodied the 20th century. The origins of this phenomenon date back to primitive times. The tribal chief, in order to protect his accumulated assets, especially women and territory, often appealed to the authority of his office and the sacred image of his personality as clearly superior to others. His legitimacy had to break out of the ordinary. Following tendencies of excessive credibility, leaders were identified with the sacred person. Totalitarian leaders have embodied the deity of power, nullifying contemporary religions on the basis of envy and inability to manipulate them. Hitler promised the German people a new Reich for a thousand years, replacing Christianity with a belief in the old Northern gods. He also tried to establish a new world based on the geopolitical concept of lebensraum (living space). The attempt was his own narcissistic mask under which his ridiculous demiurgic ambitions were hidden. Paradoxically, a kind of incestuous relationship was formed between leader and people. In turn, the people exert a terrible force that exalts the narcissistic weaknesses of a leader to the maximum, reaching superhuman, god-like dimensions in exchange for an eschatological construction of unlimited happiness. The loss of balance has destroyed any chance of integrating a realistic Weltanschaung into its ideology in order to conclude a pact of harmony and social stability. Hitler calculated his steps well, but failed to recognise the mistakes he had made in his relationship with the masses. By attacking the role of the churches as mere centres for manipulating history, he indirectly asked his nation to regard him as a god with providential powers. In reality, Hitler had no faith at all, his madness the diagnosis of a paranoid personality. His mind generated an ingenious alternative: the church-party that religious people will worship. Hitler gambled that gods and religion could be replaced at any time, exchanging classical religions for other gods. The interplay between God and man ended in a catastrophe that brought suffering and disaster to an entire nation. Unfortunately, over-personalisation has become a partition to the folly of placing a leader at the centre of the universe. In the first phase, his madness and paranoia resulted in the leader's rupture 198 Sacred and political power with reality, generating a chronic pathology of absolute power. This magnetic field of power generates pathology of power around incalculable, fascinating, dangerous and ultimately fatal forces. 8.4. A case study: ideals and chimeras of three “professional revolutionaries” in the history of the communist movement 1921-192438 On the occasion of the recent celebration of the Centenary of the Great Union, in this sub-chapter I have proposed to carry out a case study around three key personalities involved in the communist movement in Romania. The relevance of the study responds to the need for a psychosocial radiography of a political phenomenon that marked a people condemned to a totalitarian destiny. The attitudes and contrary positions of the first founders towards the project of Greater Romania stem from their anarchic dreams of a communist destiny for the country, but without Transylvania. Politically and legally, the first communist party in Romania emerged by accepting the 21 conditions known as Zinoviev's Theses. With this document, the movement took a profoundly antiRomanian stance. Beyond the historiographical aspects and data, the communist movement also deserves a leadership analysis of its personalities. To this end, I have focused on the analysis of two lines of research:  a documentary and biographical analysis of personalities undergoing ideological metamorphoses generated by the historical and political context of the interwar period;  an ideological and leadership analysis of the party in the relationship between the leaders and the Comintern in the period 1921-1923. In the post-December literature, numerous books, studies, reports and evaluations have appeared on the phenomenon of 38 The sub-chapter contains parts modified and adapted with the consent of myself and co-author Catalina Fitzek from the article: Fitzek, Sebastian; Fitzek, D. Cătălina (2017). The chimeric personalities of three professional revolutionaries in the history of the communist mouvement (1921-1924), in Journal of Community Positive Practices, no. 2/2017, pp. 17-30. 199 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Romanian totalitarianism. Romanian communism seems to be the picture of an over-saturated picture of contradictory opinions. In 2006, the notorious Final Report appeared, a fabulously controversial project initiated by former President Traian Băsescu. But is it scientifically correct to impose the term “final” in the title and cancel out anyone's right to express other opinions? Most of the answers triggered an avalanche of criticism from renowned historians and researchers such as Florin Constantiniu, Gheorghe Buzatu, Daniel Barbu, Ciprian Șulea, Michael Safir, Adrian-Paul Iliescu, etc. The ambition in the project's title was hampered by the complexity of a subject that is inexhaustible and difficult to deal with in a single version. Another difficulty comes from Romanian intellectuals who fail to agree on a unified picture of this phenomenon. Endless differences of opinion on the subject have become a Romanian habit in which egos are endlessly intertwined. As such, my scientific approach has been oriented towards historical research. In this spirit, I began a documentary analysis of the files in the National State Archives, a treasure trove of testimonies of a recently vanished world. In the first phase, we analysed some of the Security files from 1919 to 1945. In the second phase, we analysed part of the Comintern archives, in the form of archived copies, and in the third phase, we consulted some secondary studies belonging to other researchers. It is a notorious fact that the first conflicts between the communist leaders and the Romanian state authorities started before the founding of the party. The first cause is said to be the anti-national character of the movement, the other two causes being determined by the party's unconditional affiliation to the Third International and its direct subordination to the Comintern and Moscow. The subordination of the party to a foreign authority involved from the outset a dilemma about the concept of a political party. First, a brief clarification of Communist Party of Romania’s birth date is necessary to explain a problem related to the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, which created a gap of 13 days. The calendar change was decreed in the Official Gazette No 274 of 6 March 1919 (6, 115). This explains why the Bolshevik 200 Sacred and political power Revolution in Russia was moved from 25 October to 7 November. However, the Romanian Communist Party continued to celebrate its birth in the old style, on the 8th of May instead of the 21st. A few years after the Great Union, on 8th May 1921 (according to the old calendar), the first Congress of the Romanian Communist Party took place. “On 8th of May 1921, the Romanian Communist Party Congress (prior the Socialist Party) took place in Bucharest” (Frunză, 1990: 26-27). The statement is almost correct except for the fact that the new party was created by a split and not by transformation. The split was made possible by a hard core of radicals who immediately accepted the 21 conditions (Cioroianu, 2007: 20). “With the exception of Gheorghe Cristescu, the first general secretary of the interwar Communist Party, all those who succeeded him in office were ethnic non-Romani, an aspect emphasized in the overwhelming majority of works dedicated to the history of interwar communism. Apart from Al. Danieluk-Stefanski, the others came from the minorities but were born in the provinces united with the Old Kingdom in 1918 and had Romanian citizenship (Elek Kőblős and Ștefan Foriș in Transylvania, Vitali Holostenco in Bessarabia, Boris Ștefanov in Cadrilater)” (Diac, 2014: 125). The pro-Soviet character of the Romanian Communist Party and the fear of the Romanian society towards the Russians generated an unpopular split. As proof, from more than 45,000 SDP members, the CPR in 1922 reached only 2000 members (Denize, 2000: 3). In the following analysis, we have chosen three examples of prominent personalities who formed and supported an anti-national party shortly after the Great Union. a. The story of a professional revolutionary: Tcacenco An important contributor to this schism was the lesser-known Pavel Tcacenco (a Romanian citizen of Russian ethnicity, real name Yakov Antipov, born in 1901 in Transnistria), leader of the Communist faction of the S.D.P., an important founder of the Communist movement in the Moldavian R.S.S. and legendary founder of the R.C.P.. A participant and witness of the Pavel 201 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Bolshevik Revolution, Pavel Tcacenco was elected Secretary of the Communist Committee in Chisinau in 1919. His important influence on the communist movement in Romania was determined by the Moscow policy of the Comintern and his relationship with the journalist Alecu Constantinescu, an important communist leader in Bucharest. On 6 August 1920, contact between the two organisations was interrupted by the arrest of Tcacenco, sentenced to death in absentia, in Chisinau. Fleeing to Iasi, Tcacenco soon became a member and a prominent leader in the communist group in the S.D.P., decisively influencing the split and the establishment of the new party. In March 1921, Tcacenco became a member of the Central Committee, but was arrested on 26th of March 1921 and tried in the Dealul Spirii Trial (Pleșa, 2014: 36), where he was sentenced for one year together with Gheorghe Cristescu, (the first secretary general of the R.C.P.), Elek Kőblős, Mihai Gheorghiu Bujor, Moscu Kohn and 267 other communists, accused of treason by affiliating the new party to the Third International. The accusation was motivated by the acceptance of the 21 conditions imposed by the Comintern and, in particular, by paragraph 12 which required party members to act either legally or illegally in the interests dictated by Moscow, a point considered by prosecutors to be a direct attack on national sovereignty. During the trial, Tcacenco admits distributing communist propaganda materials but denies any affiliation with anarchist Max Goldstein, who allegedly led a murderous attack on the Senate. The young activist eventually flees the country and takes refuge in Prague, where he works for the Comintern. Returning to the country to organise the Workers' and Peasants' Bloc with Timothy Marin and Boris Stefanov, they are all arrested again on 15th of August 1926 and imprisoned for treason against national interests. Shortly afterwards, Tcacenco escapes with the help of the Communists from Chisinau, but is later caught, tortured and shot on the border with the Soviet Union. The official communist propaganda considered Pavel Tcacenco's illegal activity, torture and death as evidence of martyrdom of a role model for any professional revolutionary. Killed at only 25 years of age, his image becomes a landmark of the authentic communist fighter through the following fundamental objectives and characteristics: 202 Sacred and political power  son of a railway worker from Smolensk, a status that ensured the healthy origin of the cadres;  law student, temporarily in Petrograd, where he joined and participated in the Bolshevik Revolution of OctoberNovember, a status which legitimised his position as a professional revolutionary;  active member and agent of the Comintern;  arrested and sentenced several times in Romania and the Moldavian R.S.S. for illegal activities;  founding member of the R.C.P.;  tortured and killed for Comintern interests. His short life can be seen as an ordinary fragment of the interwar period, a troubled time when a newly formed Greater Romania, with a fragile political system, was trying to face unknown challenges. On the other hand, the communist movement became a utopian attraction for pro-Russians eager to serve the ideals of the Comintern, although they were unaware of the danger of quicksand behind ideological promises. Pavel Tcacenco is the prototype of an introverted young man; like Nicolae Ceausescu, he lacks any oratorical talent, but stands out for his Promethean ambition fed by the anthemic illusion of an ideology discovered and learned on the initiatory route to St. Petersburg. He wants to study law, following Lenin's model, reads and comes to believe in the fanatic model of the professional revolutionary. His enlistment in the Comintern confirms the high degree of action, adherence and conviction of a young man, easily manipulated due to his lack of experience. His acidic relationship with the Romanian authorities degenerated into an absurd and dangerous struggle which the young Pavel Tcacenco lost, thus missing the chance to understand that his struggle was imaginary, serving an ideal compatible with the Soviet regime and incompatible with the homeland in which he was born. The anti-Romanian character of the Comintern was visible, yet it is inexplicable that some young people allowed themselves to be lured by dangerous illusions. I cite another example of a Romanian intellectual slipping into the same anti-national abyss. 203 SEBASTIAN FITZEK b. Petre Constantinescu-Iași, the opportunist prototype of the Romanian communist intellectual Among other important figures of the founding members of the R.C.P. we find the professor and historian Petre Constantinescu-Iași, who became Minister of Propaganda in 1945, member of the Romanian Academy in 1948, and director of the Institute of History “Nicolae Iorga” in Bucharest. Concerned about his seniority in the history of the Communist Party, Petre Constantinescu-Iași submitted several memoirs on the modification of some data concerning his biography. “In a series of memos submitted to the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PMR and the Party Control Committee, he demanded that his seniority in the Party be recognized as far back as 1920!” (Cioroianu, 2014: 127). This year’s acceptance preceded the emergence of the R.C.P., his name becoming linked to the founding of the party through the acceptance of the 21 points. Another aspect would be surprising: Constantinescu-Iași is a university professor, teaching Romanian history, as a specialty, at the Faculty of Theology in Chișinău; however, he ends up collaborating with certain anti-national projects of the Comintern. Moreover, in 1934 he became a founding member of the USSR Friends organization. How could a university professor of history accept the 21 points? “Constantinescu-Iași claimed that as early as 1920, when he was a professor of History in Iași and also a member (for two years) of the Social Democratic Party, he had been in contact with the communist group in the S.D.P., led by Tcacenco, and later, at the founding congress of the R.C.P. in May 1921, he had been appointed rapporteur on one of the days of the congress and had presented the party's position on press and propaganda issues.” (Cioroianu, 2014: 127-128). The seniority and veracity of his statements were confirmed in the Report of the Party Control Commission of 1965, which came to the following conclusion: 'We consider that his request is fulfilled and propose to the Political Bureau of the C.C.P. of the P.R.M. to establish his status in the party since 1921' (ANIC, collection 53, file C-156, vol.1, tab 2). Beyond this debate, the following dilemma arises: if determinism explains why Pavel Tcacenco is more pro-Russian than 204 Sacred and political power pro-Romanian, Petre Constantinescu-Iași seems to be completely out of these patterns. The son of the teacher Gheorghe Constantinescu, an ethnic Romanian born in Iași, educated and brought up in the old fashioned way, a history professor at a theological college, Petre Constantinescu-Iași accepts the pact with the Comintern's plans and criticises the annexation of Transylvania on the occasion of the Great Union. His insistence on acknowledging his seniority in the party as early as 1920-1921 is a nonchalant proof that he was an opportunist. Reading the 21 conditions is enough to understand why the signatories of the R.C.P. were pursuing foreign interests. Constantinescu-Iași is a complex atypical case, difficult to typologize. A history teacher, socialist and then a convinced communist, he has been against the Great Union since the Comintern. His person embodies the prototype of a Romanian communist intellectual. A journalist and supporter of Soviet propaganda, Constaninescu-Iași immediately took a step back during the difficult moments of the illegal period, renouncing all links with the Communist Party. Arrested in 1934, the professor vehemently denied any connection with the Bolshevik propaganda of the Comintern, declaring that he had only fought against fascism. Twenty years later, under the R.C.P. umbrella, Constaninescu-Iași comes back with a different story, claiming to have been a founding member of the R.C.P. since the 1920s, when the party was nonexistent. His contradictory accounts of his seniority and role in the R.C.P. make him duplicitous. “In 1934, he solemnly declared that his activity was socialist and not communist. In 1954, he claimed to be a communist from the early days of the party. Since the two testimonies cannot be true simultaneously, it is clear that Petre Constantinescu-Iași had mystified reality in at least one of them” (Cioroianu, 2007, p.129). His duplicity is due to the advantageous or disadvantageous context of the two historical conjunctures. In 1934 he declared himself to be a socialist, and in 1954 he declared himself to be an eternal communist. c. Gheorghe Cristescu, the socialist wandering son who enthusiastically experiences the communist adventure Gheorghe Cristescu “the quilter” is the story of another chimera. An ethnic Romanian with a left-wing vision, he became the first 205 SEBASTIAN FITZEK general secretary of the Communist Party of Romania on the 8th of May 1921. Born on 10th of October 1882 in the village of Copaci, Giurgiu county, Cristescu was a convinced socialist for the first part of his life. Between 1907 and 1920, he was appointed to leading positions in the Union of Romanian Socialists, the Social Democratic Party and the General Commission of Trade Unions. His talent for oratory and his observant spirit were quickly noticed and appreciated by Lenin at the Moscow meeting in 1920. Asked by Lenin why he refused to sign 2 of the 21 conditions of accession, Cristescu recounts the following: “I can only vote for what will help the development of my country. And to be more precise: having been admitted here, I entered with the other delegates I took with me. My answer to the question of why I voted against is this: every country has its own objective and subjective conditions for development. One country is economically developed, another is underdeveloped, another is average; the same applies to intellect. This state of affairs made me think that I cannot play with the situation of our organisation. Then, as a commander of the workers' movement, I know that this is the distinguished commander who achieves the maximum gain with the minimum of sacrifices, and then we know from the laws of evolution that one cannot leap into the unknown. Sprouting in the womb takes nine months, and whoever violates this law of nature risks an abortion. Then Comrade Lenin said to me: Comrade Cristescu is right. We will let each party do its own organisational and propaganda work according to the specifics of its country”39. Cristescu's criticism of the Comintern's anti-national character is accepted by Lenin and even appreciated, which is why, a year later, he is appointed first secretary of the party. His distinct position sets him apart from the other Communists. Gheorghe Cristescu is similar to Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu as a leader who is more socialist than communist, and who opposed anti-nationalist directives. Romanian historiography has not preserved much data on Cristescu in the 39 Cristescu file: Political assassination or crime of passion? accessible online at http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-arhiva-1254587-dosarul-cristescu-asasinat-politic-saucrimapasionala.htm (archive accessed 28.06.2017). 206 Sacred and political power period 1921-1944. However, I discovered some original testimonies of the character, written by the archaeologist Iancu Moțu, which helped me define his personality through some interesting ideas about the situation in Romania after the First World War. Cristescu's case becomes a departure from the rule, given his affiliation to the radical left-wing current, although his behaviour, discussions and decisions describe him as rather moderate. He is the only one who refuses to sign two of the 21 points, although he appreciates Lenin's theses, with some reservations. Here is Cristescu's reply to the judges after his arrest, immediately after the founding of the party: “Can the fact that we want the good of this people, and therefore of the country in which it lives, constitute an act of destruction of society? No, your Honours. And if you want to send us to the pit only for this desire, if the pit accepts us, we will go, judges, with a peaceful mind and with the awareness that by our sacrifice we have assured others a better life” (Tănase, 2008: 46). His words, more nationalist than Cominternist, positively convinced personalities such as Iuliu Maniu, Nicolae Iorga and other notable interwar figures, as jurors in his trial on Spirii Hill. Witnesses claim that Iorga disapproved of the arrest of this group, considering the act an abuse by the state. And yet, there is a contradictory duality between his presence in the radical zone through his position as newly elected first secretary at the head of the CPR and the nationalist side of his discourse. His indecisive nature marks a man with an uncertain personality. In the elections of 18th-19th of February 1926, Cristescu was on the list of the 26 posts for councillors, but he was harshly criticized by the Comintern for his alliance with the socialists, who had been declared mortal enemies of the communists. As a result, in the same year, Cristescu is expelled from the party by motion, on the grounds that his own views were always opposed to those of the CC (Central Committee) regarding the party line on the national question and the trade union question (Ilie, Ilie, 2009: 18). The categorical break with the International and the CPR led Cristescu back to the Socialists. He wrote in his own newspaper, “Izbânda Socialista”, setting up a new party: the Socialist Party, 207 SEBASTIAN FITZEK then in less than three years, for lack of members, he migrated to the Romanian Socialist Party. Gheorghe Cristescu “Plăpumarul”, the first secretary of the CPR, was not a communist in the true sense of the word. His socialist character was shown by his critical attitude towards the Comintern. Through his relationship with the Communist Party he opposed the relationship between the party and the Third International. Although he played a decisive role in the formation of this movement, Cristescu repeatedly opposed the interests dictated from Moscow. 1926 was the year in which he realised the distance between the anthem of his beliefs and the communist reality of his own party. A first general conclusion: the draft CPR was anti-national and unconstitutional, not fulfilling the political and legal conditions that define it as a party. First of all, the CPR was illegal from the very first day, by accepting the 21 criteria by which it was obliged to serve Moscow's communist interests. Secondly, the CPRD was in a relationship of representation and subordered to the Comintern, which led to direct interference and control over the power structures by appointing programmes, leaders, decisions and actions. The CPR could not be a party, but a mere annex of the Comintern on the territory of Romania. Its presence as a representative of a foreign organisation was later considered by the Romanian authorities as a danger to national sovereignty. This anomaly was regulated only in 1924 by the Mârzescu Law. The delay in reacting was due to the difficult legal and bureaucratic process, a decision that could have been taken from the very first day of the party's existence. From the perspective of biographical and leadership analysis, the case of Pavel Tcacenco is the story of a revolutionary by profession, sacrificed in Romania for Bolshevik ideals. Tcacenco is an agent of the Third International, faithful to the Red Revolution, ready to fight for the import of this model. His inexperience with his pro-communist and pro-Soviet stance quickly attracted the attention of the intelligence services, which prevented him from working in public. Recognized as a representative of the Comintern, Tcacenco realized too late the seriousness of the situation. Trying to escape from prison, fate would push him to his death, by 208 Sacred and political power desperately fleeing to the U.S.S.R. His revolutionary work was later considered by communist authors as a model to follow. Two streets in Bucharest were renamed in his memory, and his name was retained after him in the 1990s. Pavel Tcacenco Street in Voluntari Commune has ensured his place in the collective memory. Professor Constantinescu-Iași is the perfect case of the opportunist who fought to maximize personal advantages. As a history teacher, his personality was shaped by his critical stance towards Greater Romania. As founder of the CPR, promoting the 21 conditions, Constantinescu-Iasi is a contradictory character, opportunist and slippery even to his ideological creed. During the interwar period, he chose and declared himself a socialist, and after 1945, he denied socialism, declaring himself a communist since 1920. Gheorghe Cristescu is the only founding leader of the CPR who criticized part of the accession thesis and is the person who contradicted Lenin, earning his admiration. An analysis of his biography, speeches and decisions reveals a socialist ideological personality who ventured into the lands of the Comintern. Cristescu did not criticize the project of Greater Romania and is the only character accepted in the Romanian political entourage, being accepted by personalities such as Nicolae Iorga and some liberal officials. He is well seen and described as a charismatic leader. Cristescu was considered a traitor by the communists, a political activist dressed in the socialist coat. His ideas were animated by the fight against the bourgeoisie, which he considered guilty of the injustices suffered by the working class. Communist ideology seems to be a path, but not a creed in itself. Cristescu is the enemy of the bourgeoisie, but he is first and foremost a Romanian and cannot accept the communist-cominternist version that denies the legitimacy of Greater Romania. Cristescu is not an advocate of violence, nor does he believe in radical change of the social-political order, the parliamentary way being the only option. His late rehabilitation, during the Ceausescu period, was an attempt at reconciliation between the old socialists and the new communists, a more symbolic gesture. Cristescu never wanted to return to political life. His refusal was justified by the definitive schism between his beliefs and communist ideology. 209 SEBASTIAN FITZEK The following conclusions can be drawn from summarising the three cases:  Pavel Tcacenco became the model of the professional revolutionary who unsuccessfully attempted to import the Leninist model into Romania without noticing the abyssal differences between the two political systems;  Petre Constantinescu-Iași embodies the prototypical opportunist Romanian communist intellectual, concerned only with the image and rehabilitation of his past and the advantages he could gain from legitimising his past;  Gheorghe Cristescu is the case of the socialist wandering son who enthusiastically experiments with the communist adventure, only to repudiate it definitively because of the incompatibility between his political vision and the theses of the Comintern. The conclusions drawn justify the chimerical aspirations of the three personalities who played an important role in the formation of the communist movement between 1921 and 1923. The image of the CPR at that time was preserved as a mask of the Comintern, failing to individualize itself and separate itself from the shadow of this international political colossus. Tcacenco is not interested in Greater Romania, but only in the Bolshevik Revolution; Constantinescu-Iași is the socialist converted to a kind of principled communism in the name of a fight against fascism, and Gheorghe Cristescu “the quilter” remained a socialist who experimented with communism. In all three cases, personal beliefs were hit by the chimera of ideological theses in which none of them found themselves, not even Tcacenco who imagined a communism that would liberate the ruling classes, without understanding its utopian character. In each case, personal survival became the only way of cohabiting with times ripe for war, famine and murder. Tcacenco's death is heroic for Soviet Stalinism, but not for Greater Romania. Petre Constantinescu-Iași's duplicitous character saves him from certain dangers, while Cristescu remains consistent with his own theses in a world that has gone through three distinct periods of deep social upheaval: the Cominternist, the Illegalist and the official-communist. 210 Sacred and political power 8.5. Charisma and over-personalisation A discussion on the charismatic nature of a personality is always marked by the subjectivity of different points of view. The ambiguity of the term is explained by the imprecise boundaries between charisma and non-charisma, a difficult boundary. Avoiding the analysis of a questionable delimitation, the choice of a charismatic prototype becomes a convenient solution. Destiny and context chart the path a charismatic leader takes to the top of politics. According to Max Weber, the main feature of charisma is: 'the vocation of leadership, with people obeying him not by virtue of the law or the law itself, but by virtue of faith in his person' (1992: 10). Its finality can transform the political figure into a hero or idol of a people with whom he identifies in the imagination or, on the contrary, it can become a regrettable memory. In either case, over-perpetuation remains a dangerous game. Charisma includes also many irrational factors. By analysing personality configuration we understand why this quality is considered a positive form of personalisation. Charisma is: “this ascendancy of political leaders as exponents of the energies of nations, as symbols of aspirations towards which newly liberated peoples justifiably tend” (Măgureanu, 1997: 80-81). Charisma is related to the visionary side of politics in the highest degree, once by relating the future to the present and then by idealistically projecting the masses to something possible. The desire-utopia melange is a result of active imagination, which usually transcends the possible. Through the visionary leader a bridge is built between the “what is” and the hypothetical “will be” of an irrational unpredictability. The relationship between the crowd and the visionary leader creates a pact of promised unity, in which the mass feeds the will of the leader and the leader feeds the imagination of the masses. The new organic nature generates vectors of power that can shape the future through the action of the easily manoeuvrable masses. Vision is an intrinsic component of the charismatic political leader, acting in crisis situations as well as in ordinary situations. Totalitarian leaders are not charismatic, as message propagation 211 SEBASTIAN FITZEK techniques help them to become popular to a greater extent than their own communication skills. The Nazis broadcast Hitler's speeches in the evenings and late at night to the romantic backdrop of songs played by Dietrich Marlene. Dusk and night incite passion and irrationality, blood pressure is higher. The romantic atmosphere induces in the young couple a sensitive mood and an increased appetite for the fanatical speeches of idols. And indeed, these effects played a vital role in making the propaganda machines more effective. Appeals to pathos and eros strike at the heartstrings of the libido, unleashing the tumult of the biopsychic energies of German youth in the famous Munich speeches of 1940-1941. The pathology of the charismatic leader is not based on virtues alone, and is a common prototype in other fields. Sociologist Cătălin Zamfir argues that: 'great leaders of capitalist industry, such as Hearst, Ford, Carnegie, Morgan, etc., were not at all models of virtue or even psychological normality. Hearst and Ford had obsessional neuroses, and Hitler was paranoid' (1974: 222). The moral side is not a condition of those personalities who distinguished themselves by their own exceptional qualities. The fascination with negative personalities is a strange phenomenon that is still common today. History's greatest criminals arouse morbid curiosity, inspiring both fear and admiration among ordinary people as well as the most refined intellectuals. How do we explain this phenomenon? Horror, as a form of fascination, feeds the imagination with terrible fantasies to describe hell. The same curiosity can be seen in the public's appetite for films with a high degree of violence. Another explanation stems from the media's shaping of an apocalyptic imaginary through news, debates, films and predictions worthy of the end of humanity. The media are a huge educational force with an impact on the collective imagination, surpassing the church and school as a factor of influence. The cult of beauty has disappeared from the education of today's youth. As for charisma, the following question arises: is charisma an exceptional gift that comes through unknown ways (as defined by sociologist Max Weber) or a result acquired through work (as stated in managerial leadership)? If we accept both answers, then how do we determine contributions and in what percentages? Genius, in Thomas Edison's terms is 99% transpiration and 1% inspiration. 212 Sacred and political power According to Edison, charisma is determined by that 1% without which there is no such thing, and if we remove the criterion the temptation arises for a principle stated as “everyone who works becomes charismatic”, a bizarre statement to say the least. Personally, I believe that to be charismatic in politics is to develop one's own skills and competences with a direct impact on the public, a two-way process:  developing personal skills as a good communicator and orchestra conductor, demonstrating exceptional hearing and a natural ability to identify instruments in the ensemble;  developing the imagination of a composer and visionary ready to improvise and imagine new alternatives to power with the means of political action of maximum timeliness and effectiveness. In conclusion, every person is charismatic if he discovers and is guided in a favourable context in which he can cultivate his skills, abilities and optimal qualities. Work remains a certainty for all variants, and without it, the charismatic side remains only a fragment of an unfulfilled dream. 8.6. Character, temperament and personalisation, a triad of political personality Character and temperament are the most important visible personality structures. We often judge people superficially by their reactions in different situations, without realising that there are a multitude of unknown factors behind their actions. Human interaction is complex and cannot be limited to the stimulus-reaction relationship, although there is a temptation to judge situations according to this condition. Character and temperament are decisive for the behaviour resulting from the confluence of education and the degree of activation of bio-psychic energies. Temperament is acquired and cannot be changed during life. The classification of the four temperaments by Aelius Galenus (129 - 200 AD, the last great physician of antiquity and founder of anatomy and pharmacology), also known as the doctrine of the four humours (partly intuited by 213 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Hippocrates as early as the 5th century), is no longer considered a scientific approach to the analysis of personality. It is relevant that temperament is an appropriation of the somatic structure, the nervous and endocrine system, as an energy resource generated by the mobility of neuronal processes. The relevance of studying temperament leads to the classification of leader typologies according to dominants: weak - strong, balanced - unbalanced or mobile apathetic. Behaviour is therefore a sum of the dominants of an innate temperament and a formed character. Temperament cannot be disguised, but can, at most, be inhibited or controlled by will or education. Disguising temperament is a difficult act and almost impossible to control in extreme situations. In contrast, the temperament reflex can be controlled by behaviour. The temper can suppress the instinct, it can dissemble, and therefore, it can lie according to the choice made. Character is and is not responsible for the finality of moral conduct. We have become accustomed, however, to perceive only the positive side of the term, considering a man of character a moral man. According to my observations, a man's formed character can be responsible in all situations, an area of lights and shadows beyond the moral aspect. The statement “this man has character and this man does not have character” is wrong, at least as an interpretation. There is no such thing as a man without character; there is only his choice of light side or dark side. Perception plays a key role in the effect of an act and indirectly, in relation to one's own references, just as an individual can be considered simultaneously moral by one person or immoral by another. Beyond the philosophical approach, the distinction of terms is relevant in studying types and typologies of political leaders. “Thus, for characterologists, character is the core of personality, an invariant, a fundamental structure on which a 'nature' will be engrained. If for personologists character is only an aspect of personality, its expressive aspect, for characterologists personality is made up of a set of fundamental traits which, grouped together, form types in a finite number into which any individual can be placed. (Frigioiu, 2004: 140). Accepting the assertion that the centre of personality is found in character, a bold statement, then we must 214 Sacred and political power also accept its unconscious nature as the repository of consciousness. So is there a connection between character and consciousness? The environment is the extraverted nature of character formed through education, and morality, valued as the enlightenment of conscience, is its introverted nature. Both sides represent the extraverted and introverted aspects of character, implicit in personality, in equal measure with its visible (conscious) and invisible (unconscious) sides. In this context, character unites both sides. A bad choice does not nullify character any more than a good choice defines it. The observation made in support of the above statement would boil down to the illusion of perception of seeing in character only its positive side. If we reduce character to always being good, then we have the following sentence: 'a man of character can never be wrong', a strange correlation to say the least. It is in the nature of things that we can also be wrong in thought. Is, then, the man of character a prototype who can never be wrong? If, out of the blue, this prototype were to appear, then the rest of us could call ourselves people without character. Education is part of character and conditions it. Hence the principle that a man without education is a man without character. Education influences behaviour, as a restraint on the basic instincts and by shaping character for good. Character may also include elements inherited from parents or other relatives. Both traits, acquired or inherited, form, together with temperament, the behavioural whole of personhood. Acquired elements emerge through socialisation processes that take place throughout life. In conclusion, character individualises personality and ennobles it through interaction with other individuals. Personalisation is an act of power that defines man in his effort to lead or to make himself stand out. The competitive state is the zero state from which the leader emerges. The correlative elements of power are the means that highlight the best or the strongest. Personality is therefore a competition between individuals with different personalities, which ultimately determines the winner. It is obvious that power is the ultimate goal. The demonstration must start from the general frameworks of social life, which are essentially relations between two or more actors (individual or 215 SEBASTIAN FITZEK collective). The lack of natural self-sufficiency leads man to seek cooperation with other individuals, thus entering into relations of interdependence. If an individual has ascendancy over us and dominates us, then he has the chance to be our leader. Power is therefore a polymorphous phenomenon between leader and crowd, as between two lovers, as between parents and children, creditor and debtor, boss and subordinate, artist and spectator, etc. In short, all human relationships, which involve even a small amount of dependence, are power relationships. Dependence characterises the power relationship, but it should not be seen in a single sense, as a set of actions, including sequential causes and effects arising from the differentiation between personalities. The power relationship is present in all social interactions and, in democratic regimes, requires that its protagonists each have a margin of freedom, the possibility to choose whether or not to accept being represented by a particular leader. Power is always an asymmetrical relationship regulated by personality cues; even in theory we cannot isolate the ideal type, a situation in which the actors exert identical pressures on each other, because in that case the theory would break with all reality. The personality of each individual represents the personality of a power, and the personalisation of power derives from the ascent of an individual to the top of popular wills with which he identifies in the fullness of a superpower. 8.7. The institutionalisation of political power and the sacred Since the hunter-gatherer societies of primitive times, the differentiation and hierarchy of society depended on the factors of production, and technology was already outperforming other occupations. The techniques of pottery, food preservation or hunting led to the first forms of competition. Over the last ten thousand years, this struggle has created an ever more pronounced hierarchy of fierce competition, with the supremacy of the strongest belonging to the most productive, namely the specialised tiller of the soil or the prolific farmer. The process gradually transformed and reconfigured 216 Sacred and political power “the community into a classification of specialized societies, thus giving rise to the phenomenon of the competitive market” (Herseni, 1982: 432-433). Parallel to the organisation of actions, there has been a separation of life's political side from the economic side, with the choice swinging between a continuous orientation towards power and accumulation or towards plunder. On the whole, we see a division of labour within peoples, according to complex activities carried out in increasingly hierarchical forms: warriors, craftsmen, chieftains and peasants, etc. The same was true of unions of tribes organised around a common goal of developing a single economic activity. There are tribes formed by hunters, animal breeders, farmers, villages of miners, potters and fishermen, political organisations of seafarers and merchants (Lensky, 2002: 102-103). There are also peoples of conquerors who do not carry out very complex economic activity. However, the harder the struggles for power and plunder, the more severe are the constraints on the individual through law and force. On the other hand, the individual lives of economically weak tribes meant little or nothing. Salvation, which would establish a better organisation of community life, necessarily presupposed a process of institutionalisation of political power. The process of institutionalisation of political power has taken culture as its starting point, as a form of value hierarchy, as the totality of life forms that retain a group or personal imprint. These forms of cultivating human sensibility eventually became the sacred heritage of society. The exact order of the first processes of institutionalisation is not known, but I am inclined to believe that religion ranks first on this list, ahead of the state. As far as the state is concerned, when a society became too complex due to population density, the insignificant individual lost himself in a philosophy of salvation, manifested either through the projection of an ideal world or through a new hierarchy imagined by the religious phenomenon that opened up new higher horizons of existence. Population density is one of the achievements with beneficial effects on human entrepreneurship. “Where once a pack of a few hundred heads roamed, a people of tens of thousands of people have now settled” (Herseni, 1982: 437). There are no spaces where man is 217 SEBASTIAN FITZEK not present. Every people borders on another, and the mere presence of the boundary meant a limit to their own power; this reality incited ancient instincts of hatred, aimed at annihilating the other. The boundary of each community, especially where several religions coexisted, triggered a bloody power struggle. The individual experience of power reveals a subject's ability to directly influence his or her environment. The individual can channel his or her energy to change the state of natural objects or to influence the behaviour of other living beings. In this hypostasis, power becomes a force in action. The new form of institutional legitimacy is manifested today mainly through the ritualization of politics (ceremonies, anniversaries, coronations, commemorations, funerals, religious services, rallies) (Frigioiu, 2004: 16). Institutionalisation, in general, depersonalises the leader and obliges him or her to certain rules that are outside the personal sphere. Institutional capture of the leader reduces his or her personal freedom and creativity, entering into a censorship of procedures and functionalist rules. The institution objectifies the rules that are outside the personal sphere, the individual disappearing as an entity and reappearing in the form of preestablished rules. Political institutions have become a guarantor of democracy since modern times, acquiring an autochthonous personality. They opt for a systemic political system aimed at integrating common values respected in democratic society. The system cannot exist without the subsystems or institutional structures of politics, nor can it guarantee a clear direction without functionalist and utilitarian thinking. The cybernetic model proposed by David Easton is a tool or formula that configures the regulation of social conflict through the institutionalized power of the state. Simplified, this theory keeps the following scheme: at the basis of the system is structural-functional information called input that enters a political system, where it will be processed. The solutions found will be sent to society in the form of outputs. Further on, these solutions will end up in a conversion loop which through a feedback loop, depending on the results, will return to the core processor to be improved or replaced by other solutions. In this way, the system continuously self-regulates itself 218 Sacred and political power without overheating or becoming dysfunctional, thus guaranteeing a refresh. Even the legal system cannot avoid this self-regulating system. The development of political institutionalisation on verticality of human values does not constitute a danger; on the contrary, it guarantees the objectivity of decisions at any level of management within the political system through continuous selfregulation. In other words, the process of institutionalising power guarantees constant authority at the decision-making level. The asymmetry of power, in the case of personalisation, can have unexpected effects, going beyond the natural powers of the subject, whereas institutional authority, avoiding this asymmetry, calculates within the parameters generally predetermined by the laws of the system, thus providing a solid guarantee of decisions. The finality of the decisions taken by the institutional authority is self-regulated, within the system, on the basis of a feedback that brings other demands and needs of the people back into the system's inputs. “Authority, as a dimension and hypostasis of political power, depends on the functioning of the political system taken as a whole, on the totality of objective and subjective, material and spiritual processes that contribute to the realization of power” (Măgureanu, 1997: 49). The institutionalisation of power means that the prerogatives acquired by a leader, thanks to his abilities, do not disappear with him, but are transformed into habits of the command-obey (or, as the case may be, dominate-subdue) relationship. Coercive power is thus fundamentally linked to institutions. Of course, institutions have not always been 'impersonal', i.e. independent of the staff employed. Domination was not always based on efficiency and rationality, but had other motivations. The delimitation of all institutionalisation phenomena is also achieved through private property. Property is the domain in which power is exercised as freedom and a right won through struggle and as a defence against one's fellow human beings. “The law of the strongest resolves conflicts and the state of war subsists everywhere” (Durkheim 2001: 16). Since the modern era, property is a value 219 SEBASTIAN FITZEK guaranteed by the Constitution and the institution of the state. Property becomes a victoriously imposed power, as a right over a mere fortune and as sovereign dominion. Property concerns the link between the essential categories within a people, a nation, and the institutionalisation of this right through the Constitution and the state, as a form of public power. The right to own property is also reflected in the hierarchy of office. Wealth is a rare and valuable resource by definition, whereby the owner has control and security over other individuals. The greater his wealth, the greater his power of influence, and hence his power over others. (Lenski, 2002: 73). The differentiation of individuals inevitably leads to selfish competition, which distinguishes between the power of position and the power of wealth. The power of position is determined by the social role which gives the individual a legitimacy of wealth within a certain limit of decency, while the power of wealth itself, property inherited or gained by various licit or illicit methods, gives the individual the possibility of going beyond the natural measure or limits of wealth given by the parameters of status. This quality of competition allows the passage from a lower power to a higher power or to a new step in the hierarchy; more precisely, the first type of power generated greed, thus going beyond the limit of common sense set by a given status, eventually transforming itself into a risky power. The self-centredness of power becomes a “generalised greed” and a disease specific to capitalist societies, which was the subject of Karl Marx's incisive criticism. The new sense of possession belongs to the political environment and comes to operate at great risk, culminating in all or nothing. Another interesting aspect of this phenomenon is found in the case of political revolutions that overturn the social order and propose a new hierarchy and a new institutionalisation. We know that the legitimacy of a newly established political institution gains the respect of a people very late, imposing itself after long years of operation, years that confirm or not its effectiveness. With regard to revolutions, a new order means the disappearance of old institutions, some of them important and even functional. The process of establishing a new order through political, administrative and economic institutions, etc. is hard-won. This means not only 220 Sacred and political power changing names or institutional structures, but above all renewing the leadership. After the '89 Revolution in Romania, new institutions are being set up, with the management staff generally remaining the same. Political institutions are the most difficult and complex structures of the political system. In addition to institutional authority, there is an important requirement for a charismatic leader who will contribute to the prestige of the institution or, on the contrary, destroy it. The function provides the leader with a guarantee of representativeness by establishing a hierarchy of institutional values. The symbiosis between leader and institution must be harmonious, and the institutionalisation of the leader presupposes an elitist morality that can sustain him in the public arena. The two images converge through the objective force of the law that guarantees impartiality of decisions and also through the public moral force of a visionary leader, the magic ingredient of charisma. Three key elements in the evolution of power emerge in the process of institutionalisation: force, law and privilege. “The shift from the rule of force to the rule of law, to continuous power determining privilege, profoundly changes the forms of political power” (Lensky, 2002: 75). The institutionalisation of power in turn brought about the birth of law, identifying itself with it, just as Justice is the supreme guarantor of law, preserving, through sovereignty, the inviolability of the Constitution. In ancient Rome, suprema lex (supremacy of law) was the sacred aura of the city and the institutionalisation of law that the emperor himself feared. Any other tendency to ignore the sovereignty of the law by undermining the Republic degenerated into conflict. An eloquent example of conflict was between the Roman Senate and Julius Caesar (101-44 BC), a personality who undermined the republican traditions. He was killed in a despicable manner, but his reform was completed in 23 BC by his sister's son, Octavianus Augustus (62 BC-14 AD), an ambitious young man who became the first emperor with divine rights. The law ensures the continuity of the institutions and the institutions in turn guarantee the action and purpose of the law. The Roman Senate remains a living example of the classical institute, which reappeared later in 1295 in the form of the British 221 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Parliament imposed by Edward I (1239-1307). The Roman Senate is thus an ancestor of today's parliamentary system, which in many countries is considered the most representative expression of a democratic regime. Parliament is the institutional image of the people applying the law of unanimity of votes by legitimately established majority force, thus its legislative impact becomes evident in the political system. The people and the state coexist, therefore, around the phenomenon of the institutionalisation of power and are often seen in a certain unity, as a normality resulting from the strong links that rest on a common ground. A correct understanding of this people-state relationship is a first condition, which is essential in explaining the political system. The indivisibility or identity of the interests of the people and the state must not lead to a juridical confusion of these two categories. The people and the state are separate subjects of law. The organisation of human society into a State has not always been successful, and the factors that make up the State retain their legal aspect and identity. Along with the thinkers who analysed the beginnings of modernity in Romanian society (Kogălniceanu, Maiorescu, Iorga, Stere, Rădulescu-Motru, etc.), Constantin Schifirneț proposes a novel concept that defines the evolution of modernisation in economically underdeveloped countries. “Modernity is an effect of modernisation. There is no modernity without modernisation. Modernity is a standard that represents an evolutionary goal of societies, and modernization is the process of achieving it” (2016: p. 41). The transition from the assertion of the national spirit in the interwar period to the economic development of the communist period of the 1970s-80s' and then the collapse of the indigenous economy in the transition period generated the necessary conditions for a tendential modernization. Modernisation is the engine of development that defines modernity, marking a country's economic leap towards the top, without, nevertheless, omitting the field of culture. The association of 'modernisation' with the determinative 'tendential' is justified and decisive for the diagnosis of a society struggling to emerge from Europe's grey zone. The wrong approach often puts us in an inferior position, which justifies the “benevolent” attitude of 222 Sacred and political power Westerners. The national spirit of humility, which Romania does not deserve, has been inscribed in the theory for forms devoid of substance. The main obstacle to modernisation in the Romanian countryside was the very method of urbanisation applied during the communist period. The rural population was not prepared for the change brought about by the scale of forced industrialisation. In many cases, the rapid translocation of young people from the village to the city led to isolation and alienation. In the urban environment, the life of the young farmer's son was full of material opportunities, but the price paid had some disadvantages such as the emergence of alienation. The former communist states focused on the economic side and less on social development. After the 1990s, the harmful privatisation of large branches of industry and agriculture led to a weakening of the national economy. Romania became a free state, with a vulnerable economic development that set it on the trend towards modernity. Compared to Western countries, the radiography of Romanian society reveals stagnation in an eternally backward world, unable to recover its lost place and time. Modernity gradually made its way through the affirmation of the national spirit, especially during the Pasoptists, when the young nations emerged from the tutelage of the old nobility. In the light of self-assertion, the new peoples legitimised their existence around the principle of sovereignty dominated by a politics of identity realised in the nation-nationalism category. The process of coagulation of the new institutional structures induced a genuine need for the representation of an autonomous government. The nationalism of the Pasoptists was vindicated by the revolutionary struggles led by the new elites, who proposed grand and bold projects, and the new power needed the sacrifices of generations capable of offering alternatives to the old order. The people are the true representatives of political power, and Parliament is beginning to play the most important role in the history of European democracies. The concept of the people is reduced to a specific scale of representation, by taking power and maintaining an active link between rulers and governed. By understanding the idea of people and nation, the legal subject becomes the pivotal support of the modern state. The term 223 SEBASTIAN FITZEK State (lat. status meaning state in place, stability or from the expression: status in statum meaning state in the state) appears with its present meaning in the Renaissance, in Niccolo Machiavelli's work “The Prince” (1513). Although the word has direct etymological references from Latin, the ancient Romans perceived in the word “status” an expression of law in which private and public matters were differentiated. “Publicum jus est quod ad statum rei romanae spectat, privatum quod ad singulorum utilitatem pertinet”, (Public law refers to the organization of the Roman state; private law concerns private interests) (Bob, Hanga, 2009: 29). In the context of modernity, the state is a subject of public and private law, both branches being materialized in the legal process of institutionalization. From a political perspective, the state is a complex community with well-differentiated, structured, hierarchical and institutionalized power that exercises sovereignty over a certain territory delimited by borders and is governed by a contract or consensus established between rulers and ruled. The state is a complex system of public authorities and, in this configuration, political leaders are no longer sovereigns of the law, but merely executors of a constitution that oversees the overall harmony of the political system. The state is the organised power of the people, or more precisely, it is the institutionalised form of this power. In its current meaning, the state is a form of organisation of political society, and is the most authentic expression of institutionalised political power (there are other types of power in society, as well as non-institutionalised political power). The state represents the central power in opposition to the local power, as are designated rulers in power with representatives in opposition, in an ensemble of public forces and in opposition to civil society. From these ideas, four essential characteristics of the state emerge:  sedentarisation of the population in a given territory;  institutionalisation and centralisation of political power;  form of organisation and management of a human community;  the existence of a ruling group vested with governing powers (Frigioiu, 2009: 125). 224 Sacred and political power State power derives primarily from coercive authority which is exercised, if necessary, by force. We have mentioned here the existence of other types of power, and therefore other types of authority. State power is the last in chronological order; in the beginning, authority was exercised under the family head's gentle protection over the other members. Also included in this context is the authority of the master over the slave, and then the authority of the master over the employee or of the ruler over the governed. Almost all primitive societies speak of a personified political authority, that of the head of a clan, tribe, etc. Over time, authority became detached from the person who exercised it and whose legitimacy, in the legal sense, derived from his personal merits, and was constituted as a distinct and abstract reality. Today, this authority has developed into a complex apparatus with a set of bodies and institutions. The state is and remains the main political institution. The French anthropologist Lapierre observed that, just as the first forms of the state came into being with the appearance of man on earth and materialised through the process of hierarchisation and institutionalisation of political power, likewise the state can only disappear from the stage of history with the disappearance of humanity. Even if the state takes on other advanced forms of organisation, such as the concept of the multinational state, the Euroregion, the federation, etc., the essence of the state always revolves around political life, regardless of its future development. 225 Sacred and political power CHAPTER IX THE LEGITIMACY OF POLITICAL POWER AND THE SACRED IN MODERN SOCIETY In this chapter, I set out to analyse the process of inter-human interactions and relationships, specific to postmodern societies, through influence. The topicality of this theme is due, in particular, to the transformation of certain types of professional relationships into types of political relationships through the intensification of influence. The characteristics of the new types of relations have often led to a total and sometimes violent fusion of social and political power. What role does the sacred play in the current process of influence, how important is deontic authority in this new equation, what are the new structures of these relationships and not least, what effects are emerging at a broader social level. These are the questions I seek to answer in the following pages. 9.1. Influence and authority in governance A general review of standard theories of influence shows a direct approach of this field to the sphere of political power as the main focus of modern political science. In the current social context, however, the exercise of influence takes on a strong psychosocial character, including in apolitical institutional settings. Influence processes should theoretically exist in any kind of political relationship that manifests itself from one person to another, from one group to another, as well as in the institutional relationships specific to any political system. Influence means “that genuine change in preferences” (Olsen & Marger, 1993: 23) of an individual who changes his or her behaviour freely, without constraint. Influence does not involve the intervention of force, as in the case of 227 SEBASTIAN FITZEK political power, but can change behaviour through the use of a “generalised mechanism of persuasion” (Parsons, 1966: 231). In this relationship, the influence-generating sender cannot be successful with the receiver without the prior existence of some kind of authority. In this sense the question arises: to what extent can the type of authority intervene in the success of influence? Thus, it seems that the submission of individuals to a certain form of authority produces the phenomenon of influence; from the perspective of the behaviour of a political leader, two types of authority are legitimised: deontic authority and epistemic authority. “Influence and authority, as correlative elements of political power draw their strength from epistemic and deontic models that generate prestige and admiration for a leader, a political style or an era” (Frigioiu, 2001: 86). The two types of authority guarantee the moral and professional value of the sender in any type of relationship with his receivers. A leader who ignores the morality of his own actions, through the lack of deontic authority, inevitably generates a pathological influence, with a negative finality, regardless of the background. In this analysis, the role of deontic authority in political communication is given priority attention. This type of authority appears to be value-superior to the epistemic condition, especially in the case of an elite, influence-generating leader or ruler. In turn, the presence of influence in the socio-political space cannot be counted as a benefit for the public or private good, especially in the absence of moral behaviour. Consequently, it can be said, in the first instance, that influence has either a moral or an immoral effect, depending on the presence or absence of deontic authority, regardless of the inter-human relationship or the type of professional, managerial or political position. Also, this phenomenon acquires a form of influence in the institutional area outside politics, such as schools, universities, etc. In Romanian society, the process is known as a phenomenon of politicization of society, especially in terms of conflict of interest. Unfortunately, this phenomenon causes a vicious chain that leads to 228 Sacred and political power the formation of pathological types of relationships, hierarchies and stratifications. Nepotism is constructed to the advantage of personal interests, and in particular, to the detriment of the general interest or the public good. It is obvious that social influence exists everywhere and that influence cannot be attributed to an apriori good or bad character. In the case of the relationship between influence and deontic authority, a change in behaviour cannot be ruled out. The lack of deontic authority in the process of influence leads to an inability to change behaviour, resulting in a type of coercive subordination. If fear predominates in these types of relationships outside the political or military environment, then a manifestation of pathology occurs. If the process of influence is completed outside the deontic authority, then the effect obtained by the sender towards the receiver only generates a form of subordination. Technically, fear is the most important symbolic resource of political power, and when a sender uses it outside the legal, political or military space, the deontic character of authority disappears. In this case, force, threat and coercion modify the behaviour of the receiver by nullifying individual freedom. The category of ruling elites is excluded from this analysis, given the value of the term elite; their act of influence implicitly implies the unquestionable presence of deontic authority. The other types of relations, which include ordinary, non-elite actors or leaders, are critical groupings in the political system, responsible for decisions on the overall development of a society. 9.2. The impact of deontic power, influence and authority on behaviour The indestructible connection of the three elements has contributed to the formation of certain behavioural structures that are a focus of study in psychosociology. The multiple relationships between influence and power are known through the prism of relationships built around intermediate concepts such as prestige or political authority. The following question arises with regard to these relationships: does influence only manifest itself in the service of desires with moral effect in the social environment? In other 229 SEBASTIAN FITZEK words, can influence become a concrete example of causality in terms of changing one person's reactions as a result of another person's actions, so that the subordinate relies more on the superior's reasoning and less on his own?40 James March and Herbert Simon's hypothesis is, in my view, a forced approach to the subordination relationship, which takes on a strictly military or coercive character. The subordinate is not influenced by the superior, but only executes the superior's order, restricting himself to a type of military or professional authority. Professionally, I am referring to an organisational hierarchy which thus becomes an institutional power structure. It is worth noting the type of relationship that is not exercised through coercion, preserving the freedom of conscience to choose in the absence of subordination. In power relations it is observed that its distinct features are not separated from their interaction, asymmetry or inequality of roles between members of different groups; dependence on hierarchies, norms or rituals, in turn, arises from specific modes of organization (Măgureanu, 1997: 35). The definition of political power means that the internal axis of political power, including state power, is based on the dominance-submission relationship. The relationship is asymmetrical and implies a classification according to strength, the quality of power being of a raw nature, which does not require a qualitative differentiation as in the case of the command-submission relationship. In the first relationship, where brute force intervenes, the one who commands makes himself obeyed through fear of the other, which obstructs legitimacy, while in the second relationship, legitimacy has a social or hierarchical status. The symbiotic elements between influence and political power are relative, given certain differences that have generated a visible dichotomy. One can intuit certain subtle mechanisms of the process of influence at the social, psychological and political levels within two broad categories of societies: traditional and anti-traditional. Choosing between the two types of society allows automatic answers to be formulated about the differences in influence between the 40 This type of approach was pioneered by James March and Herbert Simon in their 1958 publication Organizations. 230 Sacred and political power traditional and secular spectrum. In both societies, influence becomes a specific integrative phenomenon in interactions between interest camps, groups or individuals. On the other hand, the comparative approach to this subject manifests itself on a historical register of time that avoids the polemic between traditional and anti-traditional. From a psychosociological perspective, the investigation of power and interpersonal influence aims to reveal how power produces influence and vice versa. According to new theories, the phenomenon of power has come to be delimited to the point of excluding most forms of influence, with a particular focus on its resources. Defining power is seen as a negative sanction.41 However, the study of status characteristics and the study of the horizon of expectations are interconnected by the projected perception of influence, which in this case is considered to be a result of the competencies required by each individual or group. Influence is undoubtedly present “where the advice of an individual/group who has demonstrated competence is heeded” (Willer, Lovaglia, Markovsky, 1997: 572). Regardless of the perspective, in order to decode the power-influence relationship and the new boundary between the social and the political, a cycle of ideas must be traversed that traces a cognitive and axiological evolutionary line from homo religiosus to homo socialis, from primitive social structures to traditional or modern states, from privilege and prestige to the non-coercive nature of political power. 9.3. Power and privilege Gerhard Lenski's view of power as a way of distributing resources based on the postulates of human nature in which the individual is formed becomes relevant to this study. In the first postulate, the author identifies in the treatment of human nature a “bizarre dualism” represented by human action and based on the conflict of personal versus group interest and vice versa (Lenski, 2002: 61). “This suggests that power alone governs the distribution 41 See the theories of power proposed by Emerson (1962), Cook (1978), Willer (1987), Markovsky (1988). 231 SEBASTIAN FITZEK of rewards. [...] Most essentially selfish interests can only be satisfied by establishing relationships with others. Cooperation is also absolutely essential for survival, [...] in other words, man's selfish interests compel him to remain a member of society and take part in the division of labour” (2002: 61-62). From his observations, it follows that the division of labour is organised through the formation of economic groups as a reaction of a survival instinct. In other words, human selfishness determines the sociability of individuals or, by multiplying the power of individuals, the stability of each individual is ensured. Based on this observation, Lenski states that “people will share the product of their labour to the extent necessary to ensure the survival and productivity of others whose actions are necessary or beneficial to them” (2002: 62). However, his statement may also be open to criticism if other motivational factors (idealism, mutual aid, etc.) that can lead to the cohesion of a professional group are excluded. His observation is correct along the lines of group interests concerning the division of labour or contractual relations between employers and employees built around mutual rights and obligations. The second variable or second postulate proposed by Lenski explains power and privilege based on Weber's definition of political power, according to which individuals fulfil their desires regardless of the acceptance of others. At this point: 'privilege becomes an essential function of power and, very rarely, a function of altruism' due to egoism considered a native human trait (Lenski, 2002: 63). The goal, in the Machiavellian sense, can be achieved by nefarious means, just as the Latins expressed this right in the following phrase: 'quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi' (what is permitted to Jupiter, is not permitted to the ox). The third important element in Lenski's equation is prestige, a notion that relates to both power and privilege. Thus, prestige becomes an essential function of power, along with privilege, which ultimately determines an orderly distribution of power in any society. Power becomes a key variable in the triad, because through it the other two functions are exercised, which confirms why any society becomes distributive through power, according to needs and wants. Political power includes both personal and institutional 232 Sacred and political power prestige. The mechanism of this process can be understood through the following scheme proposed by the author: Fig. 7. Privilege and prestige in power equation: POWER PRIVILEGE PRESTIGE Altruism x, y, z Source: scheme adapted from the model proposed by Lenski (2002, 63) This type of approach proposed by Lenski in the above scheme demonstrates the need for stratification that determines the process of political power hierarchy. 9.4 The pathology of power in the absence of deontic authority, a theoretical perspective From the in-depth study of the influence process in Lenski's theory, without taking into account prestige as an essential factor of the scheme, we deduced another perspective of power: pathological character. The aim of this theory aims at an extension of conventional influence theory into the sphere of social reality, regardless of the system or subsystem in which a change in human behaviour is operated. The theory goes beyond the space of the political system limited to the problem of goods and values distribution. Influence is a result of a relational process that can be achieved in terms of prestige; if this prestige is perverted by the lack of deontic authority, then the effect generates a relationship of pathological character. This is the pathology of power that can extend from the political sphere to any other social system or structure. The theory represents the outline of a relationship closer to the Romanian reality through which the negative phenomenon of influence could be explained, taking Lensky's theory as a starting point. In this respect I present the following scheme: 233 SEBASTIAN FITZEK Fig. 8. The pathology of power and influence in the absence of deontic authority EMITTER PATHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE RECEIVER BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE  BY CALLING ON THE AUTHORITY OF SERVICE PERSONAL POWER PURPOSE  PERSONAL ACCUMULATION OF EGOCENTRISM BENEFITS Source: innovated scheme based on Lenski (2002) model Proposing this scheme or theory does not claim innovation, but rather, demonstrates the relevance of the influence - deontic authority connection, especially in terms of the moral quality of the emitter, leader or ruler. Lack of deontic authority can only lead to pathological behaviour for the receiver affected by this harmful type of power. It is obvious that the abuse of influence, which is very common in the political environment, also manifests itself in other social environments. But the worst thing happens when the pathology of this type of influence begins to manifest itself in health, media, education, economy, administration or justice. We should consider, for example, the Romanian Television or Radio Broadcasting, institutions of public interest accused of politicisation, to the detriment of public service. “The signatory organisations protest against the way in which the draft law on the organisation and functioning of the Romanian Broadcasting Company and the Romanian Television Company was voted by the Senate's Committee for Culture, Arts and Mass Media and ask the Senate plenary to re-examine the law by sending it to the specialised committee for a supplementary report, in accordance with Article 105 of the Senate's Rules of Procedure or, if not, to reject it by the plenary. (...) Beforehand, representatives of trade unions, media NGOs and journalists accredited to the parliament were expelled from the hall. (...) In its approved form, the draft law has been diverted from its main purpose: ensuring the independence of the two institutions and their representativeness throughout society.”42 42 http://www.paginademedia.ro/2010/06/societatea-civila-protesteaza-nu-se-asiguradepolitizarea-tvr/ 234 Sacred and political power Public television and radio are not the first of its kind; this phenomenon has recently become a tradition fed by public scandals that constantly erupt with every change of government. The mixture of political and personal interests violates the rule of the democratic game in Romania and has become normal. The pathology of power and influence has come to control the most important areas of the social system, from politics to all structures, which has turned normality into pathology. In conclusion, the pathology of influence in normal relations between people and institutions eventually leads to pathology of behaviour. The effects are disastrous, by undermining normality. The individual who does his duty responsibly to his job description risks becoming an outsider to the system of which he is a part. As a result, the most serious risk in such a sick system would be that behaviourally healthy individuals are excluded on grounds of incompatibility by other members who have adapted to the new norms induced by corrupt bosses. 9.5. Homo religiosus and homo socialis in terms of the sacred-power-influence relationship Political anthropology studies the genesis and evolution of political forms in different peoples, addressing the problems of power genesis and early state institutions in connection with the living structures of societies. In this context, the concept of power is at the heart of anthropological approaches, as a shaping principle in the act of birth of social phenomena. In this sense, it is interesting to investigate the problematics of the sacred and power in the history of interdisciplinary exchanges between anthropology, ethnology, linguistics and sociology. From a linguistic perspective, the sacred is defined as: 'someone or something that cannot be touched without being tarnished or without defiling' (Caillois, 2006: 39). The definition of the sacred as a basic structure that includes the phenomenon of power is completed by political anthropology through the linguistic approach, adding the essential element of ritual manifestation in primitive man. In this game, power is, above all, an image, namely: “the sacralised image of difference, of the 235 SEBASTIAN FITZEK other” (Balandier, 1998: 101). The archetypal image of brute power is based on the simple domination-submission relationship in the animal, and is transformed in humans into command-obedience. In this process a socialization takes place through the sum of common interests, which finally leads to the crystallization of society, and later, based on the supreme principle of government, is completed by a third complex relationship through the contract between the governors and the governed. The study of the sacred as a social phenomenon has two important currents: on the one hand, the sociological theory of the sacred (with its roots in ethnological research on mana and totems), and on the other, a line of research which places religious man at the centre and explains the evolution of the religious phenomenon. The second theory deals with the origin of the sacred as an extrasocial, superior, invisible and uncontrollable power in human existence. This supernatural comes from an area where living communication between existence and the sacred is formed. On the other hand, this power, through its mystery, arouses the sensation of inner fear, which operates a transformation of the dominionsubmission relationship into a transcendent relationship between Creator and created. The presence of the sacred in totemism enriches primitive religion with new nuances of hierophany: sanctity, intangibility, thaumaturgy, invocations, revelation, religious mystery (a sense of mystical thrill leading to a feeling of touch and contact between the profane and a higher world, a world which they will inherit after death). Religion develops progressively, in parallel with new forms of cultural knowledge, passing through well-defined stages according to space and time. The influence of religion has no natural causes brought about by the laws of matter or physics. Julien Ries states that the study of religion is based on homo religiosus and not on society (2000: 5-7). His observation helps us better understand the future homo socialis. The influence of religion has its source in man's inner world, modifying his entire reference system. Gradually, these new mystical and religious elements became the first rules of behaviour, the first habits and the first causes that determined man's evolution from nature to culture. 236 Sacred and political power On the other hand, in Durkheim's view, religion remains a natural movement within history, separating the visible from the invisible world through the sacred-profane category (1995 :45). The French sociologist defines religion through the sacred, as an invisible power manifested in the totemism of primitive religions. In his view, mana is defined as an inner force present in each member of the clan, constituting the core of religious phenomena. Around this force orbits the entire existence of religious man. Mana is the matrix of the sacred, placed at the origin of primitive religions. This notion allows the discovery of the whole successive chain of the constitutive elements of the sacred, starting with the mana characteristic of Polynesian societies, taboo customs, gods, demons and up to the pneuma of the Gnostics (Culianu, 1999), all of which mark a dichotomous separation between the sacred and the profane, between the two contradictory worlds, or between the explicable and the inexplicable. Both areas are governed by a common principle of power which, in homo socialis, will have important political consequences. We are confronted with the existence of two hierarchies: a vertical hierarchy of value, of the spirit governed by religious and political phenomena, and a horizontal hierarchy, in the sense of the extension of matter into areas such as economics, science, technology and politics. The second type of hierarchy follows the conditions under which matter serves human physical needs. Economic concerns have indirectly aimed at a diminishing hierarchy of religious values. From this point on, religion follows an entirely different path. Religion lays the foundations of religious phenomena through the manifestation of the sacred, just as economics is ascendant through the development of its basic branches: the development of the market, technology, trade, forecasting, mathematics, logic, etc. Religion establishes the origin of divine power as the primordial force that laid the foundations of existence, advocating creationism, while science, through research and studies, is aligned with a philosophy outside of divinity. The power of the sacred thus recomposes the genesis of the first manifestations of human intelligence, decisively influencing the evolution of a particular species by delimiting the development of matter (of the physical body) from that of the spirit. Man is freed from 237 SEBASTIAN FITZEK the 'curse' of a common species, his spirit soaring into the realms of absolute knowledge. Religious power differs from any other power, projecting homo religiosus towards those heights that embody divine knowledge. Homo religiosus is ready to understand and imitate the lost paradise, organising his social life in a perfectible system, following the model of the divine citadel. Contact with the world of the sacred subsequently determined his entire evolution. An absolutely natural conclusion would subject the sacred to a deterministic logic. Could man have formed a complex and intelligent way of life in which politics, economics, art, culture or even science could have projected him towards heaven without first having had contact with the sacred? Didn't this very attraction to divine nature give him the wings to philosophize and to ask himself the most important questions summarized by Kant (What can I know? What must I do? What can I hope for?), through which man becomes a thinker of the transcendent and the Dasein (of Heideggerian philosophical existence) and through which he explains the phenomenon of the divinity of creation? In the end, did not this very calling determine man's supreme leap from nature to culture, and did not this leap justify the emergence of the state as a projection of the sacred into the immanent, by imitating an ideal world, a supernatural hierarchy? The essence of Homo religiosus could be due to feelings of admiration, fear, respect and love for a being superior to himself. This is how the first kind of hierarchy of value in human history was constituted, beyond the hierarchy of force, generating that feeling of domination - submission. Homo religiosus was always subject to the supernatural, finally succeeding in dominating nature and his fellow man. Today, the modern homo socialis no longer feels the need to submit to a divine force, but he certainly wants to dominate his fellow man. The difference between the two types of domination is major. In the first type of domination, the divine prevails through a certain value system that is well articulated, complex and beneficial to man, whereas today's social man has placed himself at the top of the pyramid out of his own selfishness and to the disadvantage of others. Instinct is common to both man and animal. Instinct is not enough to generate the idea of consciousness. This process of 238 Sacred and political power forming consciousness was primarily due to its contact with the sacred. In the beginning, man correctly perceived the idea of a being and of a Creator who brought this being into existence. Regarding the relationship between man and divinity, cosmogonies, eschatologies and myths bear witness to this. Homo religiosus is the result of two powers: the sacred and the profane. This alchemy of power explains the succession of the extremes of good and evil, divine - demon as organic structures of human nature. Man becomes at the same time both mortal and immortal thanks to these two powers. Man becomes aware of his own immanent death, and the second power, faith, springing from inner sacredness, ensures his continuity through his rebirth in a future world. His faith is the path of life to salvation from spiritual death. In conclusion, the hermeneutics of this idea becomes common in almost all types of religious faith. 9.6. From the sacred to the conditions of social life statehood The complex forms of organisation of a human community or a state are beyond historical imagination. At this point, the intervention of anthropology as a science becomes important. The famous French anthropologist Jean William Lapierre, in his book Life without a State? An Essay on Political Power and Social Innovation, contributes the idea that the embryonic forms of the state are apriori to earthly life (1997: 56); thus, the genesis of the state can be considered a component of the genesis of life. The state cannot be placed somewhere in history, because it became operational with the emergence of the human species, first becoming an embryo that develops concomitantly with the spread of the first dyads (a couple formed between a woman and a man). Power derives from hierarchy, and relations between members become actions based on the principle: obedience-command. Man submits to man by consensus. Zoon politikon cannot have the same power as his fellow human being because his very nature as a social being obliges him to cooperate. Cooperation means listening to the other without the intervention of force. To cooperate implies mutual 239 SEBASTIAN FITZEK influence, although there will always be a sender and a receiver, a subject who will exercise power over the other. In love, marriage, the social contract or any other type of agreement there is a principle of power asymmetry. According to Balandier's theory: “the state always preserves the characteristics of the church, being even at the end of a long process of secularization. It is in the nature of power to maintain, in a visible or disguised form, true political religion' (1998: 120). Thus Georges Balandier observes the coexistence of two interlinked phenomena in the case of the sacred-power relationship: the first is the sacralisation of an order necessary for security and prosperity (order referring to form), the other process being the recourse to force, which enables ordering (the reference to power is obvious in this case). Ritual is responsible for maintaining order, while the representation of force is conferred by political action. Both phenomena, Balandier concludes, contribute to obedience to an overall order as a condition of social life (1998: 120-122). 9.7. Anthropological critique of ethnocentrism in the political power debate Since the main anthropological interrogations have been structured around statehood (understood as the institutionalization of coercive power), the research will focus on the major differences between homo religiosus and modern man. These differences do not refer to the genesis of politics in the debate on the origin of power. I recall here the famous dispute between two French anthropologists, Lapierre and Clastres, who polemicized on the question of power. Man is, by his social nature, a marvellous political animal43, an attribute which has contributed to the formation of political behaviour, regardless of national culture or degree of ethnocentrism. Clastres harshly criticises the inevitability of ethnocentrism. For Lapierre, the notion has become a general conception, since every culture is by 43 Zoon politikon, in ancient Greek has a meaning closer to what we would today translate social being. When I say political animal I mean strictly the meaning of being as an expression defining only human nature, separate from any other interpretation or resemblance to any other species. 240 Sacred and political power definition ethnocentric in its narcissistic relation. However, a considerable difference separates Western ethnocentrism from its primitive counterpart: 'the savage of an Indian or Australian tribe considers his culture superior to all others, without bothering to hold a scientific discourse on them, whereas ethnology wants to place itself in the element of universality from the outset, without realising that it remains in many respects firmly installed in its particularity and that its pseudo-scientific discourse quickly degrades into veritable ideology' (Clastres, 1995: 23-24). Scientific discourse, which defends a particular type of culture, is a discourse that denies its universal character, and projecting the particular elements of a culture onto a standard valid for all other types, hierarchized on a lower scale, is a prerogative of ideology that is guilty of a serious error. On the other hand, Lapierre considers that, whatever the ethnology, the essence of politics is derived from the key relationship of leadership and submission, which forms the two lots of power: “a specific relationship is established between those who exercise power and the other members of the group; it consists in the communication and execution of decisions (...) to communicate a decision for execution is to lead. To respond to this communication by carrying out the current actions by judgment means to obey” (Lapierre, 1997: 74). In Clastres' conception, anthropology cannot evolve if it fails to categorically separate itself from ethnocentrism (1995: 26). This observation can contribute to the criticism of the phenomenon of europocentrism present in many classical anthropological treatises. In the absence of a cultural yardstick, the tendency of appreciation or classification induces the need to differentiate between political cultures. However, it can be concluded that the theory presented by Clastres is revolutionary in nature, denying anthropological evolutionism and hierarchies of societies according to the degree of institutionalization of coercive power. For the French anthropologist, there are two fundamental types of power - coercive and non-coercive - both of which have the same function (of maintaining equilibrium in the social body), but the way they are exercised differs. Non-coercive 241 SEBASTIAN FITZEK power, however, has a double meaning: understanding through meaning and law accepted by consensus. What the author ignores, however, is the fact that, in the case of law or custom, the ritual that becomes law - violation of tradition entails punishment as the primary form of coercion, so non-coercive power cannot escape authority because consensus presupposes the existence of an understanding, a pact that respects a certain hierarchy of values. Violation of it establishes punishment as a discipline within any human community. The distinction between non-coercive and coercive is non-existent as long as, by the nature of human being, any pact or consensus deliberates the natural repair of things. The controversy surrounding the two terms cannot determine the actual differentiation of facts, as long as every human action becomes a social and, ultimately, a political action. Coercion and authority confer legitimacy by consensus or contract, regardless of the evolutionary level of any human community. The role of political anthropology makes it possible first of all the abstract understanding of the political phenomenon which, as noted, comes from the genesis of the sacred. Instead of explaining the specificity of homo sacer through an ambiguity of the sacred embedded in the notion of taboo, I will attempt to interpret sacratio as an autonomous figure. I wonder whether the original political structures have their place in a zone that precedes the sacred-profane or even religious-legal distinction. Thus, sacratio can be seen as the point of convergence for the two powers: the physical and the sacred, which through their connection become an ambivalent force. In the case of the tribal chief or political leader, his action is composed of the existence of both natures. He decides not only for a permutation of purely physical elements like objects on a chessboard, but also for the purpose that gives him the nobility of deeds, the good of the community, etc. The boundary of the two worlds disappears into an indecipherable ambiguity, and from the balance established between the two powers comes political balance. The theory proposed by Georges Balandier reveals a new facet of the problem under analysis, with the following observation: 'power will be defined as resulting, for any society, from the need to fight against the entropy that threatens it with disorder - as it 242 Sacred and political power threatens any system' (1998: 12). Is disorder a word that induces order, forcing brute power to manifest itself through force? Intervention in chaos calls for divine force. Recall the grand picture of Creation in biblical Genesis, God's work over six days in which everything came into being through the process of separation, heaven from earth, light from day, waters from land, the living from the dead. Power was thus manifested through the living force of separating things, a process that allowed order to be established in chaos; actions resisted entropy so as not to finally undo the system. At key moments, the sovereign appealed to celestial forces belonging to mythical worlds. One of the most relevant examples is gnosis, in which the idea crystallized that God represents the power generated by the incarnation of the Word, an order expressed by the phrase: and the Word became flesh, and in Christianity this power is interpreted as the form of existence of love manifested through the word, and therefore through communication: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word became flesh (i.e. became the concrete form of divine action). Thus the Word determines divine power or communication, nullifying cosmic entropy. 9.8. Power and influence The evolutionary path that I outlined aims to address the primary socio-political elements through notions that underpin the entire social construct. From the dual nature of homo sacer to the consolidation and understanding of modern state mechanisms, political power and its forms are central to the shaping of new interhuman relations as well as to the mapping of a framework, allowing a clear visualization of mutations in the context of socio-political relations. The role played by coercion and authority in legitimising the consensual nature of political power has had as a desideratum the outlining of a solid conceptual framework necessary for the construction of the power-influence relationship. The structural theory of power (developed by the authors Willer and Markovsky - from 1981 to 1993) can be connected with the theory of status characteristics (which is directly related to influence and was developed by Berger and Conner in 1966 and 243 SEBASTIAN FITZEK reformulated in 1985). With regard to this relationship the question arises: does power produce influence or does influence produce power? In order to formulate an argument either pro or con, I shall note the lack of the intrinsic aspect of the person in charge. Specifically, influence can be defined as distinct from power, which is a change in a belief, attitude or expectation, without involving coercive procedures. However, one cannot deny the veracity of defining social power as “a change on individuals caused by the actions of other individuals” (Willer, Lovaglia, Markovsky, 1997: 573). As a result, political power is an equivalent of influence. Regardless of how the terms power and influence are defined, the antecedents and consequences of the two notions are not similar. Placing power within systems and institutions (exchange networks) implies an exchange of actors within these structures. In the case of status theory, interpersonal influence has a major impact on the prestige and status of members of a group. Thus, obedience and conformity to an individual's requirements can be explained by the expectations created with regard to the required competences. The acceptance of convergence points leads to a reciprocal relationship in which power results in influence and vice versa. The conditions under which these two notions come to form a causal relationship differ for each individual process. In order to demonstrate this, we must start from the context in which the exercise of power is produced indirectly, without introducing power structures into the equation. Thus, influence can produce power through expectations that derive from social status. On the other hand, the outcomes and conditions following a coercive power are different from those following processes of influence. The paradox derives from the combination of opposing elements of power and influence that can be included in a perfectly unified social relationship. In conclusion, power, influence and deontic authority together form an ideal symbiosis of sacredness necessary for any leader who loves his own subjects, whether subordinates or governed. Modern society has sought to exclude religion from the process of educating individuals, replacing sacredness with scientific dialectic according to the dominant ideology. It cannot be overlooked that this perception of the sacred could not be conveyed in any other way than through a 244 Sacred and political power theory that includes what leaders lack today. The answer offered in this chapter is to be found in the pathological scheme of power inspired by Lensky's theory. This schema demonstrates the major importance of deontic authority in the act of influence. A political leader can pass the test by fulfilling his duty, by keeping his word and by keeping his promises, whether these promises concern the rich man or the poor. Deontic authority defines a man of character who keeps his word and is not a demagogue. In politics, a man is a person who conscientiously fulfils his duties and meets the expectations of his electorate. It is worth remembering that deontic authority is the main quality or value that subsequently ensures not only constant public prestige but also charisma. 245 Sacred and political power CHAPTER X RELIGION AND POWER IN POST-DECEMBER ROMANIA “For against the truth we have no power; we have power for the truth” (Bible, Corinthians II, 1994: ch.13, v.8). The 20th century was a difficult period for the Romanian social environment, a century of uncertainty and great historical antagonisms. In a relatively short period of time, Romania went through three different political regimes: from monarchy to dictatorship and then to a fragile democracy. The time of mediation and transition was relatively short, if we think of the establishment of communism in 1944-1947. The road to democracy found Romania unprepared for radical reforms. Comparing the last two political systems, I find that both regimes aimed to increase welfare, with different means and effects. The construction of a classless society was the ultimate goal of the single party through the formation of a communist society (Statute of the Romanian Communist Party, 1965: 9). The programmatic role of vertical and later horizontal socialist development presupposed the mobilisation of all forces in one direction. To this end, the working class was decreed as the ruling class of society. The change of social classes took place against the backdrop of a continuous revolution, a project which resulted in the de-establishment of private property, private space, civic and political freedoms. The finality of the communist project was conditioned by the conversion of the old man to the new man, a prototype with utopian ambitions, decerebrated, abolished by the atavistic feeling of ownership, ignoring two essential human characteristics: the right to possession and freedom. For Marx and Engels, “the possessing class and the class of the proletariat represent the same alienation of man 247 SEBASTIAN FITZEK from himself. But the first class feels satisfied and affirmed in this self-estrangement, it sees in estrangement its own power and possesses in it the appearance of a human existence; the second feels annihilated in this estrangement and sees in it its own powerlessness and the reality of an inhuman existence” (Marx and Engels, Works, Vol. 2, p. 39). In this context, social welfare was a collective problem that required the annihilation of conflictual states. The opposition between the two classes comes from the oppressed class, and its mission is justified by the revolt against injustice. The antagonism between the two classes is heightened by the opposition between the possessor and the non-possessor, in the midst of which private property is the apple of social discord. The trap of time has shown that the so-called classless society has not respected any of the plans and horizons of Marxist thought. The accumulation of capital quickly became a matter of time in the hands of the new political class, which, with certain ideologically imposed limits, enriched itself, transforming itself into a genuine aristocracy. The victory of the proletariat did not represent, in the Marxist view, the final stage of the Revolution, but the disappearance of the two antagonistic classes through the de-establishment of private property. Social well-being arises in the age of equality in which people no longer relate to each other in terms of possession. The “Critique of the Gotha Programme” (1875) explains the mechanism of possession in the phrase: “from each according to his ability, to each according to his work”. But the question of justice and its aspects was totally ignored by Marx. The quality of work, training and the necessary studies related to this question were not a legitimate benchmark for Marxists to consider. Communism was established in Romania against the background of proletarian internationalism. In this context, the Soviet influence could not last, and nationalism took hold with the coming to power of Nicolae Ceausescu, a promising leader, a reformer, who in 1968 had gained huge popularity at home and abroad. Welfare seemed possible with the opening to the West. After the 1980s, the same 248 Sacred and political power Ceaușescu set out to demonstrate to the West that Romania was capable of paying its debts and competing economically with the great powers. The costs were disastrous, seriously affecting the welfare of the citizens. The last Romanian communist leader lost touch with the reality that predicted the systematic collapse of the Eastern bloc. Famine eroded an ideology that could no longer support its theses, which paradoxically defined itself by the inverted image of the reality enunciated by Marx. Forced rationing of food and the breaking of ideological promises dethroned the popularity of an ambitious leader. 10.1. The communist legacy and a brief X-ray of Romanian society after '89 Freedom was artificially installed in a country lacking democratic tradition and experience, and the Revolution gave hopes that never materialised in the first years as we would have expected. Life in the 1990s revealed a weakened and disoriented Romania, rapidly slipping into depression caused by the rise of poverty, unemployment and especially the tragic image of abandoned children. The first years following the 1989 Revolution were marked by a string of illusions that collapsed into a grim reality. After the first months of freedom, migration took off in the desperate flight of young people to other countries. Romania remains an atypical country in the Christian Orthodox area, not formally differing much from its neighbours; yet this people has been martyred by long suffering, always coping with tolerance and patience. Its skills and qualities have been ignored by its own politicians, by outsiders or by the inflexible course of history. In short, post-December Romanian society has undergone a strange layering, polarising great social differences without consolidating its middle class. The bottom of society has been steadily impoverished, while the top of the pyramid has become rotten rich. After '89, the social structure split into two camps: a minority of the former and recently rich and a majority of the impoverished. Between the two camps, an under-represented segment of Romanians was created, which asserted itself on its own merits. Here I list the main causes of the dysfunctional social system: 249 SEBASTIAN FITZEK  mismanagement of resources in the interests of minority groups;  total lack of solidarity and civic attitude against the spread of corruption as a social phenomenon;  the failure to privatise Law No 58 of 14 August 1991, which resulted in massive unemployment, turning many of the communist factories into ruins;  the unprecedented devaluation of the exchange rate in a single year (1 January to 31 December 1992), in the fourfold depreciation of the national currency against the dollar, a premeditated move that impoverished a majority to enrich a minority;  the forced bankruptcy of banks and profitable industrial enterprises through financial engineering managed at the top. General indifference has gradually affected the public interest. For financial reasons, much of the media has fallen at the mercy of political interests, ultimately creating a false public interest agenda. In conclusion, the new economy has made the most of a long string of opportunities for the benefit of profiteers, and as a result of massive misinformation, poverty has deepened, silencing a majority. The transition of political regimes was accompanied by a negative demographic transition caused by several factors: economic, social, legal, legislative, cultural, health, etc. Warren Thompson (1929) and Frank Nolestein (1954) were the first authors to develop a theory on the process of demographic transition that can be verified in the case of Romania. The escape to the West in the 1990s and the first effects of the transition were brutal, producing profound social changes with an impact on mass migration, birth rates and divorce rates. The post-December political imaginary is characterized by an expression: the light at the end of the tunnel, a path paved with illusions and fragile hopes. As a result, a concept was launched that has become an emblem of powerlessness: 'transition' and its eternal light. Romania is a country where European standards seem to be swallowed up by the fascinating history of endless reforms. The oligarchic system, which has been shaped and hermetically 250 Sacred and political power organised, has no longer allowed other competitors to rise, monopolising and strangling the market. Politicians of good faith did not have long careers, being replaced in the long run by the same legendary figures of the 1990s, career 'politrucians' who quietly formed loyal alliances with the big oligarchs. The election campaigns only waved the same demagogic promises in front of the people on Election Day. Among other obstacles, the Romanian Orthodox Church: “is becoming the favourite hobbyhorse of the supporters of democratic political culture. It is transformed into a scapegoat for the political culture of submission and for the non-existence of civil society in Romania” (Frigioiu, 2007: 168). True social justice can only exist among the people through the spiritual shaping force of the church. Faith and love are the values that unite souls in a community governed by the principle of “the good of the other”. In the absence of these values, there can be no talk of a reconciling collective imaginary, as long as instead of faith and love, greed and revenge prevail. This is where we best understand the role of religious power and how this power can transform a society from the bottom up, from its social base to the top, a path that could have been pursued without both negative extremes developing to chronic proportions. The moral power of the Christian religion does not necessarily need a political party, as has been attempted in the case of the National Christian Democratic Party, but it may instead need a well-consolidated civil society, through which it can make its voice heard and act as an example to all other state institutions. Religious power is first and foremost the power of example, whereas trust in the Orthodox Church is still strong and denotes great responsibility for its actions and words when they enter the circuit of public interests. After the Revolution, Romanian political parties evolved in an uncertain democratic framework, lacking experience and a tradition of governance. The rapid succession of governments highlighted the lack of collaboration between power and opposition. The new economic challenges of Romania's integration into the European Union have highlighted the instability of the political environment, resulting in a lack of medium and long-term vision. Public projects could not be implemented due to rapid changes of ministers and 251 SEBASTIAN FITZEK governments. The new political environment resembles a scenario of an unfinished battle, with no winners or losers and many casualties and collateral losses. The struggles between the historical parties and the neo-communists marked the 30 years since the 89 Revolution and characterised a chaotic and toxic political environment. On the economic front, however, there were attempts and small victories in the sense that there were setbacks, but also progress dictated by the process of integration into the market economy. The failures at national level have diminished with the new framework of European legislation, which, on another level, pursues the same goal: the harmonisation of welfare in all Member States. The radiography is harsh, but it must be taken at its true value. The Romanian Orthodox Church had, after 89', a difficult and, in some respects, almost impossible mission. Many critics blamed it for its indifference in dealing with the image of street children, a negative brand for the country's image. Other critics accused the Church of passivity on the issue of strengthening the civil society, following the model of Catholic and Protestant countries. The Church's involvement in the old state security was the main charge. The Church survived the communist regime through some shameful compromises, which otherwise risked the Church being dismantled, following the model of the Greek Catholic Church. The Greek Catholic Church's martyrdom led to its outlawing on 1st of December 1948. The major fault of the Orthodox Church became apparent with the refusal of His Beatitude Theoctist to apologise for his past mistakes and not holding accountable those responsible for the grave violation of the priestly oath of confession. On the other hand, the same Orthodox Church also has honest people with faith in God who fought to the point of supreme sacrifice alongside the resistance army against the communists (soldiers, intellectuals and priests). The merits of the Church throughout the ages are well known and therefore the merits, sacrifices and works that have rewarded a long-suffering people cannot be ignored. For Romanian society, the Romanian Orthodox Church, through its strong connections, has maintained its role as an 252 Sacred and political power important social actor, society's trust in this institution is justified by the deep ties since ancient times. How can it be explained that a country with a high rate of severe poverty is nevertheless very active religiously? Poverty could probably be one of the reasons that strengthened faith in God. Christian philosophy supports a faith that restores balance to the world to come by reversing roles: The rich will be doomed to eternal torment, and the poor will taste the fruits of happiness in the eternal world. “And again I say to you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Bible, 1994: Gospel of Mark, chapter 19, v.24). The redemption of injustice and suffering is a thesis worth considering from several perspectives. In this context, a detailed research is needed in the area of interference between religion and power, as vectors in the configuration of the Romanian collective image. In conclusion, the disproportionate relationship between the poor and the rich strengthened faith among the many, a pattern that follows the characteristic matrix of early Christianity. If poverty strengthens faith, social injustice discourages citizens from taking civic responsibility, a notorious feature in the structuring of participatory culture. Patience in suffering, tolerance and the unhappiness generated by social injustice are the main characteristics of the Romanian people. 10.2. Social inequality versus social injustice Modern theories of social inequality have often analysed the interactive model and the conflictual model of power through the two traditions: the radical or conservative tradition and the conflictualist tradition. In the conservative, also known as functionalist theories, Talcott Parsons and his former disciple Kingsley Davis addressed the problem of inequality in general: “regarding it as a necessary feature of any functional human society. Davis summed up the functionalist approach in a single phrase: social inequality is thus an unconsciously developed tool by which societies consciously cause the most important positions to be occupied by the educated” (Kingsley, 1949: 367). Power, at the 253 SEBASTIAN FITZEK level of the individual, manifests itself in this way through interactivity, constituting a social hierarchy constructed according to merit and education. Social inequality, through the interactivity of power according to criteria of value and morality, is a guarantee established according to rules that stimulate progress through merit and reward. More precisely, the existing conflict diminishes, approaching an ideal harmony in which each individual justifies his profit according to his own capacities and powers. Functionalism therefore proposes a selective and utilitarian view of evolution (James and Pierce), but also a kind of measure of the causes that determine different behaviours or phenomena. In our case, I am referring to a whole system that regulates itself by consensus of value. Meritocracy is an example of social inequality in relation to the value of each individual occupying a position according to the principle: “the right man in the right place”. Post-December Romania was far from respecting this principle; on the contrary, it flagrantly violated it. Before 1989, posts were selected on the basis of membership of the Romanian Communist Party, and less on merit or competition. After 1989, a much more serious phenomenon was observed: high positions in the state began to be inherited according to egocentric criteria: nepotism and clientelism, causing a vertiginous drop in professional quality and a deep gap between minimum competence, which accentuated real widespread incompetence. Many European reports (Transparency International, European Commission reports, etc.) show that the Romanian political world is rife with corruption and clientelism on a constant basis. Probably, each time, personal interest has prevailed over group interests, and the struggle between interests has turned into a struggle for power and wealth. Self-interest led to decisions to the detriment of others, so that decisions and laws served only those in Parliament, not the people. “In relation to the decision-making process, two types of interests can be distinguished: primary and secondary. Primary interests are those demands of individuals and groups on decisionmaking processes, stemming from the positions they occupy in the social organization, positions constituted before and independently of the decision-making process” (Zamfir, 1990: 182). Interests, 254 Sacred and political power having reached the area of governmental power, transformed directly from lobbying into influence peddling, culminating spectacularly in processes and machinations that generated bribery and high-level corruption. Is it possible to talk in Romania about a social justice policy from a Christian perspective? It is a well-known fact that this initiative belonged to the Christian Democracy in the CDNPP (Christian Democratic National Peasant Party, founded by former political prisoner Corneliu Coposu). Unfortunately, links between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the CDNPP were almost nonexistent. And yet, the peasants tried to import a liberal, nondenominational Christian democracy, taking over the values of an indigenous historical tradition. The Christian character of its ideology crystallized on the following fundamental values:  democracy and social justice;  tradition;  enlightened patriotism;  the sacredness and uniqueness of the human being;  love of neighbour;  subsidiarity;  the social market economy of the Soziale Markwirtschaft, a concept developed by the Freiburg School of Economics. In the vision of the peasants, social justice was the main objective of reform capable of balancing the discrepancies of a cleavage created between the wealthy and the poor. The goals proposed by the re-founding of this party failed miserably after 2000. The culprits were everywhere. The CDNPP accused the opposition and coalition partners of betrayal and bad faith against the national interest. Even during the period of government, the National Peasant Christian Democratic Party developed a tenuous relationship with the Romanian Orthodox Church. It can be said that politicians in Romania used the Church only for electoral interests; thereafter everyone minded their own business. In conclusion, social inequality, lacking transparency in decision-making and equal opportunities, has inevitably led to a 255 SEBASTIAN FITZEK social injustice that is disastrous for the health of the entire socialpolitical system. Sadly, the financial system is dependent on the political system, and the justice system has sometimes been under the tutelage of politics, facing many media scandals that have damaged its image. Political decisions need visibility to keep themselves in the light of fairness, while magistrates and judges need autonomy to work in the spirit of the law and the Constitution. The judiciary is the supreme representative of deontic authority embodied in impartial facts, even in facts that concern the reality within it. The separation of justice from politics is an imperative that shields it from the evil influence of oligarchs thirsting for the subjugation of State power. 10.3. Christianity between continuity and decline in post-December Romania Romania is a country where the Christian religious imaginary plays an important role in shaping social relations and connections between the political and social environment. Spiritual Romania lives by its Christian values long preserved through the Romanian Orthodox Church. In recent years, there have been signs of a decline, or at least a weakening of trust, especially among the younger generations, signs that herald the beginning of an irreversible process of secularisation. The referendum on the family on the 6th and 7th of October 2018 has become the turning point of a possible decline or, at least, a signal of changing attitudes towards traditional values, towards the family and, implicitly, towards the Church. Regardless of one's choice on the subject, Romanian society is in the process of changing mentalities, following the Western model. Romania, always lagging behind the West, is trying to catch up with a chapter of existential dilemmas regarding tomorrow's society. The departure from traditional values is leading young people to embrace a tolerance steeped in 'politically correct' ideology, devoid of values but full of the infatuation of 'correctness': 'The social activists of CP (political correctness) are capable of destroying any opinion contrary to their convictions. Why? To preserve at all costs a fetishized diversity and a subjective truth established by their own interpretive 256 Sacred and political power practices” (Gavriluță, 2018: 89). Determining what is right and wrong refers to another totalitarian form of control over society and the individual. Romania, like other Western countries, is going through a moral crisis deepened by a globalisation torn apart by both secularisation and desecularisation, an interesting idea that Professor Nicu Gavriluță highlights in his book Noile Religii Seculare: “In conclusion, although profoundly different, secularisation/ secular religions and desecularisation/authentic religions must be taken and interpreted together. Moreover, secularization camouflages meanings of the sacred, and desecularization favors certain secular practices” (2018: 11). Leaving the fault line debate between pro- and counter-secularisation, my critical role as author is to perceive the disguised tendencies of good intentions under the cloak of any change, regardless of the two trends of globalisation. Politics draws its essence from the goal of building a better world. The projection of politics is a revelation at the confluence of the politician and the collective imagination. Revelation, however, has profoundly religious connotations and is not just about individual imagination or ideological projection. Christian theology thus distinguishes two revelations: spiritual and natural revelation (Neuhaus, 2002: 29). Spiritual revelation contains God's teaching, without which we would be totally ignorant, because these truths cannot be grasped by the limited human mind, such as the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the mystery of salvation or the Last Judgment. In the interpretation of Summa Theologiae, De Aquino shows that natural revelation embraces the whole of creation, which is like a book open before us and which we can know only by the force of our action, making it accessible even to scientific research (1997). Creation is therefore the expression of God's works, and spiritual revelation is the expression of God's Word. God cannot contradict Himself, so there can be no disagreement between spiritual and natural revelation. Faith and science do not contradict each other if, apparently, there is a disagreement, then the analysis must be directed towards the essence of knowledge, and the results will confirm or not that disagreement. The conclusion is independent of supernatural belief 257 SEBASTIAN FITZEK and can be recognised as true by all people, Christian or nonChristian. “A Christian politics, in the sense that it can be drawn directly from the Gospels, does not exist, but a politics carried out by people, who allow themselves to be inspired by Christian faith, certainly exists” (Neuhaus, 2002: 33). Christian values have inspired and laid the foundations of the European civilisation, and in the case of Romania, Orthodox Christianity has always been the foundation of Romanian culture and civilisation. A faithful citizen can more easily get involved in the civic life. At the basis of the social policy philosophy of the Romanian Orthodox Church is the Christian faith based on the sacredness of the individual and therefore on the inviolability of his rights and conscience before the state or any other organization that has the legitimacy of free consent. Faith is the source of inspiration, the means of deciphering events and combating errors such as collectivism. Faith is 'the inner source of action' (Durand, 2004: 131), a faith that has become the source of Christian civilisation. A good Christian justifies his action by his faith that all men are equal by nature, children of the same God, protected by the same Christ, regardless of race, colour, class or profession. In Christians, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has made it recognized that all are worthy of work and that all must obey him. He recognized the priority of moral values that ennoble man. The universal law of love and mercy made everyone our neighbour. All these teachings and their practical consequences overturned the selfish criteria of the world. The spiritual revolution unfolded gradually, under the inspiration of the Gospel, which shaped generations through hard work, accompanied by the blood of martyrs. Education, empathy, rituals, religious gestures, religious services, recognition of the Eucharist, signs of devotion and prayer demonstrate that the Church provides cultural and political motivations for the citizen. “Religious rites can be transformed into political rites through inversion or conversion, and the relationship between the sacred and power prolongs the relationship between divinity and the faithful through pseudo-religious practices” (Frigioiu, 2009: 187-188). Through religious rites, believers appropriate a certain type of behaviour towards the sacred and, 258 Sacred and political power through repetition, these become customs, norms or ways of perceiving and filtering the world, including for the political environment. Religious values are transmitted through rituals, becoming social values, which in turn influence all other areas and domains of life. Rituals have the power to form belief systems through repetition and habituation, and thus have the capacity to influence education. In conclusion, faith transcends our choices, being, in my opinion, a decisive condition for a correct understanding of the act of justice; in art or education, faith contributes to the formation of an ideal. In the art of government, Christianity proposes a style of governing the earthly city, following the model of the divine city. The Romanian Orthodox Church is meant to mediate believers' norms of behaviour according to Christian rules, in the name of an ideal city. To create such a place implies a deeper involvement of the Church in social life, in particular, in issues of poverty, civil society, education and, not least, aid directed towards the disadvantaged. The Church holds religious power but also holds some political power. The word of the church in Romania carries more weight than the word of a politician or even a president. Trust in this institution is a difficult task that must be met with the utmost responsibility. Mistakes in this area cost more than the mistakes of the political class, and the gestures and guidelines of the Church imply a high responsibility. The social doctrine of the Church cannot be misinterpreted by the younger generation if the teachings of the Holy Scriptures are brought up to date. Modernization and adaptation to reality are huge challenges that the Orthodox Church must somehow accept and apply; otherwise the gap may lead to a cognitive dissonance between generations. Romanians are a people with a still strong faith, although the decline has started to become evidence. Such a lively faith denotes a people influenced by sacred power. In this area, the two types of power meet regardless of their interpretations or forms. Political power and religious power should not collide or be treated separately. Both powers coexist, and through religious values political power becomes a true creative force. The society that embraces this merging of the two types of power forms a community 259 SEBASTIAN FITZEK built on solidarity, empathy, goodwill, mutual help, respect, peace and harmony. Every individual is enhanced by the law of love for others, empathy and forgiveness. The state is being transformed from a cold political institution towards the individual into a family community. The state is us, the citizens, and the quality of the whole is the sum of our qualities. The relationship between the citizen and the state or that between the state and all other institutions becomes a relationship between subjects and not between objects or mere individuals. Subjects are persons, and objectives become the ends of these persons. The person is not a mere individual, but a member of a community united in a single common body. The church governs or leads the community of souls, and the state governs the community of persons, after Church pattern. We could not be insensitive to the life of the Church. Returning to the past, with all its weaknesses, it is appropriate to highlight the role of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the affirmation of democracy after 1989'. What would Romania look like today without this social actor? The undeniably positive role of the Romanian Orthodox Church has been to continually replenish the imagination of the suffering dependent on the oxygen of hope. 260 Sacred and political power CHAPTER XI POLITICAL ELITES AND THE SACRED Ruling elites, intellectual elites or other categories or forms of elitism are defined, from my perspective, in terms of the prestige gained from deontic authority, herein lays its direct link to sacredness. The psychosocial approach to elitism aims to uncover the charismatic nature of personality as a precious human resource. Elitism incorporates deontic authority through the formation of a strong character, resistant to social pressures and through belief in one's own value system. An elite is therefore a role model and its personality is reflected in its thinking, behaviour and beneficial actions. The topic of elitism has generated passionate debates about its role in the public sphere44. The topic of elitism has generated passionate debates about its role in the public sphere and especially in the crystallization of public opinion. A proper approach to the topic presupposes a distinction regarding the role and impact of elites in the public sphere before and after the emergence of the media. Twentiethcentury communication techniques change the way elitism is selected and perceived, but not in the best sense. Elites are no longer identified by their real value, but are fabricated, totally ignoring the importance of deontic authority. Public elites, political or intellectual elites are categories still blurred by relative criteria. Prefabricated elites or elites present in the media are difficult to 44 The term public sphere retains here the meaning given by Jürgen Habermas, i.e. a public space in which the four essential conditions are guaranteed: openness, transparency, external evaluation and external regulation. 261 SEBASTIAN FITZEK differentiate, as long as today the media is the sole participant in the selection process and claims the right to create them, taking into account only the ratings, the preferences of the widest possible, often uneducated public. Altering this term has led to ambiguity, without balancing the effects of the intermingling of elites and the political area, between politicians, interests and the purchase of elites (mercenary elites). The study of elitism and elites does not require a special field of approach. The subject has a multi-disciplinary scope, requiring multidisciplinary knowledge in order to build a true picture. The debate inevitably invites a semiotisation of these fields that links sociology and political science. On the other hand, any beginning must be primarily concerned with avoiding ambiguities, eliminating possible semantic errors, as a necessary procedure for the decanting of a complex term. Within political science, the question of elites and elitism is already enjoying the popularity it has gained from the research on the optimal forms of government of elite regimes. Interest in elites dates back centuries, and research has often been influenced by different ideological positions. Due to these diverse positions there has been no consensus or terminological evolution. 11.1. General concepts of elitism The concept of elite goes beyond the threshold of mere terminological assumptions, “meaning conquering its object of reference (denotation)”, thus making it possible to describe the purpose and explain the phenomenon itself (Wilson, 1967: 18-25). As a result, semiology and an analysis explained by the basic elements that participate in making up a core is called for, using the decomposition method. A semiotic analysis needs three main components:  word;  meaning;  denotation. 262 Sacred and political power The relationship between meaning and denotation is sometimes identical. Meaning, in classical positivist logic, represents the denotation itself, i.e. the concept, which means that meaning can become the real image of the concept. The concept is only supported if it is included in a logical sentence. The verification given by truth logic is the method of testing the concept with the reality of which it is a part. The word is a cipher of a language that expresses the mental content that becomes the object of reference, more precisely the denotation. The meaning becomes the mental content itself expressed by the symbol which allows the identification of the denotation. The denotation is the class or quantity of entities identified by symbol and meaning. Synonymy, as a phenomenon, analyses first of all, the common root which is the essence of the concept of elite. Finally, phonetic differences lead to different meanings. The intended effect of the apparent sharing of meanings tries to avoid the root that links them, thus the temptation arises to consider them as concepts with separate origins, which from a denotational point of view can be a mistake. Synonymy, in this case, remains valid in the signifier debate, thus providing living proof that behind the multiplication of meanings there is a common root. The ambiguity of 'elitism' as a term in political science arises primarily because of the different meanings of the idea of elite in different centuries, cultural or intellectual environments. The semantics attached in different periods did not take into account a linear evolution, leading to a multitude of meanings that no longer preserve symbolic links with the denotation. For example, belonging to elitism presupposes the existence of a solid criterion of preestablished values. In post-1989 Romania, post-December elites have often been discussed in ambiguous terms. Did we have real elites or imposters? The confusion was generated by the question of the existence of elites before or after '89, known by several categories: elites who betrayed, revolutionary elites, dissident elites, elites of the communist regime, etc. Returning to the basic analysis, in sociology and political science we find four terms used as synonyms for the term elite:  oligarchy; 263 SEBASTIAN FITZEK  aristocracy;  ruling class;  political class. In analysing the four terms, I identify two words of Greek origin (oligarchy and aristocracy), two terms born in the English-speaking world (ruling class and political class) and the key word coming from the French language through the Latin filiation that unites all the others: élite. A careful analysis of these terms demonstrates that 'different etymologies correspond to different meanings' (Ullman, 1972: 167). The term elite, in the strictest sense, signifies the domination of a minority over a majority. From an etymological point of view, this word comes from the Latin eligere, which means to make a choice, an election of a particular object. Its current meaning appears in 16th century France, a period in which the word gives a privileged aura to a certain military body considered superior. In German, English or Italian, elite meant the chosen part of a whole, the tip of the iceberg. Returning to political science, the term is organised around two main components: 1. the minority number in relation to the majority number forming a unit; 2. the distinction created on the basis of the separation of two crowds. Unity becomes primordial, and distinction, according to certain necessary criteria, becomes heterogeneous, without prejudicing the whole, preserving the internal and external security of the group. 11.2. Aristocracy and elitism Aristocracy, in the etymological sense, means rule by the best and most educated individuals. In the Aristotelian view, aristocracy is opposed to monarchy or democracy (Aristotle, 2001: 2). The basic opposition stems from the idea that political power can be held by many individuals without the danger of being monopolised by one person. For Aristotle, aristocracy was to be transformed into politeia 264 Sacred and political power (a mixture of aristocracy and democracy), thus representing the best rational solution as a form of government. Polytheia is a government exercised by the richest and most talented individuals in the service of the common interest. The recruitment of future members and rulers requires the observance of major rules and criteria: hereditary origin (both parents, or at least the mother), wealth or census (proof of a minimum fortune), good family manners, outstanding merit within the community, etc. Not everyone could be considered an aristocrat, wealth and military duty being the essential selection criteria. The aristocracy was considered a ruling elite, distinguished by meritocracy and a select education. On the other hand, the obligation to fulfil leadership duties was guaranteed as long as power was distributed among several individuals. 11.3. Oligarchy and elitism Oligarchy can be somewhat related to the term aristocracy. Etymologically, oligarchy is the control exercised by a small number of very powerful individuals. In Aristotle's view, oligarchy is another form of aristocracy, less worthy in quality but closer to other democratic regimes. Rule by the best people of the city is replaced by ruling by the fewest wealthy people for their own benefit. The moral connotation is negative; according to Italian sociologists such as Robert Michele (1921), oligarchy is a form of political regime opposed to democracy. Democracies operate circular change of leaders and exercise bottom-up control, unlike oligarchic organisations which do not promote the idea of rotation as much as bottom-up control in favour of a small group of people, avoiding personal responsibility to the advantages of group responsibility. 11.4. Class of ruling elites The ruling class, the English synonym for ruling class in response to the French alternative (la classe dirigeante), is perhaps the best known expression that politically regenerates the idea of political group consciousness and cohesion. The ruling class becomes not only a mere minority different from the majority, but it 265 SEBASTIAN FITZEK is conscious of its position and with a high degree of internal cohesion. The Italian sociologist Vilfredo Pareto's concept of the elite, in contrast to the political scientist Gaetano Mosca's concept of the ruling class, is seen as a simple natural phenomenon of manifestation that requires a certain number of talents, of leading or non-leading skills (lions and foxes), which alternate according to the requirements of historical contexts. This view is known as elite circulation theory. Man is a being in a continuous inequality with the other, in terms of his personality, intelligence, physical strength, will, etc. Man's formation in society is influenced by the law of poverty, which shapes him according to his own needs, vices and virtues. The distribution of talents is always unequal according to power and wealth. Thus, any human society must be primarily concerned with the efficient exploitation of resources, and this goal can only be achieved by elites. The best are the most talented, capable of offering the best solutions. From the perspective of sociology, leadership by elites is the optimal way in which a society can benefit, as a result of inequality, from the distribution of talents among its members (Pareto, 1971: 70-101). In Pareto's worldview, elitocracy means bringing together the best individuals, without necessarily belonging to the ruling class. As a result, two groups emerge, the first representing the ruling class and the second the economic class. The ruling class, in Gaetano Mosca's view, is called the ruling elite, a special group, distinct and aware of its privileged position in relation to the rest. The political class is the important segment of the ruling class that monopolizes political power (Mosca, 1982: 155). The member of the ruling class considers the other members as friends and the non-members as enemies. Emphasizing the importance of the ruling class, Mosca focuses on the idea of cohesion around powerful families as well as their obsession with organization. In Marx's view, this term constitutes a categorical imperative in the struggle of the middle class, the proletariat, which is moving from the state of normality to the state of exception. Marx proposes, in the first phase, the overthrow of capitalist values, through the theory of total revolution, which transforms an underprivileged and exploited class into the supreme governing body at the political level; in the 266 Sacred and political power second phase, the export of revolution as a complex act, transforming the slogan: “proletarians of all countries, unite!” into law. However, the concept of the ruling class is closely linked to the concept of the elite, especially revolutionary elites. The concept of the ruling class focuses on the economic side, and then on the political side, and classes are determined according to the factors of production. Marx introduces the term division of labour. The minority owns the means of production, representing a separate class, the other class, the majority, owns the labour power. Under these conditions, the minority uses its advantages to generate social inequality by exploiting the real owners, the possessors of labour power. One of Marx's main themes is the subordination of the political to the economic, and this process is made possible by the state. Through the theory of revolution, the current political elites will be exchanged for revolutionary elites from the ranks of the proletariat, the only ones worthy of confidence in the finality of the noble aims of Marxism. 11.5. Modern and contemporary concepts of elitism Returning to the concept of political elite, one of the famous theories referring to the relationship between majority and minority, expressed coherently in the theory of the masses, cannot be omitted. This relationship was developed in the second half of the 19th century by Gustave Le Bon and Ortega y Gasset. The distinction which today opens up one of the main disputes surrounding the concept of elite is the moral criterion. The elite is, above all, a model for overcoming its own condition, placing itself, through its own merits and deontic authority, on a higher rung, which, however, cannot be reached without a strong spiritual will. The main characteristic of elitism is primarily moral, opposing the mediocrity of the masses (Ortega 1946: 125). In Mosca's view, the concept of elite is the way to understand the history of mankind. Thus, history becomes a science of different forms of elites. The political scientist Mosca announces the existence of two important postulates:  the axiom of the political class that postulates existence with the aim of controlling and monopolizing power; 267 SEBASTIAN FITZEK  the historical and geographical axiom responsible for the various complex forms of ruling classes according to time and place (1982: 78). In his view, political science is concerned with the study of these different classes and political formulas, and the main reasons for justifying a class are the inequality in the distribution of talents among human beings and the functional specialization specific to each society. Therefore, the power of a well-organised and conscious minority becomes, in any circumstance, unbeatable. In Ostrogovsky's intellectual tradition, the meaning of elite reveals another important significance (Ostrogovsky, 1908: 110-124). Important characteristics are generated by the domains occupied by elites within complex societies. In the first phase, the framework of organisations is occupied by elites who aspire to the highest functions according to economic rather than moral criteria. The change or rotation of these leaders will no longer take place as in democratic systems, resulting in a system of oligarchic leadership by the same leaders without interchangeability. In the second phase, they will show firmness in consolidating and stabilising power, thus providing a meritocratic guarantee of good leaders. Only under these conditions can secure economic stability be guaranteed, without placing a strong emphasis on the moral criterion. Wright Mills relies on two variables: position in the dominant institutions of society and membership of the upper classes. The first condition becomes a state of affairs specific to industrialised societies, which makes it necessary for them to be present in the three main branches of power: political, military and economic. All three are led by elites and cooperate effectively for harmonious political power (Wright, 1956: 220-251). 11.6. Contemporary elitism Contemporaneity has made many notable contributions to elite theory, and here I refer to the well-known position of the pluralists. One of the most distinguished personalities or authorities in modern political science is the American political scientist Roberth Dahl. The American political scientist would not have focused his attention on 268 Sacred and political power the problem of elitism if he had not first developed his famous theory of polyarchies with hegemonic, open and closed systems. Note that pluralism, in general, centres on the idea of a necessary elite around the vital space of economic resources dominated by dispersed inequality. In this respect, Dahl sets out six key features: 1. many different means of influencing officials, within the reach of different citizens; 2. with few exceptions, they are unequally distributed; 3. individuals who have greater access to one means have no access at all to the others; 4. no one means of influence dominates the others, at least in key decision-making; 5. with some exceptions, one means of influence is effective in a range of issues or only in certain decisions; 6. virtually no one, and certainly no group larger than a few individuals, is without means of influence (Dahl, 1961: 228). Inequality in democratic systems thus becomes an asset of resource exchange which, through local control, and without tendencies of individual capture, can lead to the harmonization of the disproportions between the poor and the rich. On the other hand, in Dahl's view, group dispersion and conscious individual responsibility lead to a positive outcome, thus eliminating the elitenon-elite relationship in favour of prestige and accountability. 11.7. Analysis of meanings The multitude of semantic explanations of the term “elite” in general, and especially in political science terminology, takes off in the context of 20th century currents of thought. An objective classification of the essential semantic and linguistic features leads to the following three important criteria: - semantic domain; - the criterion of separation between elite and non-elite; - the legitimate source of elite power. 269 SEBASTIAN FITZEK By semantic domain I mean what contributes to the concrete distinction of the term, regardless of context and time. The complex semantic ends, specific to the term, remain distinct; they can be identified as a unified whole in a common root. Elite is a result of meritocracy par excellence, namely professional and moral merit, followed by status, power or census. The elite-non-elite separation criterion does not specifically touch on the issue of the best and worst, or the strongest and weakest. This criterion aims at a certain differentiation between the specific tendencies of all kinds of elitism. For example, not every person or social group that has a higher source of income than others automatically identifies itself as elite. The possibility of being more powerful would characterise elitism; this concept is in fact intended to provide an answer to the tendencies to separate the spiritual, the sacred and the profane from the perspective of power. The concept of a powerful, minority, well-organised class, capable of shaping a political, economic or social system, is verified in the case of political, cultural, economic elites, etc. Elites have access to power, to resources, and distinguish themselves by comparison with the ruled majority, despite an apparent conflict generated by specific inequalities. The last criterion, the legitimate source of elite power, can appeal directly to the field of political science; more specifically, it is the relationship between the ruling class, as political elite, and the ruled majority. In this sense, there are hierarchies of power and, at the same time, different sources or resources capable of propelling elites to the pinnacle of power. These sources, in turn, appeal to certain legitimacy according to the value of the individual; in other words, nothing can be achieved without personal merit, according to Platonic meritocracy and, may I add, in the presence of deontic authority. Deontic authority makes the connection between political elites and the sacred. Meritocracy is reflected not only in the results, special attributes or professional qualities of an individual, but primarily in the exceptional presence of a charismatic personality. The political elite break out from the usual pattern of a simple political leader who follows the party's programme and ideology. The exceptionalism of elite status derives primarily from the firmness of 270 Sacred and political power character and borders on sacredness. Charisma is a gift because it is not a result of work. Charisma implies clairvoyance, the seductive power of speech, magnetism, physical attraction, etc., and is legitimised by the presence of deontic authority. So, not every master of oratory can become a charismatic leader, but, hierophany (in the sense of the presence of divine graces through exceptional spiritual qualities) could be a way or cause that determines charisma. I mention here another characteristic of elites: there are people who tend towards select relationships or a closed structure. The communication of elites with the masses can be a major obstacle in gaining sympathisers. Elites who do not pursue this contact with the masses without slipping into populism risk losing their popularity. Elites are supposed to be highly educated, while the majority of citizens may be poorly educated, making communication and governing difficult. Taking into account the three criteria listed above, American political scientist Paolo Zannoni presents the following table: Table 1. Leading elites according to societies and legitimacy types Specialists Semantic domain Mosca Meritocracy Pareto Efficiency Michels and Ostrogovsky Position within Organizations Ortega Marx Mills Moral merit Property Social status and position within the institutions Ownership of power resources, to a large extent Pluralists Separation criterion between elite and non-elite Number and organisation Strength and consensus Monopoly in the use of organizational means No power State Monopoly of any source of power in society Various political means Legitimate source of elitist power Society Society Complex organisations Society Society Society Society Source: Paolo Zannoni, “The concept of Elite”, in European Journal of Political Research, Paper presented at Yale University at the International Political and Social Science Conference held 16-21 August 1976. 271 SEBASTIAN FITZEK In a broad perspective, the concept of elite encompasses a rich range of meanings and ideas, making it an ambiguous concept. Ambiguity, as mentioned in this chapter, can distort the meaning of a concept, sometimes even at the risk of changing it. To avoid confusion, I consider the premise that there is a common root that unifies the meanings of the term elite. Each author mentioned above offers a personal definition with a common source. The semiotician Wittgenstein points, in this respect, to the family concept as used in the concept of play which applies perfectly to this situation (1970: 32-43). The theory recognizes the universality of particular meanings and, at the same time, all the different associated meanings have the same common source. For Wittgenstein, semantic similarities become family resemblances, having the same specific nature as its members. According to the observations, one of the main elements would be merit as a basic feature of elitism, which implies the selection of individuals, thus becoming a criterion of distinction, of choosing the few over the many. On the other hand, the legitimate source of power comes from the consensus of the many. Differences in particular preferences become subsets of a political community, justifying Wittgenstein's theory of the common specificity of a family. All members are unique in their particularity, and all these members are united by ties of blood, kinship or alliance, traits, etc., bound by the central institution of the family. The diversity of meanings comes from the many multidisciplinary approaches to the term. Extrapolating the analysis, I consider, in this sense, that it is not the river or rivers that are of interest, but the sources that feed them. The river is the ambiguity or the result of accumulation, and the sources are the semantic origins. The concept of elitism comes from several roots, the most important of which are: meritocracy, profession, deontic authority and social status. The extent of the concept is a matter of imprecision?! The distinction between meaning and denotation determines imprecision, in the same proportion as between meaning and extension. Lack of clarity inevitably leads to ambiguity of the concept, and vagueness of extension in turn generates imprecision. Meaning should have identified the denotation of the concept by the teleological line of 272 Sacred and political power precision. The extension of the concept makes it difficult to address the source which becomes imprecision, thus the denotation cannot abstract from the countless attributes of meaning. Simply put, extensions of meaning attempt to blow up the denotation as the hard core of the concept due to the confusion between signifier and signified. By means of semiotics, one can separate the two parts to get at the cause of imprecision, without ignoring the somewhat perverse effects of language. For example, the English approach to the concept highlights the emphasis on the legitimacy of personal merit in a more authoritative style than the French or Italian approach, which in turn emphasise the deontic authority side and less the hierarchical position of power. Extensions become effects of language and goals acquire different objectives. This kind of imprecision is related to the number of linguistic attributes, and in this case, one can notice the tendency of the English language towards an accentuated legitimacy of military power, which historically justifies the tendency towards imperialism. In the French approach, the concept calls for the identification of superior human groups linked by a deontic, epistemic, social and not military legitimacy. Of course, it is not about laws or principles, but about the specific dominances of language and semantics in general. The extensions of the different nuances of meaning cannot be treated abstractly and clearly like denotation, which is why confusion can arise. A positive cause of linguistic imprecision is found in the support given to the impartiality between sources and extensions of multiple senses. A second cause lies in the inaccuracy of the term elite, identifying a certain defined social group regardless of historical place and time. And a third cause is the impossibility of clearly delineating a social group that we identify as a social or political elite from other social or political groups that cannot be identified as elites. However, all the causes of the imprecision of the term belong to the same family. Wittgenstein is probably right. This family does not lack important dimensions, yet through the inaccuracy of other differences they become open structures. The specific boundaries of precision cannot be included, so the similarities are imprecise; the criterion of legitimate sources of power becomes very important in 273 SEBASTIAN FITZEK identifying elite families. Merit, as a criterion for differentiation between elites and non-elites, is imprecise. In this sense, can a person be considered as having merit in a certain field but not in others? Probably. The ambiguities of the fields that can be considered by positive excellence as belonging to elitism are difficult to identify objectively, making a subjective discussion of their selection. The number is another source of imprecision because it can be related in a mathematical equation of one to one hundred which is not the same as ten to one hundred thousand or one to one million. Another important criterion is the specific power resource of the group in question. Max Weber's theory of power is the most widespread. In an almost mathematical explanation, power is the indisputable effect of A on B, without B opposing A by any means. A's power causes B to yield to A, in the legitimate, or force, relationship, the balance of power between the two forces always being unequal. The more powerful A is, the greater the chance it has of overpowering B. The distribution of power separates the waters between the ruled and the rulers, and the question is whether, according to this principle, those who clearly hold power can be identified as elites. The imprecision of the term attempts to disentangle the meaning through the phrase ruling class akin to the term power elite. Both terms are very similar and yet they are not one and the same. The ruling class is the ruling minority who rules by means of power, they in turn are considered as power elites. So what makes the difference? It is true that power becomes maximum the fewer people there are who wield it, which is perfectly true of oligarchy. But the criterion of power is insufficient to speak of power elites. Power elites concentrate power at the top, although they are few in number, but other criteria mentioned above, such as meritocracy and the deontic or epistemic legitimacy of authority, also come into play in this equation. So power elites mean more than the ruling class. Structures are openended as demonstrated above, and their multiplicity provides a wider range of authority and more stability in the relationship between rulers and ruled. Elites reinforce consensus through the trump card of resource control, and their diversity gives them a 274 Sacred and political power distinctly higher status than the other classes we call ordinary. Not every minority that holds power is a power elite; instead, any kind of power can belong to elite groups, as long as these groups hold the moral and material resources along with prestige, charisma, status and role. In conclusion, the concept of elitism takes on different meanings depending on the main factors that compose it, applied to historical and linguistic reality. In order to reduce the ambiguity of the term, we must appeal to the complex extensions of meaning, without trying to eliminate the imprecision of meanings considered as open and irreplaceable structures. In the light of these conditions of analysis it is possible to get closer to the signified starting from the denoted, and ambiguity unintentionally acquires a positive character. 275 Sacred and political power Final thoughts The imaginary is a subject and a method for researching personality, from individual to group and from individual to community. An intelligent child has a well-developed imagination, exercising a complex imagination through memory. A strong ethnic community has a memory defined by the character matrix of its personality. The imaginary, therefore, describes and explains every type of personality. Knowledge of the imaginary has involved, in the literature, multidisciplinary research on various methods and analyses. The psychosocial approach in the present work indicates the presence of two key vectors: the sacred and political power, a categorical couple proposed for the interpretation of the collective imaginary in relation to two references: the political phenomenon and the religious phenomenon. The sacred is not an exclusive product of the religious phenomenon, but also successfully regenerates itself in the political phenomenon, which is why its transcendent nature has been reiterated in secular societies in different forms and hypostases. One of the theses argued and demonstrated in the paper shows that the very origin of political power is to be found in the sacredness of mystical worlds. Hence, the sacred and political powers are a categorical couple that is fully justified in the investigation of the collective imaginary. In this sense, the imaginary is an important psychosocial pattern in anthropological research on communities. In the relationship between the individual and the community, the imaginary, as a psychosocial pattern, is usually the result of a conflict between two wills: the individual will and the group will. The conflict usually ends in favour of the group will, as Benedict Anderson (1983) observed in his book Imagined Communities. In this way, every individual becomes a product of collective thinking, 277 SEBASTIAN FITZEK submitting to it, sometimes against his or her will. However, there are close and specific variables for each position, regardless of the degree of power authority, pressure, beliefs or prejudices. The most important identical variable lies in deontic authority (moral authority). Both positions are apriori in a symbolic conflict, starting from individual interest versus group interest, each subjectively justifying moral argument. In the end, both wills enter into a process of imaginary crystallization, participating in redefining group beliefs. The individual and the group assimilate and influence each other. The individual, in turn, can influence the group. Influence and power do not, therefore, come from a single direction, but from diverse, multidirectional positions. Even if the individual obeys the collective thinking, his will, if strong, can influence it retroactively. The collective imaginary exists because of collective memory, a huge database, like the unconscious memory, through which we know the past and prefigure a hypothetical, deductive future as a result of expectations, aspirations and, above all, political actions. The hypothetical futures arise because people, especially political communities, critically relate the present to an idyllic past and then construct a projection into a desirable variant. In the activity of recalling historical images, the negative parts fade away, exaggerating the positive parts as a tendency of human nature to perfect the world we live in. The logic of blurring the bad and exaggerating the good is best observed in history books, as they are products of collective thinking. The tendency is apparently imperceptible and reproduces itself naturally. Historical figures become national heroes, borrowing this pattern, without exception, from nation to nation. Groupthink tends to hyperbolise the positive aspects of history, giving some figures the highest ranks in the pantheon of national values. Summing up the final conclusions, the collective imaginary is the product generated by the sacred-political power categorical couple, which acts according to three criteria: 1. the degree of personalization of political power of a leader perceived by history as a factor generating authority and power (identified through the analysis dedicated to political power); 278 Sacred and political power 2. personal charisma, implying the exercise of prestige with a positive impact on the masses. Prestige springs from deontic authority (identified through the sacralisation of moral, exceptional qualities, through hierophany and the purification of space); 3. research into the individual unconscious and the collective unconscious as a relationship that describes the psychic environment of groups, i.e. the universe of the collective imaginary. Through the exercise of the imagination, man actively participates in the generation of an amalgam of ideas, fantasies and revelations that generate premonitions, inspiration and inventiveness, which the collective then assimilates and engraves in the structures of its memory. The richness of imagination is at the heart of the charisma of the exceptional people who propelled the world towards civilisation. The sacred is the very origin from which political power derives, borrowing some of the characteristics and genealogical features of the religious phenomenon. Admiration, as the relationship between superior and inferior, belief in a superior/supernatural being and belief in the immortality of the soul (the paradise thesis and belief in a future superior world) are the three axioms that lay the foundations of politics as a force for regulating, preserving and governing human societies. The relationship between humans and gods is reiterated, on an immanent level, in the relationship between rulers and ruled, the sacred world being the higher model of reference for all our aspirations. The teleology of human action follows the teleology of divine action. The divine world is the ultimate act of imagination in which the sacred imposes its will and its own version. Ultimate happiness is the ultimate place, which activates all human beliefs by receiving movement and meaning through the verbs: “to perfect” to “improve”, to “save” here and beyond our material world. The continuous correction of the physical world is the first task of politics. Political power thus becomes an attribute of the sacred. Both concepts justify the relationship: sacred - political power, a 279 SEBASTIAN FITZEK categorical couple that is part of the matrix of the political phenomenon. In each chapter I have presented pros and cons aimed at stopping the slide towards conceptual relativism. The scientific character of the research topic is supported by the verification of the conceptual relationships and theses exposed, despite the terminological uncertainties. The limits of the research lie in the inexhaustible complexity of the relations between the personal imaginary and the collective imaginary, followed by the relations between the individual unconscious and the collective unconscious. In these relations, the human psyche is a space of unexplored mysteries, because it possesses the unfinished, that endless end that science cannot reduce to the measures of the finite. The inexplicable is embedded in the ontogenetic foundation of the sacred, a surreality that cannot be denied. I believe, in this sense, that there is a sacred nature of man, beyond any scientific terms, and in this endeavour, established scholars such as Eliade, Weber, Otto, Durkheim, Mauss and many others have recognized that the investigation of the sacred goes far beyond religious reality in all its complexity. Relating to the divine is a knowledge that belongs mainly to the soul and less to reason. In approaching the sacred, to give extension to the inexplicable is to be closer to its authentic meaning. We have considered that, by researching the imaginary, we approach the sacredness of the human being and at the same time the reader, who by reading brings out his intellectual resources. And yet, the book is a window to a huge subject, awaiting other avenues of exploration into its boundless world. 280 Sacred and political power Bibliographic references Abeles, Marc, (1977), Anthropologie politique, Paris: Armand Colin. Allport, W. Gordon, (1937), Personality. 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