Western culture might have rejected the paternalistic father figure of monotheism, but it still presumes the essential paradigm of monist idealism.
The logical fallacy of monotheism is that a spiritual absolute would be the essence of sentience, from which we rise, not an ideal of wisdom and judgement, from which we fell. The fact we are aware, than what we are aware of, whether self directed, or culturally indoctrinated.
Yet all the ideologies seeking to replace monotheism and its politcal manifestation, monarchy, continue to presume their ideals to be absolute. Though ideals are aspirational, while the absolute is elemental. From the Terrors of the French Revolution, to current cancel culture, the presumption remains that the ideal is too lofty to question, let alone formulate.
The reality is more a yin and yang of polarities and balance, than the God Almighty of one true vision.
For example, the absolute would be balanced by the infinite. So the absolute, as the equilibrium within all action and manifestion, the zero at the center, draws in, while the infinite, as endless potential, pushes out.
The effect is the dichotomy of nodes and networks, organisms and ecosystems. When society is all about the one and singular, the result is every node sees their ideal to be absolute and it is a war of all against all. Which is how Europe evolved through the Middle Ages, of feudal kingdoms, each defined and represented by their monarch.
The tragedy of Judaism is that while they were a tightly bound community, they had no kingdom of their own, so they became an integral part of the networks enabling the nodes of European nations to function as a larger whole. The intellectuals, doctors, scientists and yes, bankers, connecting the organisms of these monist nations together. Making them both very much part of the larger fabric, yet outside the culture of the particular entities.
Of course, now that they have regained their historical homeland, they are themselves falling into the trap of seeing themselves as a singular entity, separate from its context. Obviously they remain monotheists.
The Ancients were not totally ignorant of monotheism, but as there was no separation of culture and civics, they equated it with authoritarianism, as in one god, one ruler.
Remember that democracy and republicanism evolved in pantheistic cultures, as that was the original multiculturalism, when tribal cultures had to adapt to settled city and nation states. The profusion of beliefs had to be negotiated. Many voices and factions, many gods.
When the West went back to popular forms of government, it required a separation of church and state, culture and civics.
Which is where we are now. Schizophrenic societies unable to integrate the forces coalescing order and structure, with those pushing its boundaries and propelling it along. Conservative and liberal. Head and heart.
Each seeing themselves on the path to the one true ideal and the others as misbegotten fools.
