Society is crazy; civilization is sane

Group membership is defined by shared beliefs. Shared religion, shared nationality, shared morality.  Group membership is never based on reality.  For example, there is no group that identifies itself by its belief in gravity.  The concept is too universal.  What it means to be a group is to hold a contested opinion, like flat Earth or Christianity.  In fact, the crazier the shared belief, the more cohesive the group becomes.  The group feels exclusion and persecution, and therefore rallies a defense.  Every crazy shared belief is on the defensive.  Russia must defend itself from Ukraine.  Christianity must defend itself from Godlessness.

Every society is therefore some craziness defending itself from some other craziness (or from reality). He, who is not a member of a crazy group, has no basis of society. He is subject to the collective action of crazy groups. Collective action is real. It changes reality, even if it is not motivated by reality. A holy war is nevertheless a war.

Morality is therefore defined by whatever craziness attracts defenders.  If you are an incel, you cannot accept that there is a distribution of attractiveness and that you are on the bottom end. The problem is with female choice, or feminism in general.  If you are a stupid white person, you cannot accept that you are on the bottom end of intelligence. The problem is with non-whites receiving advantages that you would receive, if only they did not exist.

Civilization is a different phenomenon. It is the relationship that people have to reality. It determines how they manage resources and distribute the benefits. It determines how they settle differences among themselves, in a way that all crazy groups may agree upon.

The strife of our times has therefore been society pitted against civilization, although the two were never meant to be enemies.