When Wishes Build Systems

Nowadays, I often hear this from elderly people when we talk about wars, crimes, terror, refugees, politics, technology, artificial intelligence, computers, and billionaires:

“Everything was better in the old days.”

As a child, I heard this nonsense too. That’s the human being — even with a brain.

Humans remember events, not patterns. History does not come back wearing the same uniform, it updates its wardrobe.

History is part of the school curriculum.

They teach us dates,

not

mechanisms.

We learn about heroes,

and not

systems.

And of course, fear resets learning.

That was one of the reasons I hated school

BUT

I have read what my ancestors lived

NOT what schools summarized.

 

In the beginning, millions of years ago, the first and loudest wish was survival.

Food today.

Water nearby.

Shelter tonight.

Safety from predators and enemies.

Life was immediate, and Tomorrow was never guaranteed!

*

They had no villas, no three or four cars, no private jets, no cruises. They did not play golf, football, or tennis.

*

In prehistory, when humans were still part of nature, and survival became somewhat stable, another wish emerged:

Life beyond today.

Healthy children.

Fertility — of people, animals, and land.

Protection of the group.

They learned belonging and recognition:

To be part of the tribe — not cast out.

To be seen as useful, brave, wise, or skilled.

Loneliness then was a death sentence.

*

At that time, there were no sports, no nightclubs, and no political parties.

*

The unknown arrived:

Storms.

Disease.

Drought.

Death.

Sun.

Rain.

War.

Love.

So humans imagined many gods — each responsible for one force.

All terrifying.

All unexplained.

Humans wished for:

Spirits that protect.

Rituals that calm chaos.

Stories that turn fear into meaning.

This is the soil where goddesses, gods, myths, and magic grew.

Then came curiosity and the search for meaning — the quiet but deep wish.

Even very early humans asked, without words:

Why are we here?

Why do we die?

What is beyond the dark?

Burials with objects, cave paintings, and symbols tell us clearly:

They did not just live.

They wondered.

A better future — hope. Hope was simple, but powerful:

A good hunt tomorrow.

A warmer winter.

Peace instead of conflict.

Not progress as we define it today, but less suffering.

From wish to belief

Belief was born from fear, not from lies.

Primitive humans did not invent gods — they needed explanations. Thunder was not physics; it was intention. Death was not an end; it had to be a passage.

Religion began as comfort, not control.

From belief to authority

Then came the quiet shift. Someone spoke for the gods. Someone interpreted the signs. Someone decided what was sacred. Power appears the moment meaning is monopolized.

When explanation becomes exclusive, hierarchy becomes inevitable.

 

Why “white men” enter the story

From tribes to cities, from cities to kingdoms, from kingdoms to empires

Power Centralized.

A king wanted:

One law.

One authority.

One loyalty.

Many gods were inconvenient.

Power settled where:

Writing systems controlled memory.

Armies controlled bodies.

Religion justified rule.

In Europe, this hardened into:

Divine kings.

Church–state marriage.

Later: colonial “civilizing missions.”

White is not about skin alone.

It is about who controlled the narrative — and the weapons.

***

Politics: religion without gods

Politics inherited religion’s structure:

Sacred symbols (flags instead of icons).

Rituals (elections, oaths, uniforms).

Enemies defined as evil.

Promises of salvation (nation, security, greatness).

God fades and Power remains.

 

When God ruled the sky, and the king ruled by God’s shadow, the land itself needed managers.

Feudalism was born…

Feudalism was a system, not an accident. It was a political technology, a social contract written in hunger, a hierarchy disguised as stability. To silence the shouts of hungry and angry farmers, kings and churches needed rules:

The Power Pyramid:

God — invisible, unquestionable.

King — chosen, sacred.

Lords — armed managers.

Knights — violence with rules.

Peasants / serfs — life as rent.

Manouchehr Abrontan 2026