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I actually agree, Marxism has been tried (and been found wanting). But I also firmly think that Christian ideals have been tried, and that Chesterson is wrong (albeit with great prose). There are 2.6 billion followers of Christianity. The world has been dominated by Christian nations for like ~400 straight years, waning over the last 60.
If someone wants to argue "okay but that wasn't true Christian ideals" than I think they should accept the same position on Marxism.
Sure, we didn't test a society with perfect Christian ideals, but that's what happens when ideals have to map on to real life. The value of an ideal isn't based on the hypothesized textbook perfect form, it's based on the real outcomes once you expose it to human society.
History shows us that when Christianity was in fact being tried, we did in fact have better outcomes on a whole host of relevant metrics to the people yearning for Christianity. It was Christianity's decline, not ascent, that was accompanied by the degradation of society.
Unless you were a powerless woman, or a powerless minority, or a powerless person of slightly the wrong proclivity for various things including but not limited to sexual orientation and opinions on celestial mechanics (at relevant times).
I'd posit that if Christianity was the ideal human ideology that caused maximum flourishing, it wouldn't have declined. Or at least the places where it didn't decline would then be much better places (and presumably out-compete) than places where it did.
Women's reported happiness, mental health, and life satisfaction have been in freefall since the decline of Christianity, actually.
Minority outcomes have shifted very little in any positive directions.
Still healthier and better off than today. Indeed, I bet the gay community at Christianity's height had far less AIDs, among other things.
Surely you understand how absurd this is, right?
"I'd posit that if the ideal human was healthy and ate well, no one would be overweight."
Well, it was at the height of western Christianity that it conquered the world, and to this day western nations have better quality of life than places that never were Christian.
Your points are fair, but I guess to rephrase my point as a question
If Christianity dominated times were so much better (or not worse for women/minorities/whatever) than why does only a rather small portion of western society (a good chunk of the GOP, and tiny fractions of other right-leaning western populations) want to go back?
Why isn't "make $COUNTRY a Christian theocracy again" a winning political strategy?
Healthy lifestyles are harder work than unhealthy ones, and people are accustomed to self-destructive hedonism. Why don't fat people just eat less?
I got nothing for that, fair enough
Honestly I ask myself that every time I see a fat person. I have my own shitty habits but that level of self-destruction blows my mind.
I'm sympathetic to fatties, I'd say there's plenty of reasons. But it also goes for smokers, drinkers, for people who get into toxic relationships, etc.
Comfort is seductive. Pleasure is seductive. No matter the costs, people gravitate toward them. This is why society should try to restrict them, not facilitate them -- nobody needs help pursuing vices.
I am actually somewhat in favor of more paternalism, but it's hard to have that not go absolutely fucking sideways
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