Humanist Movement
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The Humanist Movement is an international volunteer organisation following and spreading the ideas of
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
writer Mario Rodríguez Cobos, commonly known by his nickname "Silo". The movement's ideology is known as New Humanism, Universal Humanism or simply Siloism.


Siloist ideology

Silo said that normally, people live in a state of "inner violence" caused by human desire, which leads one to subject others to violence as well. The term "violence" as used here means not only physical violence, but also encompasses for example "economical violence", which is the exploitation of other people, and for example forcing one's way of life on other people. To heal the world's suffering, then, Silo said that each individual must go through a process of self-transformation that would calm their desire. Silo likened the state before self-transformation to sleep in a parable, and said that true liberation required self-transformation. This self-transformation is to be achieved through meditation under the guidance of those who are already liberated. Silo warned to be doubtful of political change through reforms; in Siloist thought, all change has to start with the individual. In fact, early Siloists rejected the idea of participating in party politics, though they later revisited this and started the Humanist Party in many countries. Under the pseudonym "H. van Doren", Silo criticised then-governing communist party Popular Unity for preserving the capitalist system, instead proposing a "total revolution" led by young self-transformed people that would result in
libertarian socialism Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...
, a communist society without hierarchies. Early Siloists championed sexual liberation for both men and women equally, though only as one aspect of total liberation and not as a goal in and of itself. This included acceptance of homosexuals. Later, having formed the Humanist Party, Siloists fought for homosexual rights, as well as abortion rights and the legalisation of divorce. They also advocated for environmentalism and democratic institutions. Siloism draws on the works of
Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse ( ; ; July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German–American philosopher, social critic, and Political philosophy, political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin, Marcuse studied at ...
,
George Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff ( – 29 October 1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher. Born in the Russian Empire, he briefly became a citizen of the First Republic of Armenia after its formation in 1 ...
,
Erich Fromm Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and set ...
and
Wilhelm Reich Wilhelm Reich ( ; ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian Doctor of Medicine, doctor of medicine and a psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst, a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author of several in ...
, and on the philosophy of
anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
.


History

The Humanist Movement can be traced back to a group called "Poder Joven" (''Young Power'') that was active in Chile primarily during the Allende presidency. A crucial event was Silo's 1969 speech titled "The Healing of Suffering" at Punta de Vacas, in which he laid out his basic ideology. Though Poder Joven was never bigger than about 300 people, it had a strong presence in Chile. The movement was not looked upon kindly by the rest of society. Both communist and right-wing media criticised Poder Joven heavily. Communist newspaper ''El Siglo'' highlighted that the movement came from the "wealthy neighborhoods" and suggested ties with fascism, while the right-wing newspaper ''El Mercurio'' suggested ties with the radical
MIR ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
. Both however attacked Poder Joven for supposed immoral behaviour, with ''El Siglo'' conflating them with hippies and ''El Mercurio'' saying its principles "fly in the face of all moral, religious, and social norms." Poder Joven members also faced harassment and threats from a group of young people called the Parra Ramona Brigade. In 1971, six members of Poder Joven were arrested after at least 14 parents complained of kidnapping because their children had been convinced by members to run away from home and join the movement. As the supposedly kidnapped young women returned home and parents withdrew their complaints, the charges were dropped. After the
1973 Chilean coup d'état The 1973 Chilean coup d'état () was a military overthrow of the democratic socialist president of Chile Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity coalition government. Allende, who has been described as the first Marxist ...
established a
military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...
, 38 Siloists were arrested, 2 of whom were kept imprisoned for nine months whereas the rest were released. During the military government's years in power, Poder Joven members were persecuted. These circumstances are part of what made Siloists spread their ideology internationally.


The International Humanist Party

The Humanist Movement has set up a Humanist Party in many countries. In 1989, these political parties formed a consortium called Humanist International.


Criticism and legal problems

There was an article in the ''Village Voice'' which painted the Siloist movement as a shady organisation, and their creation of the environmental party "Green Future" as an attempt to "capture the momentum of the
environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...
".


Criticism from ex-members

Some former members paint the Humanist Movement as a "
cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...
". Ex-member JD Snyder rejects this label and expresses doubt about reports of brainwashing and humiliation. An ex-member wrote a book under the pseudonym "Rex Voluntas" called ''Lies my guru told me'', in which he alleges sexual assault by two fellow members while in the HM. He also published a website, ex-silo.org, which served as a collection of anti-Siloist materials. Another critical ex-member is Bob von Holdt, who digitized various documents from within the HM, and newspaper articles about it, which were published on the ex-silo.org website as the "San Francisco Files". He also wrote a report for ex-silo.org about his experience in the HM. In that report, he says there was a strong push to recruit more members, that subtle tactics of manipulation were employed, that Silo and his words were held in extremely high regard, and that much direct communication with Silo took place.


Court cases

On behalf of the Humanist Movement in Quebec, a member sued the newspaper ''
Voir ''Voir'' was a francophone alternative weekly newspaper in Montreal, Quebec, published by Communications Voir. ''Voir'' was founded by Pierre Paquet in November 1986. The first issue of the newspaper was published on 27 November 1986. Later o ...
'' and a specific journalist for including the HM in a list of "sects using the internet". The journalist won the case.


References


Sources

*{{cite journal, last=Barr-Melej, first=P., date=2006, title=Siloísmo and the Self in Allende's Chile: Youth, "Total Revolution," and the Roots of the Humanist Movement, url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/hahr/article-abstract/86/4/747/35380/Siloismo-and-the-Self-in-Allende-s-Chile-Youth, journal= Hispanic American Historical Review, volume=86, issue=4, pages=747–784, doi=10.1215/00182168-2006-049, url-access=subscription


External links


Humanistmovement.net
the main website of the Humanist Movement
silo.net
Silo's official website
Introduction and index
to ex-silo.org Branches of humanism Nonviolence organizations