The state of the Garden of Eden and the Rise of man

(image courtesy of Wikipedia)

After Man (meaning man and woman) was expelled from the Garden of Eden by the god of the shepherds, or the God of Abraham and Moses, he was given the opportunity to rise from the doldrums. It must finally be laid to rest the theory of the creationists that after Man was expelled from the Garden of Eden he fell from grace and has been falling ever since. This is a mere mystical interpretation of the reverse:  that man has actually risen from the doldrums after being expelled from the Garden of Eden where he stagnated in god’s eternal bosom. It will be better for man if he never return to the Garden of Eden. The main question to answer is: Why did man rise, and not fall, when he was expelled from the Garden of Eden? The answer: the value of his labour allowed him to realize his potential. In the Garden of Eden man thrived in idleness. He never worked or staked his claim to the natural paradise that surrounded him. He was only able to survive at god’s behest which never extended beyond the raw materials provided by nature. Man never worked in the Garden of Eden and as a result was not able to truly express himself. He existed at the level of pure instinct and when he took a bite out of the forbidden apple that contains knowledge he rose to claim his rightful place in the universe. It is doubtful whether the creationists will accept this rational materialistic explanation that emerges from the mystical core pertaining to the so called theme of original sin.

Labour, or labour power, is the means by which man shapes the natural world to suit his own ends. Labour is the means by which man builds civilization, it is the means by which we can grow beyond the narrow confines of the natural world or the Kingdom of god. Man has passed through several modes of production: the slave economy, the feudal economy, the colonial economy, the mercantile economy and the capitalist economy. The common basis for all these modes of production was that man produced through his labour so as to generate his means of subsistence, a means to exchange with other humans so as to acquire something of value or a surplus product for the ruling class or those that control the means of production and subjugate those that work for them. In various modes of production labour is what adds new value to the means of production which are inherently lifeless without the input of the life force which manifests itself through our labour power.  This gift of labour has been the means by which man can extract the resources of nature and refine them for his own purpose. In the advanced capitalist mode of production which has increased the labour productivity of man with the aid of advanced technology, or the amount that man can produce, to its highest levels since his exit from the Garden of Eden man has been able to develop a sophisticated civilization. Man has been able to produce a large amount of commodities or use values which are exchanged in the market. These use values are necessary for some human beings to live and they can only acquire it by the means of exchange which is represented by money. In order to get money however these people have to either work for the money or control someone who produces an equivalent that can be exchanged. These use values that have been produced have lifted man from a bare natural existence. By being fearful of our nakedness we have created clothing that can secure us from the cold and the sun. We have made shoes that allow us to traverse the surface of the earth with little fear of injury from thorns. We have created sophisticated means of communication and means of transport that allow us to traverse the earth without a fear of the unknown.  We have created housing that can secure us from the weather (still working on the tornadoes) whereas animals still shelter under trees. All of these developments occurred after we left the Garden of Eden and so it is a blessing and not a curse because I do not regret the state in which I was born.

If man has been able to develop such a sophisticated society on the basis of the high levels of labour productivity under capital how can it be claimed that he has fallen? Man never fell after exiting the Garden of Eden because there was no Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden represents a period where man was purely instinctive, relying more on sensorial experience than anything else. The Garden of Eden is representative of a time when man lived among the animals and was, as yet, unable to take control of nature i.e. utilizing the raw materials for  his own ends.  Mankind has thrived since man emerged from this lowly state. Eating the forbidden fruit has liberated man and has made him the dominant force in nature. When man took control in his edenic state god, who is representative of nature in all its glory, must have been stunned and clearly saw what would happen to this sphere of pure instinct. If the god of Abraham and Moses was beyond the natural sphere then he would not have been stunned. When man continues to take control of the natural elements the more he is removed from his edenic state and the more he can regulate the vast natural spectrum that functions invariably in repeated cycles.

Man is the foremost member of nature that has been able to generate growth by exploiting the natural elements in order to create things that can enhance his own life. Animals do it as well but on a more limited basis.  Nature functions on a more instinctive level and it is up to man to refine the properties of nature so that it can be reach its true potential. By itself nature is limited to the process of life creation and in man and the other animals that process of life is reflected through labour which in turn acts upon nature in order to create more solid foundations for existence.

The Garden of Eden or the period where man was dominated by nature, is long gone. Those calling for a return to the Edenic state have no faith in the development of human society. The labour of man and the various processes that enhance it  has liberated him from the doldrums of pure instinct. The Garden of Eden represented a time when man was dominated by nature and any return is reflective of a puerile fantasy. The foundations for the Garden of Eden have been removed when man used his labour to create the foundations for civilization. It was only then that he had dominion of all he saw before him.  Nature will always play its role as a source of extraction in the hunt for raw materials.  But no longer will man languish alongside it but will utilize it for his own purpose. This is what has been done and what continues to be done. The extent of exploitation will force man to push into the far reaches of space, the new frontier.  Let the god of Abraham revel in Eden. Eden will always be representative of a period when man must live within nature without altering it. No shoes, no clothing, no means of transport (Man harnessing the horse or the donkey is merely the first stage of the process. When the horse and the donkey no longer suffice man must create more advanced means of transport to carry heavier loads. This is dependent on the extent of production. In capitalism a simple donkey and horse no longer suffices and so cars, trucks, trains and airplanes are utilized.) and no  sophisticated means of communication. When Man advances so does the use values at his disposal to aid in his development. In nature the use values are tied into the natural process which is inadequate because growth is negligible during the natural cycle.  With the advances in human civilization man continues to increase via the inputs of labour power or man’s means of expressing the life force within him.

Always rising, never falling. The fall will come when nature finally reclaims what is hers or when we are forcibly made to return to the Garden of Eden.  The only thing left for man to resolve is the class struggle where by the few and their lackeys rule the many and extract a surplus from their labour so that they do not have to work.