Civil War: A Reflection of Social Schism and Moral Decay
In Talkov’s song, where a civil war is mentioned along with crude expressions like “the war of the masses and shit,” it can be interpreted as a reflection of a deep schism in society, where traditional national and moral values give way to fierce internal struggle and class conflict. This text indicates that internal fragmentation, expressed through civil war, represents the culmination of social contradictions and a loss of spiritual values. It serves as a warning that when the struggle between people turns into a battle of interests and classes, universal human norms vanish, replaced by ruthless careerism and a thirst for power.As seen from one source, civil war is described as “the limit of manslaughter – war, the limit of war – civil war, ‘class struggle’, for atheistic socialism the only method of action” (source: link txt). This emphasizes that civil war is portrayed as the apex of social contradictions, where traditional spiritual elements are displaced by the destructive nature of class warfare.Another text points out that the difference between external war and civil war lies, in particular, in the fact that “when one nation goes to war with another, you become meek vegetarians... But when you manage to turn the struggle between nations into a struggle of classes, you become bloodthirsty, you deny not only brotherhood but even the most basic respect for one human being to another” (source: link txt). Here, it is evident that civil war symbolizes the loss of universal human ethics, morphing into a relentless discord among compatriots.It is also noted that “war, which is merely an intensified expression of class struggle, splits people apart… External war unites people belonging to the same nation,” underscoring that internal strife leads to the destruction of unity and the weakening of society (source: link txt).Thus, the socio-political subtext likely consists of a critique of transforming national relations into an arena for inhumane struggles for power and resources, resulting in the degradation of moral norms and the collapse of social cohesion. The song may serve as a symbolic reminder that civil war, as an outcome of internal disintegration, carries with it harbingers of national and cultural demise, where even expressions like “the war of the masses and shit” symbolically convey abandonment, cruelty, and degradation—qualities far removed from those of a dignified external conflict.
Supporting citation(s):“What is this ‘plague’, coming upon the world?Now we know: it is dishonesty, ασέβεια, ultimate evil, ‘crime, as the need to kill God’. The limit of manslaughter is war, the limit of war is civil war, ‘class struggle’, the only method of action for atheistic socialism. The ‘universal church’ of civil war—mass murder—is the International. But we must also be fair to socialism: it did not generate atheism—it was born of it.” (source: link txt)“When one nation goes to war with another, you become meek vegetarians, you fear blood, you call for brotherhood. But when you manage to turn the struggle between nations into a struggle of classes, you become bloodthirsty, you deny not only brotherhood but even the most elementary respect of one human being for another. In the historical wars of nations, there is never such a negation of the human as in the revolutionary wars of classes and parties.” (source: link txt)“Another meaning has militant class internationalism. It is intimately linked with the idea of class struggle and with the sentiments of civil war. External war, as I have already said, differs from civil war in the most essential way: in its moral meaning, these two forms of war are directly opposed. External war unites people belonging to the same nation; civil war, which is merely an intensified expression of class struggle, divides them.” (source: link txt)