The Historical Sequence of Military Hegemony: 
From Imperialism to the Flaws of Marxist 'Negation' 
— A Philosophical Analysis of the Masks of Ideologies

1. Introduction: The Mask of Ideology over Coercive Power

When we analyse human history at the highest philosophical level, a stark truth emerges: throughout history, from ancient times to the modern era, state power has not been governed by moral principles alone, but by the sheer force of weapons and brutality. The proverb “He who holds the stick controls the buffalo” has literally proven true in history. However, to sanctify this brutality and violence and impose it on society, every era has produced certain ‘ideologies’ or ‘slogans’.

Why all these ideologies and such intellectual chaos for this simple practical truth—that those who possess weapons come to power? This essay examines the historical sequence through this fundamental philosophical question.

2. The Historical Sequence of Military Hegemony: From Alexander to Aurangzeb

The entire history of human civilisation is the story of ordinary people becoming subjects under those who wield military power. Looking at this historical sequence, one clear pattern emerges for all:

• Alexander and Genghis Khan: In ancient and medieval times, these figures expanded empires through the power of swords and rivers of blood. They had no need for any ideologies; pure physical violence and military dominance were their only methods.
   
• Mahmud of Ghazni, Ghori, Babur, and Aurangzeb: These rulers used ‘religion’ as a protective shield for their imperial ambitions and violence. They employed the slogan (ideology) of religious propagation or religious protection merely as a tool to subjugate people and realise their military hegemony.

No power in history has ever come to power purely through ideology; only those with military strength have ruled. 

As the German sociologist Max Weber said: “The state is that entity which claims the monopoly on the legitimate use of violence.”

Ancient / Medieval Hegemony ──► Swords + Military Brutality + Religious Mask
│
â–¼ What happened in the modern era?
   
Marxist Governmental Dictatorship ──► Guns + Red Army Force + Mask of .Workers’ Liberation

3. Marxism: The Same Old Violence in a New Practical Form

Although Karl Marx created the illusion of presenting a new economic theory through his Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, politically he too proposed the same old “principle of military hegemony.”

• Marxist Violence: Marx clearly stated that the capitalist system cannot be changed merely through votes or peaceful means. It requires the armed force of the ‘Red Army’ or ‘proletarian revolution’ to smash the old state apparatus.
   
• Dictatorship of the Proletariat: After the revolution, under the name of the “Dictatorship of the Proletariat,” a single Communist Party exercises total dominance over all aspects of society and human rights. 

In his book State and Revolution (1917), Vladimir Lenin gave this military hegemony an administrative and military form, reducing people to second-class citizens without voting rights.

While ancient kings called their violence ‘religion’ or ‘imperial expansion’, Marx labelled it ‘workers’ liberation’. Thus, Marxism too remained merely another tool to realise the principle that power belongs to those who possess weapons.

4. The Distortion in Methodology: Marx’s Illusion of ‘Negation’ Instead of ‘Sublation’

The reason Marxism ultimately became a heap of half-truths is that Marx theorised in opposition to nature and the evolution of society. Though he was a follower of the German philosopher Georg Hegel, he only partially understood Hegel’s philosophy and adopted only half of it.

Continuity in Nature:  In nature and in social evolution, there is no such thing as complete annihilation. For example, continuity persists in creation, including DNA. Old characteristics and historical knowledge are not destroyed; they flow into the new generation.

Hegel’s Truth of ‘Sublation’ (Aufhebung): Hegel explained that in social evolution, the old remains and the new emerges. Only the flaws in the old system are cancelled, while the best and most valuable elements are preserved and elevated into a new, higher form.

Marx’s Mistake:  Marx abandoned this natural principle of “preservation” and clung only to violent ‘Negation’ (the complete destruction of the old). For the sake of a new society, he theorised the total annihilation of human rights, civil liberties, and individual sovereignty present in the old society.  Because of this philosophical flaw, wherever communism was established, a new ruling class called the “Communist Party leadership” emerged in place of the old hegemonies, turning people into subjects without voting rights.

5. Modern Ideological Machines: Analysis of the RSS-BJP Model:

The RSS/BJP model in contemporary India is a clear, living example of this historical sequence of maintaining power through weapons and illusions, now operating under new ideological masks.
[Mental / Physical Control Strategy]
│
┌───────────────┴───────────────┐
â–¼                               â–¼
Free Military System (RSS)   Creation of Artificial Conflicts

Religion in the name of self-service volunteers — Babri Masjid demolition (1992)

Zero-cost full-timers — Godhra, cow protection politics
Turning humans into machines — Strategy of devouring people’s minds

Zero-Cost Army: Maintaining an army is a huge financial burden for any empire. But the RSS, by exploiting emotions of ‘religion and patriotism’, has turned millions of youth into ‘part-time volunteers’ and ‘full-timers’ at no cost. This is a form of Ideological Slavery.

Engineering of Mass Madness: In 1992, through the Ram Janmabhoomi slogan, they demolished the Babri Masjid and increased their seats from 2 to over 200. Through the Godhra incident, Rath Yatras, and attacks in the name of cow protection, they continuously stoked fear and hatred by creating an ‘enemy’ (Muslims) in society. This has devoured the minds of ordinary people, turning them into mere ‘voting machines’ (Political Cogs).

Corporate-Religious Fanaticism Alliance:

While corporate forces plunder public assets and lands from behind the scenes, ordinary people are trapped in the vortex of religious frenzy. Here too, ideologies serve merely as tools to protect this brutal hegemony and violence.

6. Buddhism and the Supremacy of Axiological Democracy (The Absolute Solution)

Though this terrifying culture of weapons and violence has continued for centuries, the one historical miracle that has withstood it is Gautama Buddha’s compassion and non-violence.

Buddha’s Peaceful Transformation:  Buddha did not believe in violent ‘Negation’ like Marx. He gave practical expression to Hegel’s true ‘Sublation’ (continuity — the old remains, the new emerges). He eliminated the flaws in society while protecting humanity. Through ‘heart transformation’, he reformed cruel killers like Angulimala and emperors like Ashoka. 

Through the ‘Sangha’, he established ‘Voluntary Altruism’ (Democratic Socialism) instead of forced service. That is why, while military empires vanished, Buddha’s Dhamma has remained alive for 2,500 years.

The Ultimate Weapon:

From this historical foundation emerged Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s proposal, further developed by B.S. Ramulu through Axiological Democracy: the principle of “One Man, One Value, One Vote.” No higher humanistic philosophy or principle has yet been born in human history that surpasses this.

 Forces with weapons and money may temporarily win by turning people into voting machines. But when people become conscious, refuse to surrender their minds to religious frenzy or party blindness, and wield the moral weapons of political vote rejection and economic boycott, even the strongest military hegemonies can be peacefully dismantled.

If people, as consumers, launch movements refusing to buy certain goods, even the mightiest economic empires will collapse within a year. There are many living examples of this. The great power of democracy lies in the people’s ability to defeat those they once elected and elect those they once defeated.

Marx was Not a Man of the Poeple:
 
Marxism was born as a theory to protect the interests of the working class. Marx was a great humanist who desired the welfare of workers. But he was not a “man of the people.” A true man of the people would uphold as sacred the rights of the people: the right to vote, freedom, equality, fraternity, the freedom to elect representatives and rulers, and the right of citizens to contest elections in the service of the people.

Marx, Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism destroyed people’s rights and continued as rulers in the manner of ancient monarchies. Ideologies functioned as masks for this. In India, Hindu religion is similarly functioning as a mask for violent rule by rulers.

7. Conclusion

From Alexander to today’s corporate-religious fanatic governments, everyone follows the same pattern of military hegemony. Ideologies are merely tools that enable this violence. To break this continuity of brutal hegemonies, mere political consciousness among the people is not enough — Axiological Consciousness (Naitika Chaitanyam) must emerge.

Only when the principle of “One Man, One Vote, One Value” is protected and the monopolies of single parties or Sangh hierarchies are rejected will a new era of genuine freedom, liberty, and universal humanistic fraternity — the Axiological New Age — dawn in the world.