If Society is the God, and “worshipping” consists in improving that society, then actually improving that society to the point where no problems remained would be to eliminate all possibility of worship and faith, would it not?
Looked at systemically, would not the task quickly devolve into a complicated dance consisting in equal parts plausible positive claims combined with subterfuges designed to suppress unwanted news and particularly long term failures?
Yes, I think this is right. This is the psychology of the naive. Obviously, left wing causes also attract opportunists as well, power hungry monsters, and greedy thieves, who never bother to hide their own motives from themselves.
If you look at the history of American political thought, this is the one area where, intellectually, we are vastly better than any nation on Earth. Not even close, in my view. We may be a bunch of TV-watching, fat, ignorant fools, but our HISTORY, at least in the realm of political theory and practice, is uniquely compelling. There is nothing better out there.
Our Constitution is designed to protect us from villains and assholes of all sorts. Where they gain control in one place, they are to be checked elsewhere, not least by their rivals, but optimally by an informed and participatory citizenry, that in the case of utmost need constitutes an Army capable of competing with that of the government. It’s really hard to fuck up this system, but we are well on our way.