“This effect explains much of society’s lack of urgency when it comes to dealing with issues that aren’t seen as being detrimental right now…”
i hadn’t really thought of if in this way before. maybe, to some extent, our inability to get an environmental movement properly off the ground is because things are “good enough” as they are now. there is some kind of collective acceptance of the status quo based on an intrinsic quality in regards to pleasure-based motivation. it can be so frustrating to see people not mobilize to get something done, but we are very much a species which adapts as things come (in reality, most, if not all are the same) as opposed to excessive planning.
i do think throughout history, humanity's generally favoured applicable versions of reactionary conservatism because people are so afraid of change going wrong that they'd rather decay in a familiar place, because at least then, it's a place you know; not only do people seek pleasure, they seek familiar pleasures.
that's why we've seen revolutionary rhetoric softened into being "progressive," because when a society doesn't like change, you have to repackage it for it to not appear as an evil.
any policies the "left" advocated for in the 2010s for example, have been repackaged as an evil by the "right" of the 2020s - like climate change as you said.
also humanity has never NEEDED to rely on motivation as much as it does now. before, people operated from a place of duty, feeling as though they have to do their part. now, we've lost the bond of community, and we're being torn apart because of it.
“This effect explains much of society’s lack of urgency when it comes to dealing with issues that aren’t seen as being detrimental right now…”
i hadn’t really thought of if in this way before. maybe, to some extent, our inability to get an environmental movement properly off the ground is because things are “good enough” as they are now. there is some kind of collective acceptance of the status quo based on an intrinsic quality in regards to pleasure-based motivation. it can be so frustrating to see people not mobilize to get something done, but we are very much a species which adapts as things come (in reality, most, if not all are the same) as opposed to excessive planning.
So much to unpack in this piece, so many concepts in one!! J’adore!!
i hope i opened the doors well enough for you to want to go through them 🤞🏾 there was a lot of theory in this one 😭
i do think throughout history, humanity's generally favoured applicable versions of reactionary conservatism because people are so afraid of change going wrong that they'd rather decay in a familiar place, because at least then, it's a place you know; not only do people seek pleasure, they seek familiar pleasures.
that's why we've seen revolutionary rhetoric softened into being "progressive," because when a society doesn't like change, you have to repackage it for it to not appear as an evil.
any policies the "left" advocated for in the 2010s for example, have been repackaged as an evil by the "right" of the 2020s - like climate change as you said.
also humanity has never NEEDED to rely on motivation as much as it does now. before, people operated from a place of duty, feeling as though they have to do their part. now, we've lost the bond of community, and we're being torn apart because of it.
read the essay innih 😭
i appreciate you 🫂