Modernity Is Done

So. I want to present a political thesis for your consideration

That relates to an upcoming political event of some importance

And to the wider sense of What The Feck Is Going Onness

that I suspect most of us feel

THE THESIS is this

Modernity Is Done

Now, modernity has been done for some time. We’ve been in the purgatory of post-modernity for around three decades. With one story ending, but a new story yet to arrive, we’re simply recycling old stories while we wait. Rebooting movies, and rehashing political narratives.

But now in 2024 things have hit a crunch point.

The modern era is completely done. The economics, the institutions, the politics and the social formations of modernity, are all played out and ready to retire.

Automation is automating so many jobs that the whole idea of “work” on which modernity was built seems to be over.

The internet has liberated knowledge and all the institutions that deal with knowledge – the media, schools, universities etc are looking kinda redundant.

The population bomb is actually population collapse, and peak oil is actually abundant renewable energy.

And wherever you look both the facts and the narrative of modernity are coming apart at the rivets.

And the problem is that while automation, free knowledge and abundant energy are all potential miracles

we’re all so conditioned to the model of modernity that we have no clue what to do about it

Modernity Is Done. So what comes next?

Into that void we have two political movements offering…well what are they offering?

The liberal progressive movement that once offered progress is now offering stasis. A vote for them is a vote to preserve the systems and institutions of modernity.

And given our uncertainty, there’s something appealing about that. Except…modernity is done.

Meanwhile the conservatives are…wait…arguing for radical change? Yes.

A vote for conservatism now is a vote for one of a number of radical visions best described in scifi. Will they revert society to The Handmaids Tale? Will they Accelerationise us all into the Singuarlity? Will the tax payer end up shooting Elon’s sperm at Mars (that’s a real plan) to save the species?

And those are the saner visions of radical social change being offered from…wait…yes…conservatism.

So this is an appeal by the Science Fiction community to science fiction writers, thinkers, makers and storytellers everywhere.

For the love of reason and rationality, please, we implore you

this insanity isn’t going to end until you people STEP UP and do your jobs. Give us a better story to replace modernity. Stop with the dystopian visions and woo woo starships and narrate an Actual Viable Story (AVS) for the 21st century ahead of us.

Please.

Until then, after a lot of consideration, I finally realised who this chap reminds me of.