I do think we live in a collapsing society, but we still live very, very well right now. Simply having a place to sleep in, running water, convenient access to food and a fridge gives you incredibly privileged material conditions compared to the vast majority of human history. Remove yourself from the toxic mindset of modernity, its emotional deadened state, its obsession with acquisition and status, and you can live like a king for very little, thereby benefiting from the material wealth while minimizing the spiritual atrophy.
Moreover, what better times to practice virtue than our current ones? Since when is life supposed to be easy? It seems to me that many people make themselves miserable because they constantly expect life to be easy and thus constantly fight reality when it isn’t the case.
I am not saying we live in wonderful times, but then again, what is the supposed golden age of humanity? Darren Allen makes a good point about primitive life 3, but even he would agree that we cannot simply go back to the woods in our current situation, though we can still learn a lot from primal folk on how to live in a way that is aligned with human beings, as opposed to the unnatural technological system that we must live by. Society will do its own thing, better to focus on what you can meaningfully influence and care about.
2 Visakanv's term, see for instance this tweet.
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2024-07-22