Why the 21st Century Is So Dystopian

It’s amazing, in its own dire way. Open a newspaper, Twitter, check your Facebook, and so forth. What do you see? Dystopia — a tidal wave of it. A few years ago, you might have thought: this is just a phase. It’ll pass. But it’s not. If anything, it’s getting worse, and it feels like it’s here to stay. All of which begs the question: just why is the 21st century so dystopian? When I say “it”, or “dystopia,” you might wonder exactly, precisely what I mean. What I mean is very simple though. How many crises do we face? More than I can easily count. Let’s try to list them all, though we’ll run out of sanity and room before we finish, for sure. Finances? <a href="https://medium.com/eudaimonia-co/the-doom-loop-thats-destroying-our-civilization-ada951e345a0" rel="noopener">Total crisis</a>, incomes falling around the world, debt levels soaring. Infrastructure? <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiGm5ac7fz9AhWpwAIHHdnLBVMQFnoECAwQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Feand.co%2Fwelcome-to-the-21st-century-what-happens-when-the-water-runs-out-f158611eb91a&usg=AOvVaw2WwF3MlStkhjRYv6a7Ki_j" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Mega-crisis,</a> unless you think the infrastructure we have survives this century, let alone this decade. Social systems? Everywhere from <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiRgZ2o7fz9AhWZjaQKHWKUDgAQxfQBKAB6BAgHEAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2F2023%2F3%2F27%2Ffrances-borne-to-meet-opposition-unions-amid-pension-crisis&usg=AOvVaw0Zwzm4sAxJETVI2FqIej7F" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">France</a> to <a href="https://medium.com/eudaimonia-co/how-authoritarians-and-fascists-break-democracy-one-institution-at-a-time-5f33d0fcbf0" rel="noopener">Britain</a> to <a href="https://medium.com/eudaimonia-co/american-fascism-is-becoming-more-delusional-and-more-dangerous-9aebce913bbc" rel="noopener">America</a> — crisis. People’s…minds? <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj075O87fz9AhVPxgIHHYJxDDEQFnoECBQQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.frontiersin.org%2Farticles%2F10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2022.1066706%2Ffull&usg=AOvVaw20lovDp33VCwU9zmeAH7GQ" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Crisis</a>, especially in young people, depression and anxiety and suicide rates soaring. Then there are the big ones: <a href="https://medium.com/eudaimonia-co/are-we-in-another-banking-crisis-86403169e902" rel="noopener">climate change and mass extinction</a>, not to mention <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj1p7DN7fz9AhVF_KQKHf8sCIYQFnoECAgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Feand.co%2Fwhy-fascisms-returning-to-the-world-6d9c19173052&usg=AOvVaw3OVY1Ulp2EqzAllQXybmUf" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">politics</a> , which has taken a notably…fascist…turn, again. All of this is what scholars have begun to call the age of “polycrisis.” And in it, the better question isn’t: “what’s in crisis?” It’s: what isn’t? Like I said, the list above is a mere brief beginning. Migration and refugees? <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiSttDS7vz9AhVH2KQKHVzfCnYQFnoECBUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.unhcr.org%2Fglobaltrends.html&usg=AOvVaw280Xd5s7pmA234t6rRU6OC" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Another one</a>. Peace and democracy? <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiErKDZ7vz9AhWNKOwKHW62C9oQFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcarnegieendowment.org%2F2022%2F10%2F20%2Funderstanding-and-responding-to-global-democratic-backsliding-pub-88173&usg=AOvVaw37L2NinJR1RiBIJCn7vgD5" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Yup</a>, in crisis. How about upward mobility? <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiHxeSU7_z9AhWRNuwKHUHvBd0QFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.visualcapitalist.com%2Fthe-decline-of-upward-mobility-in-one-chart%2F&usg=AOvVaw3op22SQ59Gy6T67VyIoj0l" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Check</a>. Faith and confidence in institutions? <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiutY2d7_z9AhXUO-wKHRqjCisQFnoECAsQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.un.org%2Fdevelopment%2Fdesa%2Fdspd%2F2021%2F07%2Ftrust-public-institutions%2F&usg=AOvVaw0zbgtq4oTkDMnhD_NU1bZH" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Super crisis</a>. Take a look at any element of society or the world, and chances are, it’s in crisis. How about inequality? <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjUv7ik7_z9AhWMHewKHSK2AzEQFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpress.un.org%2Fen%2F2023%2Fdev3449.doc.htm&usg=AOvVaw2_mM567r9BBgQT2AAs5nlP" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Shocking levels</a> <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjUv7ik7_z9AhWMHewKHSK2AzEQFnoECAwQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2Fj.ctt22p7kb5&usg=AOvVaw1ow6xqk8mSfpv4a-3V3tUB" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">of crisis</a>. <a href="https://eand.co/why-the-21st-century-is-so-dystopian-1ef6b62fe8c2">Learn More</a>