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Philosophy

No reset button

Sometimes I see people on social media claim that: “The civilization is too far gone, let it crash and burn so we can build a new and better society.” Though I understand it stems from disillusion and powerlessness, I think this is a really dangerous sentiment.

Because, unless there is a total annihilation of the human race, there will not be a new society. It will still be the same old one, but worse than ever, broken by climate disasters, famine, plagues and ruthless exploitation by the few with power.

There is no reason whatsoever to believe that ruining all the progress mankind has made so far would somehow be beneficial, or even necessary, to build a better society. We would lose all the good things. And the bad things would still be there.

To most people – yes. even white westerners – this will be living hell. Except for a small, powerful elite, of course. The very rich are already investing in bunkers. Trying to figure out how to keep their guards loyal when money becomes useless. How to stay in power.

Thinking that “It’s easier to start over” is a fallacy that somehow manages to ignore the unfathomable tragedies and countless deaths an actual system collapse would cause. This idea is conditioning people into believing that there is nothing we can do.

We do not live in a perfect world. There is certainly much work to be done, many things to improve. But there is actually less suffering among humans than ever before. And we already have the means and knowledge to make a better world today. Why not build on that?

We need to work with what we got. Starting over is not an option.