We are living through crazy times in the West as our world turns inside out and upside down. What is happening would be truly laughable if it was not so dangerous to the future of Western Civilisation. However there seems to be no exit lane for those of us who are looking for an end to this madness.
The current fad is to swap prosperity for power. What makes this a fad is that this deal is currently considered a fun thing [see photo]. Wear a mask because it has become the fashionable talisman of your tribe rather than a tool for better public health. Demand diversity, equity, and inclusion in your workplace because fads are based on "group think" that declares you are part of the "in crowd" not because it will bring us more prosperity. The leaders of fads [remember the cool kids on the school playground] are granted the power to change the thinking, habits, and beliefs inside their Cliques [think woke leaders today]. So it is no surprise to anyone that these woke fads that are changing Western Civilisation in 2021.
Fads are spread through memes [words, images, narratives, etc] and at present it is the woke presence that is dramatically slowing the pace of social evolution. If you understand fads you will appreciate precisely why social change in 2021 is a random process not an integrated social movement. The other common trait with fads is they have long tails and this means they have a history of development rather than being an unexpected flash-in-the-pan. The reality is this woke fad has its roots in intellectual paradigms formed at the Frankfurt School in the 1930s. The point is this woke fad is grounded in a one hundred year intellectual movement but as always happens it is not the intellects who are on the frontline [think BLM]. Fads are sustained by doers not thinkers and that is the case with the woke brigade and so this version of critical theory is being played out in workplaces, or on the street, by a host of non-academics. Which means this woke fad is much more about non-think, group think, and one-think than it is about social change.
Fads survive because they create strong social ties and this leads to communities that are prone to follow the rules of the mob. Western Civilisation has survive within communities with weak social ties which allows them to build trust-based coalitions that can tolerate deviants, rogues, creatives, and rule breakers. But here is the thing. Fads are disruptive events and to have a set of woke fads spread unchecked around the world is truly crazy.
Richard. .
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