I have seen other surveys reporting the decline of religion, and I wonder what they are actually telling us. Are people simply finding themselves increasingly repelled by "organized religion," or does this signal an actual decline in spirituality on a personal level?
I have noticed that people tend toward more faith and spirituality as their lives become more miserable, and also when the world around them changes (especially for the worse) more quickly than they can easily adjust to. Given modern societal trends, this may predict a reversal of current religious trends, to the degree that humanity spirals down into a more impoverished state.
For those who are inclined, another interesting book that gets into networks is Niall Ferguson's "The Square and the Tower."
In (very) short; according to him, the rise of protestantism has let to the emergence of the industrial revolution. And its slow decay in recent years toward nihilism and its replacement by "wokeism" in the US is the very reason explaining the west's current decline.
"L’implosion de l’URSS a remis l’histoire en mouvement. Elle avait plongé la Russie dans une crise violente. Elle avait surtout créé un vide planétaire qui a aspiré l’Amérique, pourtant elle-même en crise dès 1980. Un mouvement paradoxal s’est alors déclenché : l’expansion conquérante d’un Occident qui dépérissait en son cœur.
La disparition du protestantisme a mené l’Amérique, par étapes, du néo-libéralisme au nihilisme ; et la Grande-Bretagne, de la financiarisation à la perte du sens de l’humour. L’état zéro de la religion a conduit l’Union européenne au suicide mais l’Allemagne devrait ressusciter.
Entre 2016 et 2022, le nihilisme occidental a fusionné avec celui de l’Ukraine, né lui de la décomposition de la sphère soviétique. Ensemble, OTAN et Ukraine sont venus buter sur une Russie stabilisée, redevenue une grande puissance, désormais conservatrice, rassurante pour ce Reste du monde qui ne veut pas suivre l’Occident dans son aventure. Les dirigeants russes ont décidé une bataille d’arrêt : ils ont défié l’OTAN et envahi l’Ukraine. "
True, but I think a fair amount of sifting and sorting is called for. I know I'm extremely old-school, but I can't help but consider the source. Some of it is the kind of thinking that drove poor Philip Dick over the edge (along w/ prodigious amounts of methamphetamine).
I have seen other surveys reporting the decline of religion, and I wonder what they are actually telling us. Are people simply finding themselves increasingly repelled by "organized religion," or does this signal an actual decline in spirituality on a personal level?
I have noticed that people tend toward more faith and spirituality as their lives become more miserable, and also when the world around them changes (especially for the worse) more quickly than they can easily adjust to. Given modern societal trends, this may predict a reversal of current religious trends, to the degree that humanity spirals down into a more impoverished state.
For those who are inclined, another interesting book that gets into networks is Niall Ferguson's "The Square and the Tower."
If you read french, I urge you to look at Emmanuel Todd's latest book: La défaite de l'occident.
If not; you should definitely read this article: https://jacobin.com/2024/03/emmanuel-todd-demography-religion-putin-ukraine
In (very) short; according to him, the rise of protestantism has let to the emergence of the industrial revolution. And its slow decay in recent years toward nihilism and its replacement by "wokeism" in the US is the very reason explaining the west's current decline.
Vaut le coup de le lire, je crois.
"L’implosion de l’URSS a remis l’histoire en mouvement. Elle avait plongé la Russie dans une crise violente. Elle avait surtout créé un vide planétaire qui a aspiré l’Amérique, pourtant elle-même en crise dès 1980. Un mouvement paradoxal s’est alors déclenché : l’expansion conquérante d’un Occident qui dépérissait en son cœur.
La disparition du protestantisme a mené l’Amérique, par étapes, du néo-libéralisme au nihilisme ; et la Grande-Bretagne, de la financiarisation à la perte du sens de l’humour. L’état zéro de la religion a conduit l’Union européenne au suicide mais l’Allemagne devrait ressusciter.
Entre 2016 et 2022, le nihilisme occidental a fusionné avec celui de l’Ukraine, né lui de la décomposition de la sphère soviétique. Ensemble, OTAN et Ukraine sont venus buter sur une Russie stabilisée, redevenue une grande puissance, désormais conservatrice, rassurante pour ce Reste du monde qui ne veut pas suivre l’Occident dans son aventure. Les dirigeants russes ont décidé une bataille d’arrêt : ils ont défié l’OTAN et envahi l’Ukraine. "
Got it. Will read it!
True, but I think a fair amount of sifting and sorting is called for. I know I'm extremely old-school, but I can't help but consider the source. Some of it is the kind of thinking that drove poor Philip Dick over the edge (along w/ prodigious amounts of methamphetamine).
Interesting , enjoyed the quick trip through history and why you wouldn’t steel. Thank you
The author of The Network State is Balaji
OK: Thanks!
Corrected!
Bali Srinivasan, tech/biotech/finance mover who, while being evidently brilliant, seems to have some disturbing ideas and creepy friends: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaji_Srinivasan
Please excuse spellcheck error of Balaji's first name, which is all he goes by, like many megalomaniacal, would be world-builders. He cuts nonetheless a somewhat sinister figure: https://newrepublic.com/article/180487/balaji-srinivasan-network-state-plutocrat
Sinister, maybe. But about ideas, he has plenty. And fascinating ones!