Did you ever come across the book A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin Friedman in the research for your book? It strikes me as a rather prophetic work from the 90s on decadence among the leadership class in the 21st century: chronic anxiety, a spirit of risk-aversion rather than adventure, a cult of data that leads to intellectual stagnation rather than growth, and an over-reliance on empathy that leads to herding/polarization around the most emotional manipulative members of society. The current emotional maturity of the West's leadership class seems to indicate enduring decadence - if you follow the argument of the book.
The notion of community represents a commitment on our part to care for something beyond ourselves. We have come to express this commitment through various institutions - mostly brick and mortar - such as schools, offices, sports, places of worship, gyms, etc. These institutions help us group together, not only for our own benefit, but for the others who have joined, and often for the benefit of the institution itself. Over time, this mutual commitment to care for one another can have a multiplying effect, even extending beyond the institutions we contribute to and into the broader communities of which they are a part.
In the world we know today, the institutions we rely upon (and which, in turn, rely on us) have been reduced to shadows of their former selves. They are less available - if they are still permitted to be available at all - and have in many cases also grown to become smaller priorities to us as we have sheltered in place, away from these broader communities and with only those closest to us. The 'us' we care about is a much smaller group. Decisions that used to be made relying on a larger group are now made by individuals and their individual families. Our focus has shifted, our generosity and sympathy gradually whittled away so that only enough remains for us, our families, perhaps our dearest friends. It has moved more about what is best for me and mine.
I would be in the camp forecasting ever-deepening decadence especially around birthrate decline. Consider China. Despite huge attempts to reverse course, the CCP has apparently been unable to re-interest its citizenry in reproducing. Young Chinese are too accustomed to freedom from obligation to anything beyond oneself. Though living under different political circumstances, Western nations seem to be on a similar trajectory for a similar reason. Covid isolation may have just accelerated it.
It is an interesting mental mash-up to read your post today along with Tim Keller's Atlantic piece on facing uncertainty and death yet developing a more joyful appreciation of life in the process. It demands rigorous honesty about one's beliefs, but it leads to a way of life beyond decadence. I commend the article to the readers of this substack.
Hi Ross, thanks for a great article. How might you incorporate two additional phenomena into your discussion on demographic decline: first, the pervasiveness of video calling as a new form of social interaction, and second, the disproportionate decline of women in the workforce? Thanks.
Hi Ross, a huge 'fan' here. Another area where digital technology as a decadent substitute for physical togetherness is remote work. A non-decadent society would fix traffic and long commute problems by building more infrastructure, scrapping exclusionary zoning rules, etc. The new digital infrastructure is a great excuse for not building that needed physical infrastructure. More isolation seems to be a likely result.
Hey Ross, I submitted a book review on Bad Religion to Scott Alexanders Astral Codex 10, and if you want to read it you can e-mail me at hpermutes@gmail.com
Did you ever come across the book A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin Friedman in the research for your book? It strikes me as a rather prophetic work from the 90s on decadence among the leadership class in the 21st century: chronic anxiety, a spirit of risk-aversion rather than adventure, a cult of data that leads to intellectual stagnation rather than growth, and an over-reliance on empathy that leads to herding/polarization around the most emotional manipulative members of society. The current emotional maturity of the West's leadership class seems to indicate enduring decadence - if you follow the argument of the book.
The notion of community represents a commitment on our part to care for something beyond ourselves. We have come to express this commitment through various institutions - mostly brick and mortar - such as schools, offices, sports, places of worship, gyms, etc. These institutions help us group together, not only for our own benefit, but for the others who have joined, and often for the benefit of the institution itself. Over time, this mutual commitment to care for one another can have a multiplying effect, even extending beyond the institutions we contribute to and into the broader communities of which they are a part.
In the world we know today, the institutions we rely upon (and which, in turn, rely on us) have been reduced to shadows of their former selves. They are less available - if they are still permitted to be available at all - and have in many cases also grown to become smaller priorities to us as we have sheltered in place, away from these broader communities and with only those closest to us. The 'us' we care about is a much smaller group. Decisions that used to be made relying on a larger group are now made by individuals and their individual families. Our focus has shifted, our generosity and sympathy gradually whittled away so that only enough remains for us, our families, perhaps our dearest friends. It has moved more about what is best for me and mine.
To honor the tradition of blogging that came before:
First!
I would be in the camp forecasting ever-deepening decadence especially around birthrate decline. Consider China. Despite huge attempts to reverse course, the CCP has apparently been unable to re-interest its citizenry in reproducing. Young Chinese are too accustomed to freedom from obligation to anything beyond oneself. Though living under different political circumstances, Western nations seem to be on a similar trajectory for a similar reason. Covid isolation may have just accelerated it.
It is an interesting mental mash-up to read your post today along with Tim Keller's Atlantic piece on facing uncertainty and death yet developing a more joyful appreciation of life in the process. It demands rigorous honesty about one's beliefs, but it leads to a way of life beyond decadence. I commend the article to the readers of this substack.
Yuge.
Hi Ross, thanks for a great article. How might you incorporate two additional phenomena into your discussion on demographic decline: first, the pervasiveness of video calling as a new form of social interaction, and second, the disproportionate decline of women in the workforce? Thanks.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/08/economy/women-job-losses-pandemic/index.html
How different are the two editions of the book? Was it more like a sweeping revision or just an added chapter, or somewhere in between?
Hi Ross, a huge 'fan' here. Another area where digital technology as a decadent substitute for physical togetherness is remote work. A non-decadent society would fix traffic and long commute problems by building more infrastructure, scrapping exclusionary zoning rules, etc. The new digital infrastructure is a great excuse for not building that needed physical infrastructure. More isolation seems to be a likely result.
Hey Ross, I submitted a book review on Bad Religion to Scott Alexanders Astral Codex 10, and if you want to read it you can e-mail me at hpermutes@gmail.com