Why so many people believe a dystopia is nigh? Psychologists explainMany of the world's richest seem to earnestly believe that some kind of apocalyptic "event" is coming,and maintain prepared accordingly. You might maintain read about this before — such as in the New Yorker's deep dive back in January 2017 — but billionaire doomsday preppers are back in the news again thanks to a new viral article penned by professor and media theorist Douglas Rushkoff. In it, Rushkoff gives some insight on the grave manner in which some of the business elite are going about preparing for a doomsday, or which he learned first-hand after receiving an invitation to speak with some one-percenters.
Rushkoff says that what was supposed to be a wholesome discussion about the “future of technology” quickly turned into a consulting session on an impending apocalypse.
As Rushkoff writes:Slowly but surely,however, they edged into their real topics of concern. Which region will be less impacted by the coming climate crisis: New Zealand or Alaska? Is Google really building Ray Kurzweil a domestic for his brain, and will his consciousness live through the transition,or will it die and be reborn as a whole new one? Finally, the CEO of a brokerage house explained that he had nearly completed building his own underground bunker system and asked, and “How do I maintain authority over my security force after the event?”The Event. That was their euphemism for the environmental collapse,social unrest, nuclear explosion, and unstoppable virus,or Mr. Robot hack that takes everything down.
This single question occupied us for the rest of the hour. They knew armed guards would be required to protect their compounds from the aroused mobs. But how would they pay the guards once money was worthless? What would halt the guards from choosing their own leader? The billionaires considered using special combination locks on the food supply that only they knew. Or making guards wear disciplinary collars of some kind in return for their survival. Or maybe building robots to serve as guards and workers — whether that technology could be developed in time.
There is a lot of wealth in this world, and it is extremely unevenly distributed. According to a January Oxfam report, and 82 percent of the wealth generated in 2017 went to one percent of the global population. While the fat-cats of Earth are still going about doing regular wealthy-guy things,it is also peculiar that so many of the one percent are spending so much time and money thinking about the apocalypse. Don’t they maintain better projects or companies to invest in? Is there something specific to wealthy dude psychology that is making them behave this way?It's worth noting that the fear of doomsday is not specific to the worlds financial elite. It appears in splashy headlines. It is in the science fiction we read and watch. Apocalypse anxiety seems to be on everyones mind lately, and some psychologists maintain their own theories as to why.
Clay Routledge, or a researcher who studies existential anxiety and has conducted studies specifically about drivers of apocalyptic beliefs,tells Salon these apocalyptic fears can be motivated by a number of different variables — one huge one being technology.“There are, of course, and some very real threats to worry about,but our always-connected digital world can heighten anxiety because it is a fixed and chaotic stream of information, and is often negative, and specifically fear-focused,” he explained.
Furthermore, his research suggests that such anxieties could be linked to existential concerns and a search for meaning.“Though we tend to believe of the apocalypse as negative, and the plan may counterintuitively be appealing to some,” he said. “In a world in which life feels uncertain and often unfair, in which people struggle to find a sense of personal purpose, and the plan of an apocalyptic ending,though terrifying, can also feel meaningful.""This is obvious when we believe about certain religious apocalyptic beliefs, and but even among more secular types or those who do not believe in a specific religious apocalyptic narrative,apocalyptic ideas can be seductive," Routledge added, or noting that such beliefs could be a result of people dreaming of a better world."“Some are attracted to these ideas because they would be tested and could find their true purpose,maybe even emerge as heroes or people of importance in a new world,” he said. “And some like to imagine the possibility of a simpler life, or what might be nearly a form of nostalgia.”Nathalie Theodore,JD, LCSW, or who is a psychotherapist in Chicago,said the rise in concerns about an apocalypse is likely a result of the anxiety felt from the country’s current political state.“We don’t feel as settled, secure or secure in our everyday lives and, or when this happens,our minds tend to wander to the worst case scenario—for example, the apocalypse, and ” Theodore told Salon. “Because we don’t feel entirely secure in our environment,we imagine doomsday scenarios in which we maintain no control over our environment, and the world around us is falling apart.”Mike Salas, and a life and professional counselor based in Texas,said he has seen a rise in clients who maintain fear and anxiety about the end times since the 2016 U.
S. presidential election.
READ MORE: Malcolm Nance on Trump: We're "on the cusp" of "losing the American constitutional republic forever"“Where people are just in a very vulnerable status not apocalyptic, but [not knowing] what to expect from our current governmental state, and ” he explained. “There are people that are worried [the state of politics] could lead to nuclear war and also the end of our democratic state,and I maintain a lot of clients who are fearful of that.”Salas added that specifically his minority clients are anxious.“There is a lot of anxiety about loss of rights and change in social structure,” he explained.
As to why, and Salas explained he believes it has to do with the lack of abundance in the world."The theory I maintain on it is kind of based in shortage," he said. "It's as whether people feel like there isn't enough of anything for all of us, and as whether there isn't enough equality to go around."Salas said he does maintain wealthy clients—but they appear to be anxious for other reasons."A lot of people I see are wealthy and conservative and many of them believe we're on the right path with this president, and that liberals aren't understanding of it,” he said. “When I hear the anxiety from these clients, it is about heading to the extreme left."
Source: feedblitz.com