Today, the same problem is increasingly discussed on the Internet: Planning for the future has become almost impossible. If earlier the life strategy was built decades ahead — university, career, buying a home, social mobility — today even a planning horizon of one month seems something unrealistic.
Let's figure out how our minds adapt to a constant crisis and why the lack of long-term goals turns citizens into a convenient tool for governance.
Table of Contents
What is a "fault in history"?
The phenomenon that we observe today was called by the philosopher Hannah Arendt "The Fracture of History". This state occurs when social and state institutions become unpredictable, and the rules of the game change so often that a person ceases to understand what to rely on.
In such conditions, The brain automatically goes into survival mode. We no longer make utopian plans for a beautiful future and do not harbor incredible hopes.
Instead, all of our mental energy is spent on endless preparation for the next crisis. We are stuck in the "trap of the present day", where the main goal and measure of success is simply to experience what is happening right now.
The brain in the "computer game" mode
Living in uncertainty all the time has physiological consequences. Psychologists note that in this mode The brain begins to gradually "atrophy", losing the ability to think strategically.
It's like the mechanics of an old computer game: you're running forward, something is constantly falling on you, and your only job is to fend off threats here and now. In moments of such reactive adaptation A person physically does not have a thought about what awaits him around the next corner. The whole world narrows down to the point of the "current moment".
Why a person without a future is not a citizen
The most dangerous thing about the loss of the planning horizon is the political and social consequences. According to Arendt, A person without a future cannot be a full-fledged citizen.
Citizenship is built on the demand for change for the sake of long-term achievements and the common good in the future. But if your maximum is plans for tonight, you become as malleable as possible. Man in Survival Mode ready for any deals and compromises, if only tonight passed quietly.
Who benefits from this?
For any government, the situation when the population lives one day at a time is "super convenient".
Lowering the bar of expectations
People become incredibly grateful for the most basic minimum.
No requirements
If there is no vision of the future, there is no demand for reform or change.
Loyalty for stability
The main achievement is simply the absence of a catastrophe on a particular day.
When the planning horizon collapses, society ceases to care about what will happen next. And in this state of "gratitude for a normal today" lies the main trap for the development of any country.
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