In his book America: the farewell tour, Chris Hedges argues that America finds itself on a course of “irrevocable decline”. Those who dare raise issue regarding our dying culture find their observations ignored and their conclusions dismissed. Such is our sociocultural stage in the first few weeks of 2020.
Magical thinking is not limited to the beliefs and practices of pre-modern cultures. It defines the ideology of capitalism. Quotas and projected sales can always be met. Profits can always be raised. Growth is inevitable. The impossible is always possible. Human societies, if they bow before the dictates of the marketplace, will be ushered into capitalist paradise. It is only a question of having the right attitude and the right technique. When capitalism thrives, we are assured, we thrive. The merging of the self with the capitalist collective has robbed us of our agency, creativity, capacity for self-reflection, and moral autonomy. We define our worth not by our independence or our character but by the material standards set by capitalism–personal wealth, brands, status, and career advancement. We are molded into a compliant and repressed collective. The mass conformity is characteristic of totalitarian and authoritarian states. It is the Disneyfication of America, the land of eternally happy thoughts and positive attitudes. And when magical thinking does not work, we are told, and often accept, that we are the problem. We must adjust. We must have faith. We must be positive. We must envision what we want. We must try harder. The system is never to blame. We failed it. It did not fail us.
Hedges, Chris. America: the farewell tour. Simon & Schuster, 2018. p. 44
